We’ve talked quite a bit about asset protection lately: Why Floridians Need Asset Protection Planning; September’s Crazy Lawsuits; Asset Protection for Physicians – Discussion and Dinner. It seems that no matter how much asset protection may be emphasized, no one believes they are at risk of being sued if they don’t own a business or aren’t rendering services as a physician. Most people move about their daily lives without concern about many potential sources of personal liability.
Now there is a way to gauge your exposure to ordinary, every day risks. ACE Private Risk Services has developed a little quiz that can help you understand the potential risk of a lawsuit faced by people in the private lives, as opposed to business owners and professionals. ACE calls it a “Personal Liabilty Scorecard.”
The Personal Liability Scorecard is designed to give you an idea of just how much risk you have for being sued for non-business related activities of life – such as driving a car, having parties at home, driving your boat, having teenagers, etc. It takes just a couple minutes to take the quiz, I encourage you to do so. You may be surprised by just how at risk for a lawsuit you may be.
If you score high, you may want to visit with your insurance agent to discuss obtaining a new, or increased, personal liability umbrella policy to provide some protection from the potential for a lawsuit. Juries in today’s world like to award judgments in the millions. A $1 or $2 million umbrella liability policy is no longer sufficient for most people.
If you own a business or are engaged in a profession – especially a high risk one such as a physician or engineer or architect – you may want to go further than just purchasing an umbrella liability polciy, and engage in some serious asset protection planning. Such planning works best when it is done before potential problems arise.
Let us know what you think about the Personal Liability Scorecard.
Copyright 2008-2014 – The Coleman Law Firm, PLLC
