Lawn mower mishaps can lead to expensive health insurance deductibles to treat those injuries. Nearly 80,000 people end up hospitalized in the US from lawn mower injuries every year. If a family member or a worker was injured in a lawnmower accident on your property, you want to know if homeowner insurance will cover it. During the mowing season, 30 people are injured each day. The average lawn mower injury in the United States requires medical attention of $37,000 and this can be significantly higher for serious injuries. The cost does not factor in lost wages, suffering, and rehabilitation costs. This guide will focus on how HO-3 and other homeowners insurance works in regards to lawn mower injuries.
Does homeowners insurance cover lawn mower accidents? No, homeowners insurance does not cover medical bills for lawn mower accidents. The only exception is if the accident causes damage to the home or a third party worker is injured in which case you would be covered by liability insurance. The lawnmower is considered personal property and repairs are covered under the personal property clause. Other medical bills have to be picked up by health insurance. If a worker or a passerby was injured in the accident, you may be entitled to liability insurance up to your policy limit. Liability insurance will be allocated on their medical expenses and your legal fees.
Dangers Of Lawn Mowing
Lawn mowing is a dangerous activity that hospitalizes over 80,000 people in the United States each year. Most of these injuries are not serious and are resolved promptly. However, nearly 1,500 injuries a year require hospitalization. On average, we record 100 fatalities each year from lawn mower accidents in the United States. According to these statistics, lawnmower accidents account for 2% of all hospitalizations in the nation. There are many ways a person can be injured from a lawnmower. The following are the most common causes of injury:
- Projected debris. Debris can become airborne and depart from the ground, as a result of spinning mower blades.
- Blade cuts. Mower blades and sharp and constantly spinning, meaning they can cause significant damage if a person comes in contact with them. Fingers and toes are easily cut by the lawnmower blades.
- Flying objects. Objects such as rocks can be projected at 100 mph and hit by standards or damage property.
A Lawn Mower Is Personal Property
The lawnmower is considered personal property, similar to electronics and appliances in the home. The insurance company insures all items on your property up to a certain limit such as $1,000-1,500 per item which means you may be entitled to a replacement. If you can fix the lawnmower, home insurance will also cover the repair costs. Regardless of whether the lawnmower was used on your property or public property such as the sidewalk, you are entitled to repair costs.
Even if a worker damaged the lawnmower and it was their fault, your HO-3 insurance would cover it. Homeowners insurance will also cover damage to the home caused by the lawnmower. For instance, if a lawnmower comes across a rock and the rock ends up cracking a window in your home, you can file a claim for property damage with the insurance company. The main thing homeowners insurance does not cover are medical bills associated with the accident.
Other People Injuring Themselves At Your Property
If other people are injured by lawn mowers on your property, homeowners insurance will rarely be able to cover their medical bills to the full extent. If a family member or a worker is injured while mowing the lawn, you can file a claim for liability insurance to cover their medical bills. Each HO-3 plan has a certain liability insurance limit that is used for other people’s injuries on your property.
Liability insurance does NOT have high coverage on homeowners plans and many times it’s insufficient to cover the full medical costs. This form of insurance can also be used for legal costs if you’re sued by a worker. This is why you should increase the limits on your liability insurance in advance.
Children tend to mow the lawn often and more than 9,400 are hospitalized each year for lawn mower injuries. Nearly 7% of those injuries are serious and end up in hospitalization for the child. This means lawnmower accidents have a higher hospitalization rate than other consumer product injuries. Injuries are also common for landscaping company staff and most of these injuries end up costing tens of thousands of dollars. In most cases, liability insurance claims also require evidence that the owner of the plan was negligible in the accident. You’ll have to prove you didn’t know the lawnmower could malfunction and lead to an accident.
Here’s how negligence works in liability insurance claims: If you have a friend come over to mow your lawn and injure themselves, they can file using your liability insurance to pay for their medical bills. If you knew in advance that your lawnmower was prone to malfunctioning, but you didn’t notify your friend, you were negligent in the situation. This means that you won’t be eligible to file for liability insurance.
