xixstar Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I have seen friendships lost over this. It involved a trampoline accident and insurance companies were the instigators but the trampoline owners felt it was wrong and blamed the injured child's family -- major rift ensued. Very sad how it ended up when the reality is that is simply how insurance companies do business. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Agreeing with others....that is why we have insurance. True. I sure wouldn't pay for it if it weren't necessary, including for things like this! I think a reasonable response would be to compare and consider covering the cost out of pocket, but otherwise let the insurance policy do what you pay for it to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'd be upset. Friends don't sue friends. That's not how insurance works today. Friends don't have to maliciously sue one another for insurance companies to place fault on a location rather than a person. The only way around it is to claim every accident happened at home and that's not always plausible. Sometimes people live in the past in a world where there was no paper trail for WHERE an accident happened. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'd be upset. Friends don't sue friends. Have you ever had a five- or six-figure hospital bill to pay from an accident? I have. I always thought "this country is too litigious" ...... until I thought "these medical bills will wreck me for decades". 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Long time ago, as in over 25 years, neighbors of our's had a jungle gym of sorts. Neighbor girl T fell and broke her arm at that house . T's family insurance sued the jungle gym household insurance to recover the costs of the injury without notifying T's family. Jungle gym family thought that T's family initiated the "lawsuit" and their friendship was really strained until the truth came out. It was just insurance companies doing their business. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 We don't need to live in fear, though. Have adequate insurance and go forward and enjoy your life. We shouldn't let fear of being sued prevent us from having fun in our backyard. Get that swing set! I've heard the stories of people making one claim on their homeowners insurance and then having the policy canceled on them. At best, they raise your rates from what I've heard. Two other things make me cautious: My MIL was an insurance agent. Also, when I was a kid, our dog nipped a kid. He required eight stitches on his cheek, but it didn't even leave a scar. His parents sued for $50,000! There is no way that the doctor bill was anywhere near that high in the 1990s for some stitches. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If you were hurt in a car accident in a friend's car, wouldn't you expect their insurance to cover your medical expenses? Filing a claim against insurance does not equal personally suing a friend. Homeowner's insurance may not be the appropriate coverage for this accident. We don't know the facts or the applicable state law. But if it is, using the appropriate insurance shouldn't be seen as being some evil suit-happy gold digger. IME (as an attorney), people are always "oh I'd never!" until it happens to them. ;) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'd be upset. Friends don't sue friends. Have you read most of the responses in this thread and if so, do you still feel this way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If you were hurt in a car accident in a friend's car, wouldn't you expect their insurance to cover your medical expenses? Filing a claim against insurance does not equal personally suing a friend. Homeowner's insurance may not be the appropriate coverage for this accident. We don't know the facts or the applicable state law. But if it is, using the appropriate insurance shouldn't be seen as being some evil suit-happy gold digger. IME (as an attorney), people are always "oh I'd never!" until it happens to them. ;) Not if I was driving and I was at fault. And frankly this fear of being sued if someone else is driving my car is part of why I'm not comfortable loaning my car out to someone else. I don't like that. If this is the way insurance works, then Insurance works WRONG. I buy insurance to cover myself and homeowner's insurance to cover me partly because we do have sue-happy people in this country. I do NOT expect my friends to be part of that. "Its expensive and I can't afford it" does not mean it is now okay to look around and say "Let me see who else I can find to pay for it" and expect there not to be emotional consequences to that decision. If the same accident happened in your own house, then you'd have to pay for it, right? There wouldn't be any other pockets to pick. My son got hit by a cue ball at camp this past week. I have no intention of suing the camp/making a claim on the camp's insurance. It could as easily have happened at our house. When I send him to camp I realize he is participating in activities that could cause injuries. Have you read most of the responses in this thread and if so, do you still feel this way? Yes. I had read the thread when I first posted. It may not be the popular opinion. But it is still mine. (Oh and I've gone without insurance in the past when I could not afford it. In those cases, we've paid out of pocket for expenses. Neglected going to the doctor and getting issues taken care of. Borrowed money as needed/relied on the generosity of friends and family who were willing to help with those bills, not extorted out of it. And paid it back over time.