Insurance for land / Liability insurance

[HawkinsHollow]

I bought 14 acres about 16 months ago. I like my land, I want to keep it.

My question is: Do you carry any kind of insurance on the land or liability insurance in the case that someone hurts themselves on your land? As of now I don't see a great need for it. But my eventual goal is building a few short term rental cabins out there. Build more trails, etc. Just something that has been in the back of my mind so I thought I would ask.

 

[Diggin It]

Insurance for your own land no one else normally uses is one thing. Adding commercial use (rentals) is a whole 'nother story. It also varies widely by state according to local laws, so you need to seek out an agent familiar with your needs. And I mean agent, not company. You want one to work for you that has access to a number of companies and types of coverage. People swear by Farm Bureau and State Farm. I swear at them. My agent is working on a few options, one being 'State Auto' which I had never heard of and SafeCo which I've used before.

 

[Zerk]

Have you looked into what the laws actually are in your state, or are you going off I heard if this happens, they can sue me?

 

[tjkubota93]

Umbrella policy?

 

[Jstpssng]

Talk to your insurance agent. As DigginIt stated, there's a difference between allowing access vs commercial endeavors. When the time comes to start building cabins, insurance is just one of the many things you will need to look into. A lot of states have pretty strong laws protecting the landowner against lawsuits from injuries from recreational use. If you sue and lose, you pay the landowner's cost. That eliminates lawyers who don't charge unless you win... In this state there has never been a successful suit since the law was passed in 1979.

 

[CMV]

For my remote property, my homeowner's covers it and stuff on it as if it were my backyard. But they were very clear about no commercial use. Even stuff like when I had my backhoe - if I ever did any for-hire work with it even if that was just occasionally homeowner's wouldn't cover it. I would suspect as soon as you start constructing cabins the machines/tools/material for that isn't covered by homeowner's and as soon as 1 cabin is rented first time, nothing there is any more.

 

[TractorGuy]

We added a mere 5 acres to our 2 acre home site a few years back. Our Farm Bureau agent said we needed a "Country Squire" policy in addition to our home owners. All it seems to do is add liability in case someone gets injured on the 5 and it cost about $45 per year.

As stated, if you put rental units on the land you will need insurance and the cost will be higher than if you just insured against trespassers or visitors getting hurt.

 

[dmccarty]

Farm Bureau in NC has been very good to us, not only with policy prices but paying off on claims. We have an umbrella policy that covers US, it is not just the land. However, in NC if one posts their land, it makes it hard for someone to sue since they would have been committing a criminal act to get on our land. The NC Extension office had/has a paper regarding land owner liability. Maybe TN has something similar.

As has been said, once you start charging people for access or use of the property, it is a different ball game.

Decades ago on TBN, one of the big posters at the time CowBoyDoc, mentioned two incidents where the property owner got sued. One was in SC if I remember right, where people rode horses into a forest they did not own. One of the horses stumbled in a hole and the rider got hurt. So they sued the landowner. :confused3::thumbdown: I would think that in NC, the posted signs would have made a lawsuit more difficult.

The other incident was when a girl was invited by a friend to ride horses. The brother went along, and when his sister got up on the horse, he hit the horse, which reared up and threw the sister who was hurt. The horse owners where sued. :confused3::thumbdown:

I do not remember CowBoyDoc mentioning the outcome of the law suits.

Later,
Dan

 

[RSKY]

If you own more than a building lot I would have some type of liability insurance.

A friend was having trouble with an 8-10 year old neighbor boy constantly running thru their property. The kid would go thru flower beds, knock stuff over, and be a general nuisance. The parents were nicely approached several times, finally the local police were involved. The parents still laughed it all off. My friend was burning leaves in his yard when the boy ran over and ran thru a pile of burning leaves, tripped and fell. Everything was done properly, parents called, etc. The next week the neighbors filed a lawsuit accusing my friend of being negligent and causing the burns on their son. My friend ended up paying over $70,000 out of pocket in the lawsuit not counting legal expenses.

I strongly encourage everybody to have an umbrella policy.

RSKY

 

[HawkinsHollow]

If you own more than a building lot I would have some type of liability insurance.