The same happens when you hire a landscaping company that is aware one of their lawnmowers could malfunction. You have to get proof they knew their lawnmowers were fully operational before you break out the liability insurance piggy bank.
How To Secure Your Home From Lawn Mower Accidents
There are few ways to secure your home from lawnmower accidents and reduce the odds of having to fill out a health insurance claim related to lawnmowers:
- Clear the objects. Remove all potential objects that could fly off when it comes in contact with your lawnmower. Inspect your lawn to make sure there are no toys or rocks present. Make sure you don’t mow with the blade rotating if you’re near the driveway or sidewalk because this can pick up on loose rocks.
- Stop the spinning blades. You should always check if you can stop the mower from spinning very fast. Make sure to check if the blade-stopping feature on your mower is operational. This can cause a serious injury and you should get the mower repaired before you mow the lawn again.
- Set age limits when mowing. If you have small children around, make sure they stay inside the home while you’re mowing. All children under 14 should be kept away from the area while you’re mowing.. Remove pets as well because they can come in contact with the mower.
The benefit of holding a homeowners insurance policy is feeling safe in an unforeseen and unfortunate event. People live busy lives. People work, care for their families, and enjoy the free time when possible. When an unfortunate event takes place on your property, such as a lawn mower accident, filing a claim with the insurance company may be possible. Though this can be somewhat time-consuming, it is often well worth it. Though your agent may take you through several steps in the filing process, the first step is to pick up the phone and call. However, wouldn’t it be nice to know whether the event is covered by your homeowners policy?
Most of the time, the easiest way to discover this is to check the paper document or digital copy your agent may have provided to you. If you do not have this document or misplaced it, then searching for policy coverage possibilities can certainly be helpful. Keep in mind policies can differ, therefore only your agent can ultimately provide you with the final answer of whether your homeowners policy will cover the event.
In all honesty, however, most of the time, damage to your lawn mower will be covered, but only after the deductible of your insurance policy. While this is good for the lawn mower damage, there are more things to think about. Medical expenses of yourself, others, or damage to your or another’s property are other factors to consider.
Lawn Mower Policy Examples
Here are a few examples of policies from some of the most common insurance companies. Remember, even if the policy states coverage, that amount can vary. Also, keep in mind this coverage could change by the time you read the following information. The best way to assure coverage is to call your agent.
Farm Bureau
A lawn mower is considered personal property. The damage is covered if you have umbrella insurance as well, any liability policies also cover medical expenses of those on your property, or damage to someone else’s property. Damage on your own property would be covered though it would not fall under liability insurance.
USAA
Will cover expenses related to accidents where others were injured as stated in their liability policy. This includes medical expenses, and legal fees if necessary.
Allstate
Allstate will cover the costs of expenses based on the terms agreed upon in the liability policy. The lawn mower may also be included, but speaking with your agent will help determine if the insurance can be derived from the amount of insurance you have on your home.
Nationwide
This insurance company will cover personal liability of you or anyone in the accident. It also has a pretty good chance of covering damages to your lawnmower, though it depends on your policy.
Things to Consider
There are some interesting things to consider when it comes to determining whether your homeowners insurance covers lawn mower accidents. While a lawn mower is considered a personal property item, this may likely be covered, but checking with your agent is the best way to determine whether your policy covers damage. Liability insurance would cover medical expenses of someone else or damage to another person’s property. Your own medical expenses will probably not be covered, though damage to your property may be covered. This would also be covered under the liability policy on your homeowners insurance policy.
Conclusion
Knowing what is covered under your homeowners insurance policy can sometimes be confusing. Little things crop up and finding a category isn’t always painted black and white. Lawn mower accidents are certainly a questionable area when it comes to what is covered. Though remember, when it doubt, it’s best to call your agent.