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If you were hurt in a car accident in a friend's car, wouldn't you expect their insurance to cover your medical expenses? Filing a claim against insurance does not equal personally suing a friend. Homeowner's insurance may not be the appropriate coverage for this accident. We don't know the facts or the applicable state law. But if it is, using the appropriate insurance shouldn't be seen as being some evil suit-happy gold digger. IME (as an attorney), people are always "oh I'd never!" until it happens to them. ;) This conversation is really interesting to me. I am about to go recheck my homeowner's policy because I had always been of the understanding that any claim someone made for medical payments fell under my liability policy and thus might raise my rates. The car thing is still iffy to me. It still depends on fault, I guess. It seems it should be paid by the insurance company of the driver at fault. I guess if there is no fault, I'd expect my medical insurance to pay for it. I can see why they would not want to, of course. I'm not an attorney but I rarely say "I'd never..." and if I do catch myself, I try to correct. It's very rare that people know exactly what they'd do in a situation they've never experienced. I may know what I'd like to do, and hope to do, but I really can't say what I would do or not do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'm kind of shocked, but I guess I shouldn't be. It makes me think twice about having people over at our home, though. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Some policies may want to pay for the initial costs of an injury to show goodwill and you may be required to report injuries that happen on your policy regardless of the cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I've heard the stories of people making one claim on their homeowners insurance and then having the policy canceled on them. At best, they raise your rates from what I've heard. Two other things make me cautious: My MIL was an insurance agent. Also, when I was a kid, our dog nipped a kid. He required eight stitches on his cheek, but it didn't even leave a scar. His parents sued for $50,000! There is no way that the doctor bill was anywhere near that high in the 1990s for some stitches. Your dog bit a kid in the face and you are shocked you got sued? And in that case, yes they were suing for more than just the stitches, and rightly so. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If she just tripped over her own foot, I'd be mad. It may be why I have insurance, but making a claim will likely raise my rates and I'll be paying for it. If it really is something I saw as my fault, like she fell on my rickety porch, then ok fine. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Not if I was driving and I was at fault. And frankly this fear of being sued if someone else is driving my car is part of why I'm not comfortable loaning my car out to someone else. I don't like that. If this is the way insurance works, then Insurance works WRONG. I buy insurance to cover myself and homeowner's insurance to cover me partly because we do have sue-happy people in this country. I do NOT expect my friends to be part of that. "Its expensive and I can't afford it" does not mean it is now okay to look around and say "Let me see who else I can find to pay for it" and expect there not to be emotional consequences to that decision. If the same accident happened in your own house, then you'd have to pay for it, right? There wouldn't be any other pockets to pick. My son got hit by a cue ball at camp this past week. I have no intention of suing the camp/making a claim on the camp's insurance. It could as easily have happened at our house. When I send him to camp I realize he is participating in activities that could cause injuries. Yes. I had read the thread when I first posted. It may not be the popular opinion. But it is still mine. (Oh and I've gone without insurance in the past when I could not afford it. In those cases, we've paid out of pocket for expenses. Neglected going to the doctor and getting issues taken care of. Borrowed money as needed/relied on the generosity of friends and family who were willing to help with those bills, not extorted out of it. And paid it back over time.) Insurance policies are contracts. Company A isn't going to voluntarily pay for damages that are rightfully covered under Company B's policy. If you injure yourself in your own home, there is no liability policy that will cover you, so your healthcare policy will cover the loss as per its agreement with you. If you are injured elsewhere, your healthcare coverage will want to make sure the loss isn't rightfully covered under another company's contract before agreeing to cover the loss. It is best to keep in mind that contracts aren't personal...but sometimes they feel that way. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Not if I was driving and I was at fault. And frankly this fear of being sued if someone else is driving my car is part of why I'm not comfortable loaning my car out to someone else. I don't like that. If this is the way insurance works, then Insurance works WRONG. I buy insurance to cover myself and homeowner's insurance to cover me partly because we do have sue-happy people in this country. I do NOT expect my friends to be part of that. "Its expensive and I can't afford it" does not mean it is now okay to look around and say "Let me see who else I can find to pay for it" and expect there not to be emotional consequences to that decision. If the same accident happened in your own house, then you'd have to pay for it, right? There wouldn't be any other pockets to pick. My son got hit by a cue ball at camp this past week. I have no intention of suing the camp/making a claim on the camp's insurance. It could as easily have happened at our house. When I send him to camp I realize he is participating in activities that could cause injuries. Yes. I had read the thread when I first posted. It may not be the popular