A friend was having trouble with an 8-10 year old neighbor boy constantly running thru their property. The kid would go thru flower beds, knock stuff over, and be a general nuisance. The parents were nicely approached several times, finally the local police were involved. The parents still laughed it all off. My friend was burning leaves in his yard when the boy ran over and ran thru a pile of burning leaves, tripped and fell. Everything was done properly, parents called, etc. The next week the neighbors filed a lawsuit accusing my friend of being negligent and causing the burns on their son. My friend ended up paying over $70,000 out of pocket in the lawsuit not counting legal expenses.

I strongly encourage everybody to have an umbrella policy.

RSKY

WOW!! That is CRAZY! Especially considering the history of the situation.

 

[CMV]

We had a family move into a foreclosure down the street several years ago. 3 wild boys and the parents were stereotypical definition of white trash. No one could park on the street anymore since they would ride their bikes along parked cars gouging (not scratching - gouging) down the sides, knock over mailboxes, tear up people's landscaping, turning on outdoor faucets just letting water run full blast - always into something and very destructive kids. Of course the parents didn't care and just claimed it wasn't their kids whenever neighbors confronted them about whatever they tore up that day.

So we had a trampoline in yard for our boy. Some of our other neighbor's kids used it too & we didn't care, but we asked the parents to be present and supervise - I didn't want random kids out there on it without supervision. We always hung around there when our boy was on it. After several instances of these maniacs using it (and destroying the netting, leaving trash in it, flipping it over), I asked the parents for probably the 5th time to either keep their kids off it OR do as I asked and be there with them to monitor them - I didn't want anyone getting hurt. So a couple times after that we came home to find these kids unsupervised on the trampoline. At that point told them and the parents they aren't allowed on it period and to stay out of our yard & driveway.

So about a month after that, momma turd shows up at my front door with a stack of paperwork and one of the hellions in tow. "My kid got hurt on your trampoline a couple days ago. I had to take him to the doctor. His back is injured, he needed all kinds of x rays and tests, we don't have medical insurance. Here are the bills - you need to pay them!" I politely [not really] reminded her that I asked several times that she monitor her kids and when she chose not to, told her and the kids they weren't welcome on our property. Kid shouldn't have been there in the first place to get himself hurt. She threatened to sue if I didn't pay the bills. Pretty much told her to go screw herself at that point and shut the door on her. They got foreclosed/evicted about a month or so later & nothing ever came of it.

I'm sure my insurance would have just paid it, but I wasn't even going to look into it. Screw 'em.... But had she followed through, I'm sure I'd have been on the hook for her trespassing child's injury....

 

[crashz]

Homeowners on my house and property, liability on our property in NY. The NY property abuts power lines in the back, so there is a lot of 4 wheeler and snowmobile traffic. Its posted, but we've had a lot of stuff stolen and I think that is the way its been leaving the property.

I'm just waiting for someone to claim injury on our property. Its ridiculous, but I'm sure they would win in court. Almost makes you want to put rusty bear traps all over the place. If you're gonna get hurt on my property, have something to show for it.

 

[CMV]

You'd think - but man traps - on your own private, posted, fenced, property are a whole new can of worms.

Us owning property is really an illusion. The state owns it all ultimately.....

 

[Jstpssng]

Homeowners on my house and property, liability on our property in NY. The NY property abuts power lines in the back, so there is a lot of 4 wheeler and snowmobile traffic. Its posted, but we've had a lot of stuff stolen and I think that is the way its been leaving the property.

I'm just waiting for someone to claim injury on our property. Its ridiculous, but I'm sure they would win in court. Almost makes you want to put rusty bear traps all over the place. If you're gonna get hurt on my property, have something to show for it.

As I stated previously, Maine, NH and a lot of other states have laws specifically protecting landowners in those circumstances... unless you do something to intentionally harm somebody. .

 

[Zerk]

I heard about this guy who....

Does anybody have something that they didn't hear? I do have an umbrella. But I always skeptical of what people believe and tell you. People are poor with facts because they don't bother, or leave things out for whatever reason they have.

Then you have laws of different states.


I am not saying vacant land does not need to be insured. I would just research what is right for you. Talk to insurance agent, but also make some effort and read up on what they tell you.


As said, I do suspect charging sometime to come on your land or paying someone to come on your land for something, change things.