Cheap holiday home insurance is something many people do not understand. Millions of people every year have parties from during the winter holidays. The festivities begin around Thanksgiving and go through Valentine’s Day. Many of these parties involve drinking – and unfortunately many people drive afterwards.
What most party hosts do not consider is that they can be held liable for the behavior of guests who become intoxicated. If a party-goer leaves your home drunk, you could be held responsible if that person has an accident under the influence of alcohol immediately afterwards.
You could also be held responsible for any other actions the drunken guests engage in, if you have served them after they were intoxicated. There are laws in many states that are designed to protect the general public from people who leave parties drunk. They are called social host laws. It just means that you will be responsible if you serve alcohol to minors or intoxicated persons.
There is a remedy for this problem. It can be dealt with by buying a special insurance policy. This is called an umbrella policy. It is a form of cheap holiday home insurance that could save you a fortune.
You should speak to your insurance agent to find out if you actually need this umbrella policy. Sometimes your homeowners’ policy is so inclusive that it will cover even social host laws. However, you should never assume that it does. Your agent will let you know if you need the extra coverage.
There is one thing you need to consider when you get cheap holiday home insurance to cover parties. In some states, you will lose your coverage if you do not behave properly. You must act responsibly yourself to be covered.
You can cut down on the chance of losing coverage.
- Take coats and keys when guests enter your home. Make it seem like the normal thing to do. Then you will not have the problem of trying to take keys away from someone who is already drunk. If everyone is treated the same, no one can reasonably get offended.
- You should stay sober during the party. You cannot gauge whether someone is having too much to drink if you are intoxicated yourself. You will need your wits about you if you are going to deal with situations that happen.
- You may want to give designated drivers special treatment. Have a drawing and give some prizes away for the ones who are willing to stay sober. Make it fun for them as well.
- Hire a bartender. Bartenders are good at recognizing a drunken person when they see one. They can tell you when someone has had enough.
Cheap holiday home insurance is one way to cover your liability. Just remember that it is still up to you to do the best you can to keep people from leaving your home drunk. You can be covered for what you have no control over, but in most states you bear the responsibility of what you can control.