opinion. But it is still mine. (Oh and I've gone without insurance in the past when I could not afford it. In those cases, we've paid out of pocket for expenses. Neglected going to the doctor and getting issues taken care of. Borrowed money as needed/relied on the generosity of friends and family who were willing to help with those bills, not extorted out of it. And paid it back over time.) If you were driving your friend's car and caused an accident, the friend's insurance would be liable for the damage. Your health insurance would go after the car insurance for reimbursement (assuming they pay anything). If you lie on the forms about how you were injured, that's insurance fraud. You're certainly welcome to forgo all insurance payments and pay out of pocket. If you are injured on your property, your health insurance will seek subrogation from your liability insurance when appropriate. Accidents are going to happen. That's why I carry insurance. I'm not going to be personally offended if someone tries to follow the law and use the legally appropriate insurance to cover the damages. If my friend broke her arm at the park, then staged a fall at my house to try to get it covered? That would end my friendship because it would be fraudulent. If you're using the appropriate insurance to cover the damages, there should be no ill will. Using health insurance in inappropriate situations raises the rates for everyone else on that policy. You're paying for it one way or another. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 My son got hit by a cue ball at camp this past week. I have no intention of suing the camp/making a claim on the camp's insurance. It could as easily have happened at our house. When I send him to camp I realize he is participating in activities that could cause injuries. Did he receive medical care? If so, it may be out of your hands. Your medical insurance company may go after the camp's insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If you were driving your friend's car and caused an accident, the friend's insurance would be liable for the damage. Your health insurance would go after the car insurance for reimbursement (assuming they pay anything). If you lie on the forms about how you were injured, that's insurance fraud. You're certainly welcome to forgo all insurance payments and pay out of pocket. If you are injured on your property, your health insurance will seek subrogation from your liability insurance when appropriate. Accidents are going to happen. That's why I carry insurance. I'm not going to be personally offended if someone tries to follow the law and use the legally appropriate insurance to cover the damages. If my friend broke her arm at the park, then staged a fall at my house to try to get it covered? That would end my friendship because it would be fraudulent. If you're using the appropriate insurance to cover the damages, there should be no ill will. Using health insurance in inappropriate situations raises the rates for everyone else on that policy. You're paying for it one way or another. From what I recall from my insurance classes eons ago, members of the insured household are generally excluded from the liability policy of the household. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 It would also depend on why they don't have health insurance. If they truly cannot afford it, I might feel more inclined to help them. If they just choose not to buy it, not so much. I know, it has nothing to do with it, but yes these things would cross my mind. And sure they may very well come after whatever insurance they can rather than not getting any money, but I'll be damned if she is going to claim something that isn't true. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 It would also depend on why they don't have health insurance. The bolded should not matter. The injury is either a covered claim or it isn't. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I don't know.....in CA I used my insurance once. Then I called just to have them look at an area to see if it was covered and I was cancelled. They said I made too many claims. It was very difficult to find another homeowners policy so I would be worried about that happening again if someone claimed an injury on my property. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'm kind of shocked, but I guess I shouldn't be. It makes me think twice about having people over at our home, though. It actually makes me think twice (or three times) about the possibility of living in the States. We've always said we'd go wherever the job opportunities for dh are and I could see there being opportunities in the US at some point, but I don't ever want to think about what health care costs or about getting sued or having to sue someone else. If someone breaks their arm at my house I just want to drive them to the hospital and sign their cast afterwards. Which is what would happen now. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 From what I recall from my insurance classes eons ago, members of the insured household are generally excluded from the liability policy of the household. Yeah, that's why I said when appropriate because I'm sure there's an exception. There's always an exception! ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 It actually makes me think twice (or three times) about the possibility of living in the States. We've always said we'd go wherever the job opportunities for dh are and I could see there being opportunities in the US at some point, but I don't ever want to think about what health care costs or about getting sued or having to sue someone else. If someone breaks their arm at my house I just want to drive them to the hospital and sign their cast afterwards. Which is what would happen now. In the US, almost nothing exists for the purpose of helping people or making a just and good society. It's all about putting money in someone's pocket. The ultimate purpose of insurance is to put money into administrators' and investors' pockets. Providing health care or reimbursement for accidents is secondary. