Hosting a game day party? What your homeowners insurance covers if something goes wrong

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Football season is in full swing, and many people are gathering at homes around the country to watch their favorite teams. If a guest gets hurt or something in your house gets damaged during your game day party, your homeowners insurance usually pays for it.

This guide from Insure.com explains what homeowners insurance generally covers, so you can be prepared before your next get-together kicks off.

For starters, homeowners insurance covers most accidents at a football watch party, so you can keep the party on. Medical payments coverage pays a hurt guest’s medical bills, and liability coverage pays your legal defense and any settlement if that guest sues. Dwelling coverage pays for repairs if there is damage to your house.

Each coverage pays up to its own limit. Most policies include at least $100,000 in liability coverage, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

However, you should carry at least $300,000 in liability coverage, because you’d owe anything a court awards above your limit out of your own assets. Call your insurer to check your coverage, and consider raising your limit before your next watch party, so your policy covers a large judgment if a guest falls on your front steps and sues.

Your dwelling limit should match the cost to rebuild your home, which may not equal what you paid for it.

A standard homeowners policy pays for injuries to your guests, damage to your house and a hotel stay if a fire leaves your home unlivable. Your belongings get narrower protection on the most common policy, an HO-3, which covers them only for the causes it lists, such as fire, theft and vandalism. A guest accidentally knocking your TV off its stand isn’t on that list, while an HO-5 policy covers your belongings for any cause the policy doesn’t exclude.

Here’s what each part of a standard policy pays for on game day.

To be adequately covered while hosting a party at your house, you need enough home insurance to rebuild your house, replace everything you own, and cover your legal defense and any settlement if a guest gets hurt at your party and sues you. Liability coverage is what pays if a guest falls on your steps, gets bitten by your dog, or gets burned at the grill. Those are common ways a party ends in a claim, and the $100,000 most policies start with can run out fast after a serious injury.

If you have a dog, check your policy for a lower dog bite limit or a breed exclusion, since some insurers cap or refuse coverage for bites.

Here’s what to consider before you host for game day:

Hosting a football party means a houseful of guests, a hot stove, drinks, and maybe your dog all sharing the same space for hours. With that much going on, the odds of an accident increase.

If a guest is injured at your party, take care of your guest first, then take a few steps to enable your insurer to pay the claim.

You pay your deductible before your insurer pays anything for damage to your house or belongings. If a repair costs only a little more than your deductible, you’d get almost nothing back, so it usually makes sense to pay for it yourself.

A guest’s injury is different. You don’t pay a deductible on liability or medical payments claims, so your insurer covers those bills from the first dollar.

Any claim you file also shows up on your claims history report, and insurers look at that report when they price your policy. A dog bite claim, in particular, can push your premium up quickly.

“You have to weigh the pros and cons,” says Jennifer Taylor, CEO and founder of Claim Ready, an AI-powered platform that helps homeowners find weak spots in their coverage. “Maybe it makes sense to pay for it out of pocket.”

Pay for small repairs to your house yourself, but always report a guest’s injury to your insurer. Those medical bills can turn into a lawsuit, and your liability coverage is there to handle it.

If someone walks off with something during your party, your homeowners policy pays to replace it once you’ve paid your deductible. Your insurer caps what it pays for some valuables, and jewelry coverage may top out under $2,000, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

File a police report as soon as you notice something missing, because your insurer will usually ask for one with a theft claim. Before guests arrive, put jewelry and other small valuables in a bedroom and close the door.

If you own a ring, watch, or collectible worth more than your policy’s cap, ask your insurer to add a scheduled personal property rider. A rider insures one item for its appraised value, so if someone steals that item, your insurer pays what it’s actually worth instead of the capped amount.

If a guest leaves your party drunk and causes a crash, you could end up paying if your state has a social host liability law. These laws allow victims of a drunk driver to sue the person who served that driver alcohol. Some states apply them only when you serve someone under 21, and others also apply them when you keep serving an adult who’s obviously drunk.

Your homeowners policy may not cover that lawsuit. Some policies exclude any injury involving a car, even one your guest was driving, which means you’d pay the claim yourself.

Ask your agent whether your homeowners or umbrella policy would cover you if a guest drives after drinking at your place. Regardless of whether you are covered, set up rides home or offer your couch for any over-served guests, because keeping your guests off the road protects them and everyone else on the roads. It also protects your savings from a potential lawsuit.

If a guest sues you for more than your insurance covers, you pay whatever’s left over from your savings or home equity, unless you have umbrella insurance. An umbrella policy picks up where your homeowners liability coverage stops, and it’s worth buying once what you own is worth more than your liability limit.

An umbrella policy adds liability coverage on top of your homeowners and auto policies, usually starting at $1 million. Its price depends on how many homes, cars and drivers it covers, so ask your insurer for a quote when you raise your liability limit.

“Let’s say someone perceives you as wealthy. It may be that you need an umbrella policy,” Taylor says. “At the end of the day, the umbrella policy is for if you get sued.”

Buy one before you host, and if a guest sues you for more than your homeowners limit, your umbrella policy pays the rest, so you don’t have to.

Renters insurance covers your guests the same way homeowners insurance does. If someone gets hurt at your place, your liability coverage pays their medical bills and your legal costs if they sue. Your policy also covers your own stuff, and your landlord’s insurance covers the building.

If you start a grease fire that damages the kitchen, your landlord’s insurer may pay for the repairs and then send you the bill. Your renters insurance liability coverage pays that bill, so make sure your policy is active before you invite everyone over.

Spend a little time the morning of the game on these fixes, and you’ll head off the accidents that often turn into homeowners claims.

Will my insurance pay if a guest’s dog bites someone at my party?

As the host, you can be sued, since you’re responsible for your guests’ safety on your property. The dog owner’s policy pays first, but if they don’t have coverage or their policy doesn’t cover the bite, your liability coverage is next in line to pay.

Am I responsible if a guest drives home drunk and causes an accident?

Your state’s social host liability law decides whether the people who were hurt by your guest can sue you. Some states only hold you responsible for serving minors, and others also hold you responsible for serving an adult who’s clearly drunk. Ask your agent whether your policy would pay, since some homeowners policies won’t cover anything involving a car.

Does homeowners insurance cover a guest who gets food poisoning at my party?

Yes. If a guest gets sick from food you served and it’s your fault, your personal liability coverage pays, because it treats an illness the same way it treats an injury. Your medical payments coverage can also pay smaller medical bills without anyone having to prove you did anything wrong.

Does homeowners insurance cover me at a tailgate?

Yes. Your personal liability coverage goes with you, so it pays if a guest at your tailgate gets hurt and it’s your fault.

Does homeowners insurance cover me if I get hurt at my own party?

No. Your homeowners policy pays for your guests’ injuries, not yours or anyone you live with. Your health insurance covers your own medical bills.

This story was produced by Insure.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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