What is Personal Liability in Travel Insurance?
Travelling is an experience that most of us crave for. There is no lack of motivation to travel, but let us also be aware of the possibilities of unfortunate events surfacing during our trip. A travel insurance policy will compensate monetarily for damages incurred. More importantly, if you unintentionally cause damage to a third party or his/her property, a robust travel insurance policy will extend its coverage to such instances as well.

Understanding Personal Liability
When a third party accuses you of being the cause for certain losses or damages to them, you are bound by personal liability. If you believe that your actions are not a direct cause of their losses, you may look to free yourself of this personal liability by solving matters formally. Personal liability can occur anywhere because accidents happen all around us. If such a situation arises during your trip, and you have bought an appropriate travel insurance policy, your worries get reduced significantly.

Personal Liability during Travel
A third party's accusation, especially during your international travel, that you caused damages to them can unsettle you. You may not be aware of the laws pertaining to that particular country, and with legal manipulations, you could end up in a lot of debt, or worse, in formal custody. Which is why having a comprehensive travel insurance policy with personal liability provisions is of utmost importance. Through your personal liability travel insurance, it will become easier to mitigate the implications of personal liability charges. Your travel insurance provider will act as your representative in all the matters with the third party which could come as a relief to you.

Mechanics BehindPersonal Liability Travel Insurance

Adding the personal liability provision to your travel insurance policy is, however, not enough. You need to be well aware of the steps that you must undertake if such an accident happens during your travel.

Step 1: If a third party has made a claim against you, you need to be sure that it is an invalid claim and not a result of an intentional action done by you. If you have caused damage to a third party or their property intentionally, then the latter’s claim against you stands justified. Hence, the first step is to ensure that the third party’s claim is invalid and you are innocent.

Step 2: Contact your travel insurance provider at the first instance. You could be asked to provide some documentation and information relating to the incident to the insurance company.

Step 3: Once your travel insurance provider is satisfied with your provided information, you must allow them to conduct the formal proceedings with the third party, as your representative.

Step 4: Your travel insurance provider has the obligation to compensate you for any third-party charges. They may look to settle the matters outside formal proceedings, through mutual agreement. You must support and assist your insurance provider at every step as they are looking out for your benefit.

Step 5: If the third party is satisfied with out-of-court settlements and an amount has been agreed to be paid by your insurance company, it will be provided without you spending a single penny. However, if you decide to still take the matters through the legal route, any additional expenses that may arise will not be compensated by the travel insurance company. The onus will lie with you, and only you.

Conclusion
A personal liability coverage is an essential facility provided by a travel insurance policy. However, you must be careful that it will only help you if the third-party’s claim against you is invalid and you have not intentionally caused any damage.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.