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 You're not responsible for clumsy, but you are responsible for making the house reasonable safe and well kept. Say the driveway isn't well lit, you don't have a hand rail on a stair case, your walkway is wet and slippery due to poor drainage- stuff like that. Or even just: it's icy. So I guess that is where the feeling insulted thing comes in. Think is, she HAD health insurance, and the bill was significant (like, a break that required surgery and PT) I'm betting the health insurance would have checked in with the homeowners insurance anyway. It's what they do. Well, yeah, I just didn't realize that. I thought it would have to be really our fault, like a step rotting out or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I've heard the stories of people making one claim on their homeowners insurance and then having the policy canceled on them. At best, they raise your rates from what I've heard. Two other things make me cautious: My MIL was an insurance agent. Also, when I was a kid, our dog nipped a kid. He required eight stitches on his cheek, but it didn't even leave a scar. His parents sued for $50,000! There is no way that the doctor bill was anywhere near that high in the 1990s for some stitches. Um, EIGHT STITCHES is way more than "nipped" in my book. Eight facial stitches could have easily cost $50,000, even in the '90s because a plastic surgeon should have been involved (and quite possibly was if eight stitches healed without a scar). Then there's the fact that getting bitten on the face by a dog would be incredibly traumatic and quite possibly cause lifelong fears about dogs. Frankly, I think $50,000 sounds like a bargain, and if my family dog had been responsible for that kind of trauma (or, honestly, any trauma) to a child, I'd be feeling responsible, not picked on! 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I don't know. It would depend on the situation and if there were any potentially negative repercussions to their friend making an insurance claim. Has the family with the home had to make other claims recently? A number of years ago the area we live in was hit by a number of storms, power outages, and so on. We lost our gutters, pieces of our siding, and everything in the refrigerator (several times). We were told by many people, including an insurance agent, not to even tell our insurance about the small things. Even though we had coverage for it, if we had a lot of claims (particularly if they make us look like a bad risk), they could drop us. It did happen to some people in neighboring towns (dropped then they had trouble getting new insurance within their budget). I have no idea if that is still the case, but it always seemed horrible to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 It's sad, but it may be the only way for the person to pay for the medical care, so I wouldn't take it personally. If they sued me, I would take that personally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I don't know.....in CA I used my insurance once. Then I called just to have them look at an area to see if it was covered and I was cancelled. They said I made too many claims. It was very difficult to find another homeowners policy so I would be worried about that happening again if someone claimed an injury on my property. I did see a documentary that basically said do not make any small claims on your homeowner insurance and save for very big claims since many insurance companies are quick to cancel your insurance. The show concentrated on property damage and did not address liability from what I recall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 The bolded should not matter. The injury is either a covered claim or it isn't. Yeah I know, but I'm saying it would cross my mind. I have no qualms about paying for something if it's legit. I'd hope a "friend" would not do that to me, but ya never know. Some people are just snakes like that. My mother had a "friend" like that. She found all sorts of ways to get people to pay her bills. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Um, EIGHT STITCHES is way more than "nipped" in my book. Eight facial stitches could have easily cost $50,000, even in the '90s because a plastic surgeon should have been involved (and quite possibly was if eight stitches healed without a scar). Then there's the fact that getting bitten on the face by a dog would be incredibly traumatic and quite possibly cause lifelong fears about dogs. Frankly, I think $50,000 sounds like a bargain, and if my family dog had been responsible for that kind of trauma (or, honestly, any trauma) to a child, I'd be feeling responsible, not picked on! Oh my goodness yes. My landlord had to put her dog down because it nipped a baby. It wasn't the first offense though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I think I would have been mad if I didn't realize that heath insurance checks on things like this. When DD broke her foot last summer I was very surprised when they mailed me a form to fill out, wanting information about where she fell etc. I realized it was to make sure someone's homeowners insurance wasn't to be covering it. Before that I wouldn't have never considered my homeowner's insurance to cover anything unless it was some terrible accident on our property due to our negligence. It would have never occurred to me to try to use someone's homeowners insurance if I tripped and fell at their home, even if their sidewalk was a little uneven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yes, that would bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Frankly, I think $50,000 sounds like a bargain, and if my family dog had been responsible for that kind of trauma (or, honestly, any trauma) to a child, I'd be feeling responsible, not picked on! I might have the number of stitches wrong, since I was a kid at the time. I don't think his parents took him to the ER, just a doctor. And yes, I can totally see how he might be scared of dogs for life. I think one reason my parents may have felt picked on was they weren't approached by the family saying, "Hey, can you pay the doctor bill?" They didn't find out until they were sued. Of course they should pay for his medical bill, but if it only cost say $2,000, they shouldn't have to pay 25x that. (I doubt the family used any extra to pay for some sort of therapy to get over a new fear of dogs.) In middle school, I had a friend break his leg on a trampoline. He got bounced off and needed pins everywhere to hold it together. The rumor was he was all set for college expenses because they had won so much extra in the lawsuit beyond the cost of medical bills. In any case, I never want the liability that comes with a dog, a pool, or a trampoline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 My landlord had to put her dog down because it nipped a baby. Our dog was put down immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Someone visiting your home falls and breaks their arm. This person does not have health insurance. This is someone you consider a good friend. After the incident is over, the person calls you and asks you if you have homeowners insurance. What is your reaction at this point? I wouldn't be mad because I understand how insurance works. I can think of alternative scenarios I would prefer, such as universal health care, but I understand it's not personal. People who wouldn't check with the homeowner's own insurance, which is designed for this purpose and the costs are built into the premiums, and instead would take on a personal bankruptcy due to medical bills, are falling on their sword for the sake of a multi-billion dollar company. It's up to them, I guess. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If you were hurt in a car accident in a friend's car, wouldn't you expect their insurance to cover your medical expenses? Filing a claim against insurance does not equal personally suing a friend. Homeowner's insurance may not be the appropriate coverage for this accident. We don't know the facts or the applicable state law. But if it is, using the appropriate insurance shouldn't be seen as being some evil suit-happy gold digger. IME (as an attorney), people are always "oh I'd never!" until it happens to them. ;) No, I absolutely would not expect her insurance to cover me. That is what MY insurance is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 No, I absolutely would not expect her insurance to cover me. That is what MY insurance is for. YOUR insurance would likely disagree ;) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 No, I absolutely would not expect her insurance to cover me. That is what MY insurance is for. I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't get to decide. :) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 No, I absolutely would not expect her insurance to cover me. That is what MY insurance is for. Your car insurance does not cover you driving or riding in another person's car. (Except for rental cars if you opt for that rider of coverage.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 This is why I have HOI, no I would not be mad. Medical care is expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If someone gets injured in my home, the other party's insurance company would go after my home owner's insurance automatically. No insurance company wants to pay if they can get someone else to pay. It is just how it works here, nothing personal. No, I absolutely would not expect her insurance to cover me. That is what MY insurance is for. Your insurance would go after the other party's insurance though. A friend and her friend was hit by a car in a hit and run. Her friend's insurance went after hers. We were hit by someone holding her cellphone and talking while driving. Our insurance went after hers without us doing anything. I don't think you can stop your insurance from trying to get money from your friend's insurance if you were to get hurt while in her car/house/office/shop. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Not if I was driving and I was at fault. And frankly this fear of being sued if someone else is driving my car is part of why I'm not comfortable loaning my car out to someone else. I don't like that. If this is the way insurance works, then Insurance works WRONG. I buy insurance to cover myself and homeowner's insurance to cover me partly because we do have sue-happy people in this country. I do NOT expect my friends to be part of that. "Its expensive and I can't afford it" does not mean it is now okay to look around and say "Let me see who else I can find to pay for it" and expect there not to be emotional consequences to that decision. That's not the way insurance works and you're wishing otherwise doesn't change the way policies are written. The insurance follows the car for non-excluded, permissive drivers (although my state does not allow excluded drivers, so this will vary a little based upon the state the accident occurs in). Now, if someone steals your car and gets into an accident with it, you won't be liable for any property damage claims arising from damage to others, but you would have to use your own insurance to fix your car. Your insurance would then likely attempt to recover the amount they paid out for your damages from that thief. Whether or not they would be able to recover something is another matter. MedPay (assuming