One of the biggest sporting events in the world is around the corner…naturally we’re talking about the Super Bowl. Whether your team is playing or not, chances are, you are either hosting or attending a party for the big game. While Super Bowl festivities are typically all fun and games, as an independent insurance agent, we have been conditioned to look for possible problems within every event to evaluate any potential loss and protect the assets you have worked so hard to build.

If you are planning to host a party, there are myriad potential accidents and occurrences that you need to keep in mind beyond your checklist of ordering pizzas, picking up ice and putting out plenty of chairs. For example: trip and falls on an icy sidewalk leading to your house, guests choking on food, fights between guests, pet attacks, broken items, guests’ missing personal property. And probably the biggest item to think about is alcohol intake – are you providing an unlimited amount of alcohol? When should you cut-off guests and how can you ensure they’re taking a cab or Uber? What if they fall while intoxicated? You may be liable for any of these situations, and unfortunately, when it comes to friends and family, the loss usually gets nasty and harder to resolve; it also depends on the severity of the event.

Typically, homeowner policies might offer some protection for the non-alcohol induced accidents mentioned above, but when it comes to the injuries, accidents of a non-motorized variety or the motorized kind, then things get a little stickier. Allowing someone to leave “after a few” is the misconception that it’s okay because, “they’re not drunk” (Note current advertising efforts: “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”) Now you’ve put yourself in the same position of your favorite bartender, meaning, “How do I get this friend out of here, safely and politely?” And you thought the Super Bowl was going to be fun and relaxing!

Homeowner policies (and hopefully the Personal Umbrella that you have) should provide “Host Liquor Liability,” meaning you didn’t sell the beer to your guests, you merely provided it – while designed for this very situation, keep in mind that gross negligence can not only be an insurance claim, it can also carry with it some civil and criminal implications. A Personal Umbrella policy would offer broader coverage and would also give you coverage for renting a location to hold a party where the homeowner’s policy coverage would be very limited.

Generally speaking, as the host, your liability is fairly broad when it comes to your exposure. If things transpire into a lawsuit, your coverage would respond depending on how the lawsuit was written. You will need to notify your insurance company as soon as you receive the paperwork, and to trigger your liability coverage, attorneys will need to be involved. Liability coverage could respond in the event of being served with a lawsuit and/or you are found liable for the loss within the limitation of coverage. The cost is paying an attorney to defend you. The attorneys are usually provided by your insurance company if coverage is going to respond.

In the event of a medical visit to the hospital from an event on your premium, medical payments could come into play to help the guest with their medical bills.

The above shouldn’t scare you off from hosting a Super Bowl LIV party, but be sure to review your homeowner’s policy to understand what will/will not be covered in the instance of an accident. It’s also a good idea to take precautions such as locking up your valuables, keeping pets in a separate room, hiring a bartender, offering to let guests stay over and/or calling for cabs and Ubers.

Questions about your homeowner’s insurance? Contact Wallace & Turner at (937) 324-8492 or info@wtins.com.