By: Edward L. Blais, JD, CIC
President, Blais Insurance
Every homeowner who has friends
and family coming over for the holidays wants to make sure their guests’
experience is memorable – for the right reasons. If those individuals are
staying the night, Blais Insurance urges homeowners to take precautions to make
premises safer or risk being in financial peril for years to come.
Falls are happening more often and
with more severe consequences every year, according to statistics from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, more than
800,000 individuals are hospitalized every year and the total cost associated
with falls in the United States exceeds $50 billion.
With the holidays around the
corner, homeowners should take some simple, extra steps to make sure that
guests, especially children and older adults, don’t injure themselves, most
notably around stairs or back decks. One of the most common misfortunes that
can occur happens when a guest falls and, through injury, becomes permanently
disabled. Not only is your friend or relative’s life changed forever,
homeowners are usually left with a damaged relationship, feelings of guilt, and
the financial responsibility to cover any medical expenses and other financial
consequences.
To make matters worse, the medical
costs associated with a lifetime of continued care for the injured party could
exceed the policy limits of any insurance products homeowners may have. For
instance, even if a homeowner’s combined insurance policy limits (homeowner’sinsurance and umbrella coverage) is even in the millions, homeowners could
still be responsible for any remaining amount for which they are held liable,
over and above the amount of insurance coverage limits the homeowner may carry.
Insurance professionals will
always recommend that you take actions to mitigate risks because it will cost
policyholders much less in the long run. To prevent falls near stairs,
homeowners could install lighting, gates, rails, and signs. It’s the classic
case of when “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Through simple and thoughtful risk
avoidance strategies like the tips mentioned above, homeowners could potentially
prevent a fall from ever happening. If you need other tips to help you remain
financially secure, Blais Insurance encourages you to give us a call at
401-725-0070.
