Guest medical coverage (also known as guest medical protection or good will coverage) can help cover medical costs if someone who doesn’t live in your home gets injured on site.
When accidents happen at home, it’s comforting to know your assets are covered by your homeowners insurance. A broken window, flooded basement, or kitchen fire can all be heart-wrenching events that can cause a lot of anxiety, but the associated costs to get them back in shape are covered.
But what happens when you have a guest in your home, and it's the guest who gets hurt–not you or your belongings?
The good news is that there is a type of coverage that specifically covers this kind of injury: guest medical protection. Allstate
and American Family
are two major homeowners insurance companies that offer guest medical coverage. Jerry
is here to cover everything you need to know about this guest medical coverage.Guest medical protection, defined
Guest medical protection is an add-on for your homeowners insurance policy that helps cover medical expenses for guests on your property who accidentally get injured. This coverage can help cover expenses regardless of liability.
What does guest medical protection cover?
Imagine this—a friend visits your house for the day. But while they're there, they trip and fall, hitting their head on a countertop. It's a nightmare scenario, but it's not uncommon. And if it does, you may want to know what your homeowners insurance policy covers.
If someone who is not a member of your household gets hurt on your property, they could incur costly medical bills. Regardless of who is at fault–if it was a problem with your stairs or just a clumsy guest–medical expenses can be covered by guest medical protection.
Common medical expenses that are covered include:
Imaging procedures like X-rays
Surgery that might be required
Stitches for a cut or a cast for a broken bone
Hospital visits and overnight stays
Guest medical protection often has rather low limits and is meant for minor issues, whether it was truly an accident or otherwise. You’ll select the limit when you choose the coverage as a rider on your policy, but it’s commonly between $1,000 and $5,000.
What's the difference between guest medical protection and liability insurance?
Although it might pay for similar medical expenses, guest medical protection is different than personal liability coverage
. The main distinction is that liability insurance only covers expenses when you, the homeowner, are at fault. Personal liability insurance would apply if your stairs had a loose board and a guest slipped down the staircase. A defect in your home caused the accident, making you liable. In these cases, it's not uncommon for someone to sue you for damages.
Guest medical protection covers medical expenses for a guest if they tripped over their own loose sock and fell down the stairs–a situation you couldn’t have caused or prevented.
While neither coverage is mandatory, it certainly helps you avoid frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive visits to small claims court should an accident happen to a guest on your property.
Other types of optional coverage
Guest medical protection is far from the only optional coverage you can expect. You can also add:
Identity theft restoration coverage that pays out legal fees, lost wages, and associated costs if you have your identity stolen
. Water backup protection in the event your sump pump fails or your drains back up, causing water damage.
Scheduled personal property for added coverage on item-specific high-value property you own.
Business property coverage in case you have inventory or equipment from work or a home office that suffers loss.
Sports equipment like golf clubs or hunting gear that could be over the limit on personal property coverages.
Green improvement reimbursement, allowing you to upgrade items lost in a claim with more energy-efficient replacements.
Electronic data recovery if you need to pay to have computer data recovered from a failed device.
Musical instruments coverage for expensive instruments like a Stradivarius violin.