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Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
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Personal liability coverage is a key part of any homeowners, condo, and renters insurance policy. It falls under Coverage E and helps protect you if you’re responsible for injuring someone or causing property damage.[1]
Personal liability insurance can pay for medical bills, property damage, and legal fees. For example, if a neighbor slips on your icy driveway and breaks an arm, your personal liability coverage pays for their medical expenses and protects you if they file a lawsuit.
Here’s what you should know about how personal liability coverage works, what it does and doesn’t cover, typical policy limits, and how to decide if you need additional protection through an umbrella policy.
Personal liability coverage limits start at $100,000, but experts recommend buying more.
Coverage applies even for incidents that occur away from your home.[2]
If a claim exceeds your policy limits, you’re responsible for paying the difference.
Personal liability home insurance is financial protection against damages or injuries you cause. It covers:
Bodily injury: If a delivery person trips on a broken stair on your property and tears a ligament, liability coverage can help pay for their medical expenses and lost wages.
Property damage: When you or a family member accidentally damages someone else’s property — such as a teen kicking up a rock while mowing the lawn and denting a neighbor’s car — your homeowners liability can help pay for repairs.
Legal fees: Your coverage pays to defend you in court if someone sues you for a covered claim. This includes attorney fees, court costs, judgments, and related legal expenses.
Medical bills: Medical payments coverage is a separate part of home insurance that pays for small medical bills regardless of fault. But liability coverage applies to larger injury claims when you’re negligent.[2]
Personal liability coverage isn’t limited to your property. If your child accidentally breaks a neighbor’s window or your dog bites someone at the park, this coverage can still apply.
Standard policies typically come with $100,000–$500,000 in liability coverage, but you can increase the amount if you need more protection.[3]
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Personal liability coverage protects you when accidents happen, but it has specific limits you should be aware of. Not every incident or accident triggers coverage, and standard policies have exclusions.
Here’s what personal liability insurance typically doesn’t cover:
Intentional acts: Liability coverage is for accidents and negligence, not deliberate harm. If you intentionally damage someone’s property or hurt another person, your coverage won’t apply.
Business activities: Standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover business-related incidents. If you run a business from home or have clients visiting your property for work purposes, you’ll need separate business liability coverage.
Car accidents: Coverage for auto accidents falls under your auto insurance policy, not your home insurance policy.
Property damage to your home: Liability coverage pays to repair damage to other people’s property, not yours. The dwelling coverage portion of your homeowners policy covers damage to your home’s structure after a covered loss.
Injuries to people who live in the home: Liability insurance typically excludes household members and residents. If a member of your household is injured in your home, your liability coverage generally won’t apply.
The amount of liability coverage you need depends on what you own and how much you could be at risk in a lawsuit. Even cheap home insurance policies come with at least $100,000 in coverage, but the average homeowner should consider increasing that limit to $300,000 or $500,000.
If you have substantial assets, you’ll need higher liability limits to protect them. Many high-net-worth homeowners purchase an additional $1 million or more in coverage.
You’ll also want to consider raising your liability limits or buying additional coverage if you own a swimming pool, a trampoline, or a dog, since each increases your risk.
Review your liability policy each year and revisit it whenever your situation changes, such as if you buy expensive property, get a dog, install a pool, or go through other life changes that affect your level of exposure. Contact your insurance agent if you’re not sure what coverage amount you need.
An umbrella policy offers extra liability coverage that kicks in when the liability portion of your home insurance is maxed out. It makes sense if you have a lot to protect, own a rental property, have a pool, or have a pet.
Umbrella insurance costs between $200 and $600 per year for $1 million in coverage, and you can buy a policy from the same company that provides your home insurance.
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Personal liability and medical payments coverage are two separate components of your homeowners policy. Each serves a different purpose.
Personal liability coverage pays when you’re responsible for injuring someone or causing property damage. It covers medical expenses, repair costs, lawyer fees, court costs, and settlements or court-ordered payments, but it applies only when someone proves you were at fault.
Medical payments coverage pays for minor injuries to guests, regardless of fault. For instance, if someone trips on a rug in your house and sprains an ankle, it can help cover their emergency room bill up to your policy limits without requiring a lawsuit.
Coverage Type  | Purpose | Typical Limit | Pays Regardless of Fault? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal liability | Pays legal costs and damages when you’re legally liable for injury or property damage | $100,000–$500,000 | No |
| Medical payments | Pays small medical bills for guest injuries on your property, no fault required | $1,000–$5,000 | Yes |
You might need to file a personal liability claim if someone threatens legal action for injuries or property damage. Here’s what to do if this happens:
Report the incident as soon as possible, even if you’re not sure a claim will happen.
Take photos, gather witness statements, and keep records of all communication.
Provide details about what happened, including dates, locations, and supporting documentation.
Answer questions honestly and provide any additional information requested.
Don’t admit fault or try to settle directly. Your insurance company manages all communication with the other party and their lawyers.
Your adjuster will guide you through the process and keep you updated. It’s important to remember that if damages exceed your policy limits, you must pay for the difference out of pocket.
For additional information about personal liability home insurance, see the answers to frequently asked questions below.
Personal liability home insurance is included in homeowners insurance and isn’t a separate bill. A typical homeowners insurance policy averages $217 per month for $300,000 in dwelling coverage and $331 per month for $500,000 in dwelling coverage. Your homeowners insurance price, including personal liability insurance, depends on your coverage limits, location, and other factors.
Yes. Personal liability home insurance typically covers dog bites. If a claim goes over your policy limits, you pay the difference. Some insurers don’t cover certain dog breeds, so tell your insurer about your pet up front.
No. Personal liability insurance is part of your homeowners or renters policy. An umbrella policy is a separate policy that provides additional protection above your home insurance liability limits.
An example of a personal liability claim is when a neighbor slips and falls on your unshoveled sidewalk, breaks their wrist, and sues for damages. Other examples include your dog biting a passerby or your child throwing a baseball through a neighbor’s window.
No. Personal liability home insurance isn’t a legal requirement. But mortgage lenders require you to have homeowners insurance, which includes liability protection, as long as you have a loan.
It depends on how your policy defines who’s covered and what exclusions apply, but personal liability insurance generally covers family members who live in your household.
Insurify data scientists analyzed rates from more than 180 home insurance companies sourced directly from Insurify’s partner companies and Quadrant Information Services. Rates span all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and quote averages represent the mean price for a given coverage level and geographic area. To ensure data reliability, only insurers meeting minimum quote thresholds were included in the analysis.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for homeowners with no prior claims and good credit with a home construction year of 1980. The default coverage assumptions include:
Default Coverage Assumptions
Additional data points beyond these default values are sourced from Insurify’s proprietary database. Rates are updated monthly.
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3+ years writing about auto, home, and life insurance
7+ years in personal finance and technology
Featured in
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 21630969
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing experience
NPN: 20461358
Featured in
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