Homeowner's Liability Limits

[mithrandir2001]

I received the continuation notice for my homeowner's policy and reviewed the coverage I have. Homeowner's is generally split between property protection and home/family liability protection. I'm concerned about the latter.

My policy covers personal liability up to $100,000 per occurrence and medical payments to others up to $1,000 per person. Do these limits seem low? My auto policy is 250/500/100 but perhaps that is a different bear.

What makes sense? If the purpose of insurance is to transfer risk from one party to another then should these limits at least exceed my assets? Being 33, I have accumulated a decent retirement kitty and don't want to lose my shirt if I get sued.

 

[3chordcharlie]

You can't really protect your assets from a judgement over and above your coverage.

I have no idea what most people carry for homeowner limits, but $1000 medical doesn't sound like very much to me.

 

[bctbct]

If you have 1mil coverage they are going to sue you for 1.1. If you have 5 mil they are going to sue for 5.1.

 

[Icepick]

It's a good idea to get what they call a "balloon" policy that extends your liability coverage up to around $500,000 to 1Million. Believe me, a broken leg can get very expensive.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: bctbct
If you have 1mil coverage they are going to sue you for 1.1. If you have 5 mil they are going to sue for 5.1.

If you have $1000 coverage, that's not going to pay for a doctor to put on a bandaid... what's your point?