What is Personal Liability Cover in Travel Insurance?

Vacationing in a foreign country, going on a road trip with your buds or relaxing in your own home is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. However, the bottom line is that accidents happen and there is little to nothing one can do to stop them. The harsh truth is that sometimes these accidents can be your fault as well.  So, the situation here takes a turn for the worst when the injury or loss is your fault, even if unintentional. These are the situations where personal liability on your part may arise. Most types of insurance plans that deal with the accidental loss of the third party offer personal liability coverage to help you in situations like these. These can include car insurance plans, home insurance, and even travel insurance. After all, unfortunate events may not take a break just because you are on a vacation. Let’s know all what is personal liability insurance and how it works in combination with a travel insurance plan.

What is a Personal Liability Cover?

A personal liability cover is a part of an insurance plan that covers any personal liabilities on your part arising in a certain situation. The coverage can depend on the kind of insurance plan you have combined your personal liability cover with. For example, when combined with home/property insurance, the personal liability coverage will take care of any loss or damage that occurred to the third party if they meet an accident involving your house/property. This can include property damages, injuries, and more. The scope of a personal liability plan is only as wide as the scope of the main insurance cover. For example, the personal liability coverage of your car insurance will not pay for the damages incurred to a third party at your house. It only covers the damages your car may have caused to a third-party driver or the vehicle.

What is Personal Liability Cover in Travel Insurance?

Personal liability cover in travel insurance protects you from any unforeseen accidents that may take place when you are overseas. Personal liability in travel insurance can cover anything from the smallest of losses to the biggest ones. For example, assume that you are visiting a café on your vacation and happen to spill something on a stranger’s phone or laptop or both. Here you can land in a serious problem. This person may ask you to compensate for their loss and since you are at fault, you may very well have to. This is where the personal liability cover of your travel insurance plan will come in handy.

What Does Personal Liability Insurance Covers?

The best part about personal liability covers in travel insurance is that they are not limited to small losses and injuries. There are several things that personal liability insurance will cover. Given below is a complete list:

• Damages incurred by a third-party property when you are abroad.
• Damages incurred to a third-party car when you are driving.
• Legal fees incurred during the claim settlement process (depends on the plan)
• Injuries and treatment expenses of the third-party when you are at fault.
• Accidental death benefit for the third party (depends on the plan)
• Compensation for income loss due to your (policyholder’s) fault (depends on the plan)

What is Not Covered in Personal Liability Insurance?

• When the claim is submitted by a traveling companion, colleague or someone insured by the same plan.
• The incident that caused loss involved the policyholder being under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any other kind of intoxicating substance.
• If the policyholder does not have a valid license.
• If the policyholder was involved in an unlawful activity – whether attempted or complete.
• Willful use of weapons or deliberately harming third-party person or property.
• Damages caused by pets belonging to the policyholder.

Who Needs Personal Liability Cover?

As far as personal liability cover in travel insurance is concerned, all travelers must consider getting it. You may have dealt with such scenarios involving third-party losses and come out scathed in your homeland. However, this may not be the case when you are in a different country. Negotiations a difficult in such cases, your passport and visa are at stake and the laws are different as well. It is best to take personal liability travel insurance whenever you are planning to set foot out of the UAE. It's better to be safe than sorry.

What are the Benefits of Personal Liability Cover?

The biggest benefit of personal liability in travel insurance in UAE is simple – it ensures that you do not land in any kind of loss. Following are the benefits of a personal liability cover, arranged in a slightly technical manner for your benefit:

• Security from Third-Party Claims: Personal liability travel insurance will make sure that you are safe from any third-party loss claims that have arisen due to your fault. Voluntary damage to a third party aside, if you happen to damage any third-party property or injure them involuntarily, the personal liability cover will pay for it.
• Saves Legal Costs: Some personal liability travel insurance also covers the legal costs that go into getting third-party liability claims settled. This benefit entirely depends on the coverage extent of your plan though.
• Offers Accidental Benefits: Many personal liability travel insurance plans also extend compensation in case an accident where you are at fault results in the death of the third party. Apart from that, this benefit may also be extended to disability compensation in case of permanent partial or temporary complete disability.

How to Claim Personal Liability Travel Insurance?

Only proceed to claim your personal liability coverage if a third party files a liability claim against you. In such a case, approach your insurance company using the international toll-free number for the UAE and inform them about the situation and the claim. Once informed, the insurance company analyses your travel insurance plan and the personal liability cover it contains. After that, they take care of all the formal proceedings for the case. As the final stages of settlement approach, the insurance company will ask your permission, aka the insured, to settle the claim. If you are okay with the claim settlement, the company pays off the liability as per the maximum assured sum of the cover.

Conclusion

Personal liability travel insurance is extremely important for every traveler. Accidents happen and they are often inevitable too. Being completely prepared when you are planning to go away from home for vacation or other purposes is very important. Make sure that the travel insurance plan that you buy comes with a personal liability cover and examine the assured sum. The maximum sum of the cover must be enough to cover any major mishaps when you are overseas.