Trusted Choice® Consumer Watch:

Consumers Unaware of Holiday Liabilities

New survey highlights misperception of homeowner responsibility for alcohol, other risks.

As millions of Americans host and attend holiday parties across the street or across the country, many are unaware of the risks they may be taking, according to a new national survey on homeowner’s insurance issues by Trusted Choice® and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

The Trusted Choice® survey found that about one-third of homeowners did not think or did not know if they could be held responsible in the event of an alcohol-related accident. In fact, in many states, individuals hosting holiday parties can be held liable. Many courts have found hosts liable for the damages their party guests cause as a result of consuming alcohol at their social gatherings and then driving motor vehicles. Many states have also enacted statutes that can be interpreted as mandating non-commercial social host liability. In these situations, if a guest or third party is injured in an accident that is related to alcohol consumption and the drinking can be linked to you, you could be held responsible for the payment of medical bills, vehicle repair costs, lost time from work and — in the worst case — claims for wrongful death resulting in huge monetary settlements.

The Trusted Choice® survey found that more than 46% of homeowners thought they weren’t liable in the event that a guest became seriously ill from catered food consumed at the host’s home, and more than 22% didn’t think they could be held responsible if a guest was injured on the sidewalk in front of their property. One-third of homeowners either didn’t think they could be held responsible or admitted they didn’t know if they destroyed another home with a careless act.   The bottom line is that homeowners could, in fact, be held responsible in any of these scenarios or accidental incidents.

The survey was conducted for Trusted Choice® via telephone by International Communications Research (ICR), an independent research company in Media, Pa. Interviews of a nationally representative sample of 809 homeowners were conducted in November 2008.

Source: www.trustedchioce.com