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.