Should I contact my insurance company if someone falls and breaks a bone?

One of the primary purposes of homeowners insurance, including condo and renters insurance is to pay for injuries that other people may suffer as a result of you or your property. If the person should later decide to pursue legal avenues as well, the same portion of your home policy will cover representation in court and any resulting penalties.

The injuries could result from your property, such as someone tripping over a loose flagstone, or they may be caused by you, such as accidentally cutting a visitor when you turned around with a sharp object in hand and didn't know they were standing behind you. In both cases, your first step is to perform any emergency first aid that is required to minimize the injury or suffering, and then get emergency services involved if it is necessary. Once the injury is being tended to, contact your insurance company and let them know what has happened. If a police report was written because of the incident, be sure to get a copy for the insurance company.

Even if you are not held responsible for the break immediately, it is a good idea to notify your insurance company anyway. Many times, the full extent of an injury is not identified until hours or even days after the event, so the need for medical attention may arise after you have put the event out of your mind. If you attempt to file a claim for injuries many days after they were caused, the insurance company may deny the claim, or perform a more thorough investigation into the situation.

Because it is the insurance company which will usually face large bills and possible litigation against you, they deserve to be notified of anything which may come back to be a claim against you later. It does not matter if you thin k the situation is taken care of, or even if it actually is handled outside of the insurance policy, notifying the insurance company gives them the opportunity to prepare for possible claims.