you live in a MedPay state), on the other hand, follows the driver. So if you borrow your friend's car, get in an accident, and are injured, the MedPay coverage on your auto insurance policy would pay for your injuries (up to the policy limits). Your MedPay coverage on your auto insurance will also pay for any injuries you might sustain if you're out riding your bike or walking down the road and are hit by a car. There are non-fault based medical payments coverage available that do not require an admission of liability or anyone being "at fault." You would have selected the limit when you purchased your insurance. They pay medical bills only. tbh, I think most of the OP's friend's issue and a number of the other posters in this thread arise from a misunderstanding about homeowner's insurance and how it works. If you've found yourself upset or surprised by the situation, then this is a prime time to make an appointment with your insurance agent and find out more. What kind of coverage do you have? Under what circumstances will it pay? What happens if someone's injured on your property? What happens if you put in a trampoline? What happens if you have a pool? Should you be concerned about putting up a swing set? Granted, in some cases, your agent will probably want to sell you an umbrella policy (because they seem to really want to sell those), but you'll leave with a better understanding of what you're paying for and maybe even find that you should consider more coverage. I can wish for single-payer healthcare all I want which would largely simplify the issue, but as the saying goes, if wishes were horses, even beggars would ride. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Absolutely not. If you know how insurance works, you know that the injured party doesn't usually have a say in who will be responsible for the bills. Especially if the injury occurs on private property. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Just an FYI for those of you who say you wouldn't file a homeowners insurance claim for a broken arm. My son has broken his wrist/arm twice. Each time the bills totaled $3,000 before the insurance payment. There are a lot of people who don't have that money in reserve and if they have no medical insurance, it's logical to me that they would see if any other existing insurance policy would cover it. If you don't have money and don't have insurance, you just basically ignore the hospital bills, and eventually it all disappears. BTDT. Never had to file for bankruptcy. Also, Medicaid will cover stuff that happened in the past x days (don't remember the value of x) if you sign up for Medicaid right afterward and the bills haven't been paid yet (so, if you paid the hospital out-of-pocket with money you didn't have, you're SOL). That's what we did when C ran into a counter at La Michoacana a few years ago, needing stitches in his forehead. The grocery store's insurance was never involved in those medical bills. It didn't even occur to us to involve them. I've never had homeowner's insurance though, so I don't know. If someone had been unfortunate enough to break a limb in our house, they could have sued us personally, and gotten acquainted with the saying "getting blood from a stone". ETA: we're renting now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'm curious now though... if you'd try to get money from the HOI of the person's whose house you were at when you through your own fault broke your arm, would you sue the homeowner personally if the homeowner didn't have liability insurance? Assuming that the homeowner isn't completely broke (in which case suing the homeowner is pretty pointless)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagsWife Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Back in the 90's my uncle got married, and the bride came with a cocker spaniel. When they came home from the honeymoon, we had a small get-together (both families) at my grandparents house, so the bride and groom could open gifts. The B/G brought the dog, but because he was still young and needed to be watched, they decided to tie him up on the back porch so that he would be out of the way but safe and close. The bride's brother came with his wife and small children, and allowed the children to play outside (think out in the country lots of land) unsupervised. The youngest (2 or 3 at the time) went back to visit with the dog, and started teasing him with a hotdog--aaaannnddd got bit. The bride's brother (who was a lawyer) claimed it on my grandparents homeowners insurance. Let's just say...it made for a very awkward start to the marriage. My grandparents were not impressed. There was even talk (by authorities) of putting the dog down. That was when I first realized that personal responsibility was dying out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Our dog was put down immediately. : ( Aww..these things are always sad all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Was I negligent so that my negligence contributed to her injury, or is she just expecting a nuisance settlement? If the latter, then heck yeah, I would be upset. And that would be the end of the friendship. We all lose when nuisance claims are brought and paid. If my guest fell through a hole in my porch, of course, different story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yeah maybe I'm just looking at this wrong. Maybe someone at the hospital or doctor's office asked her if there are any insurances because an accident occurred. She might just be doing what she was asked. I can see that happening. Doesn't mean you did anything wrong, that they will necessarily pay, or that she is being a gold digger. But I do personally know of gold diggers. So I am skeptical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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