If you are sued for the injury you cause when you use your gun to defend yourself, your family, or your property, are you covered by your homeowners insurance? The answer to this question may depend on which insurance company you chose to insure your home.

If you are a gun owner, or someone willing to use reasonable force to protect themselves, it is important for you to shop your homeowners insurance with all the leading insurance companies, to find the insurance company with the broadest coverage in this situation.

Homeowners insurance policies exclude liability for intentional acts, even if the resulting injury was not intended.

For example, if you get in an argument with another shopper over a sales item, the other shopper moves to try to take the sales item out of your hand, you shove the other shopper away from you, and the other shopper falls and injures their head.

Although you did not intend the other shopper to fall and injure their head, you intentionally shoved them, so your homeowners insurance will no cover you if the other shopper sues you for their head injury.

Note this is different from an act where the contact with the other person is accidental.

For example, if you are playing golf, and accidentally hit another person on the golf course with your golf ball, your homeowners insurance policy covers you if you are sued for the injury, because the intentional act was hitting your golf ball in playing a game of golf.

However, you would not be covered by your homeowners insurance if you intentionally hit your golf ball at a person, whether you were aiming to hit the person or not.

The reason for the exclusion of intentional acts should be obvious. Insurance companies, and society in general, does not want to encourage anti-social behavior and physical violence by covering the cost of these lawsuits. Our society has enough problems with violence, without making it worse by insuring away the financial impact of civil lawsuits in these situations.

Wouldn’t you be more willing to punch your soon-to-be-ex spouse’s new significant other in the face, for ruining your relationship, if you knew your homeowners insurance would pick up the bill, for the cost of legal defense and settlement, if they sue you for hitting them? Hopefully not, but you may be surprised how many people would.

All homeowners insurance policies exclude liability for intentional acts, but some insurance companies have an exception for intentional acts using reasonable force in the defense of your home or person.

If you own a firearm, or have a family member who is a self-defense enthusiast, it is a must for you to find a homeowners insurance or renters insurance company with this exception, and a good complaint record.

Insurance companies pay claims, but they don’t pay any claims they don’t have to pay.

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If your use of force was excessive, no insurance company would cover the claim. But situations in the real world are not always clear cut, and you may have to sue your own insurance company to get a claim covered.

Insuring with an insurance company covering home & self defense, and  having a good complaint record, reduces the chance you will have a problem with a claim. Go to my website to get the information you need.

Insurance agents for some insurance companies may be unaware of this issue, or tell you not to worry about it, because of the laws of your state and court cases ruling in favor of home defense as not being an intentional act.

Some states, like Texas, supposedly prohibit someone breaking into your home from suing you in civil court if you injure them (I’m not a lawyer, so verify this with a lawyer licensed in Texas).

You can’t depend on the law to keep you from being sued, since the situation may mean the law will not apply, and the law can be reinterpreted or found unconstitutional — maybe on the basis of your lawsuit!

No one loves a burglar, but what if an innocent party is injured? Maybe someone walking their dog by your home is hit by a stray shot while you are defending your home?

The huge cost of having to pay for your own legal defense, and any settlement, for something like a wrongful death lawsuit, is too expensive for you to take a chance, by not choosing the homeowners insurance company with the broadest coverage and fewest complaints. You are most likely to never need the coverage, but not having it, if you do need it, can bankrupt you.

You can use my website to find out complaint information about insurance companies, but where can you find insurance companies specifically covering home defense in their homeowners insurance policies?

First off, ask the insurance company insuring your home now about liability for the use of your gun. If they say you are covered, have them show you where it is written in the policy and provide you with a copy. You may want to have a lawyer review it.

If your homeowners insurance policy does not have a self/home defense exception to the intentional acts exclusion, shop for one that does. Independent agents, representing several insurance companies, are usually most knowledgeable about the difference in each insurance company’s homeowners insurance policy.

You don’t get a copy of the homeowners insurance policy until after you buy it, so get the advice of a few agents, and work with agents willing to prove to you in writing what their homeowners insurance covers. Don’t take any agent’s word alone on this issue, because what an agent told you will not be able to be proved, if your claim is denied.

Do you own firearms? How do you insure them? Tell me about it. Please leave a comment on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new blog entries at CarInsWatch.