Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Premise and Dog Liability - Does Posting a Warning Sign Protect Me?

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE THERE ARE SIGNS!


Garage Sales, Tag Sales, Yard Sales, no matter how you refer to them, the season is upon us!  Most of us have a “few too many things”; outgrown/outdated clothes and things we no longer want or use and the opportunity to make a buck and have the items gone is the perfect reason to plan your sale.


There are household’s that run continuous yard sales around here, so the argument could be presented that it is a business rather than a “personal” venture. If this situation applies, I advise you to consult with your insurance agent to determine if you need and can purchase coverage for a “home business.”



As people are preparing to hold a sale, we often take calls about posting “Not Responsible For Accidents” and “Beware of Dog” signs. "Are they a good or bad idea?  Do they “really” absolve me of liability?"

Personally, my thought has always been – You invited these people onto your property when you placed the ads and/or put the sign out by the street – good luck trying to get out of a lawsuit if someone trips over your cracked sidewalk or the extension cord you have stretched out to the calculator and gets badly injured. As for Sneakers nipping a patron - that Beware of Dog sign – isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. 

BUT... is that fact or fiction?


In 2009 the Iowa Supreme Court (Koenig v. Koenig, 766 N.W.2d 635, 645-646) adopted a multi-factor approach for determining whether a land owner would be liable for injuries on his property:
"We impose upon owners and occupiers (of land) only the duty to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of their premises for the protection of lawful visitors. Among the factors to be considered in evaluating whether a landowner or occupier has exercised reasonable care for the protection of lawful visitors will be: (1) the foreseeability or possibility of harm; (2) the purpose for which the entrant entered the premises; (3) the time, manner, and circumstances under which the entrant entered the premises; (4) the use to which the premises are put or are expected to be put; (5) the reasonableness of the inspection, repair, or warning; (6) the opportunity and ease of repair or correction or giving of the warning; and (7) the burden on the land occupier and/or community in terms of inconvenience or cost in providing adequate protection."

This does not mean that visitors get a free pass;  Property owners/occupiers are not "absolute" insurers or guarantors. Visitors are to exercise reasonable care to observe and avoid dangerous conditions. Some situations will excuse visitors from noticing a dangerous condition, if the property owner is responsible for distracting the visitor's attention to possible dangers by drawing the visitor’s attention to other items such as goods for sale.

The Iowa law of comparative fault applies to premises liability claims. Therefore, a visitor who is injured by an unsafe property condition who is partly responsible for his injuries may have his right to collect damages reduced or barred.

The law will hold the property owner responsible for premises liability if they were aware of the dangerous condition and did nothing to correct it.  They can also be liable if it was obvious that the owner should have known about a potential hazard and did not take steps to prevent injury. 

I was not able to find anything specific to “Not Responsible For Accidents” signs being posted, but after my research I still feel the best thing would be to make sure the area being used for the sale is made as safe as possible and that it is clearly defined so people don’t decide to “wander around.”  If you feel the need for signs – post them.


In Iowa, the owner of a dog is liable for all damages done by the dog ….   See Iowa Code Section 351.28. There is no “Free Bite” rule. Posting a Beware of Dog sign is NOT going to absolve you of liability.
My advice, keep your dog inside your home, in its kennel and away from all  patrons. Even the cutest, most even tempered dog can get frightened by a flash of light, a strong smell or even a shrill voice and nip.

If you are a renter, these same rules apply to you. While your landlord is normally responsible for the maintenance of the property, when you invite people onto the property you may be assuming some liability.


When you have questions about your policy coverage, you should never hesitate to call your agent. Most agents understand that insurance can be complicated and encourage their clients to call with questions. If you are not comfortable calling your agent, it might be time to find a new agent - CALL us!! 





Monday, April 28, 2014

Your Home Insurance and a Fallen Tree

This is the sight that greeted me a couple of weeks ago as I was getting ready to head out to do some grocery shopping. One of our Mulberry trees decided to give it up - its roots just could not hold in the soil on the edge of the ravine.

We take a few calls every year about how fallen trees are or are not covered by a homeowner's insurance policy. 

What is your best guess in this situation?? Would my insurance cover having this tree removed?

Looking out my front door!!!




The GENERAL rule is that the tree has to have caused some damage to a covered structure for the homeowners policy to kick in.  NOPE - no structure damage, it didn't even pull down the power line; in fact we didn't even hear it fall!! Remember the flat line winds last year - took out the top of one of our biggest trees and numerous limbs on it's neighbor on its way down. It made a big mess and  took us all day to clean it up and since (THANKFULLY) it did not damage our house, there was no coverage from our home insurance. So yes, even insurance people have with the same policy coverage!

HOWEVER:
It is blocking access to our home - even our Yaris wouldn't fit under it!! So yes, I could have called in a tree surgeon, had them cut it up, paid my deductible and called my insurance company on Monday.  

Instead - we borrowed our neighbor's chainsaw and spent a few hours cleaning it up ourselves. Mind you,  I am NOT promoting an inexperienced person run out and beg, borrow or buy a chainsaw and begin cutting away on a fallen tree - my husband has been cutting trees for a lot of years and has a lot of respect for the odd twists and pops a branch can take.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?


There are three categories you need to consider when trying to determine the minimum amount of life insurance death benefit you and /or your spouse need: YOUR INCOME, YOUR EXPENSES, YOUR ASSETS.
 
 YOUR INCOME

What is the annual income your family would need to maintain their current standard of living?

(60% - 70% of total income is usually required.)

Keep in mind, additional money needed to pay for someone else to do the things you do to help care for your family – group health insurance, take children to appointments and other activities; household maintenance – laundry, cooking, cleaning, mow the lawn, etc.
A spouse that stays home and provides for the everyday needs of the family may not provide “income” but how much would it cost to hire a full time, live-in caregiver?

Other annual income (Social Security, Spouse income, etc.) your family would receive?

How many years do you want to provide this income?

YOUR EXPENSES

Estimate your Final Expenses – funeral, medical expenses, etc.

Outstanding debt including your mortgage, credit cards and other loans.

Total college expenses for your children.

                (Average based on the 2009-2010 The College Board:

Private College $156,112, Public in State $77,522, Public out of State $123,664)

YOUR ASSETS

Savings, investments, etc.

(Money markets, CD’s, Stocks, bonds mutual funds, etc.)

Retirement savings accounts

                (IRA’s, 401(k)s, pension and profit sharing plans)

Current Amount of Life Insurance

(include group insurance as well as individually owned insurance)

 

You can find many life insurance needs calculators on the Internet – look for one that has built in inflation and cost of living adjustments.

Once you have an idea of the amount of coverage you need, contact your life insurance agent to review your coverage and find the best options to meet your needs and your budget.