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Question of the Month

Standard homeowners policies provide liability coverage for bodily injury or property damage that is accidentally caused by an insured anywhere in the world. But, the biggest exposure to loss for the insured is on the homeowner insured's premises itself. A neighbor trips and falls on the insured's uneven sidewalk. While taking a shortcut through the insured's yard, a child falls over a hose left in the yard and breaks his arm. A UPS driver delivering a package to the insured slips on a patch of snow that the insured did not clear from his driveway. What is the homeowner's duty of care regarding his premises? Must the premises be scrupulously free from any hazard? Does the homeowner have a different duty of care owed to friends and neighbors as opposed to the delivery man or the mailman? Is there a duty of care owed to trespassers?

The standard of care owed by a homeowner is affected by the status of the person who is injured on the homeowner's property, and by judicial opinions that have been handed down through the years. For information on the standard of care and for a discussion of the legal thinking on the subject, see Homeowners and Premises Liability.

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