Night Lights Can Help Prevent Accidents from Ever Happening

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.