Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns CC Insurance?

What CC insurance do you use? I don't plan on having to need it but it would be good to have --- similar to having car insurance but don't plan on using it either.

Should be covered under an umbrella liability policy.
Get a big one, they are actually cheap.
Then drop your auto liability to the legal minimum.

A friend carries a $1million umbrella since his job requires it on his car.
Switching to umbrella from auto saved money, and expanded coverage.
Win, win.

Not all insurance companies will structure a standard umbrella policy to cover you if involved in a shooting and even then there may be stipulations. One would need to talk to their insurance agent and hope the agent is knowledgable and sympathetic to your wants. It took me three agents to find one that had some idea of what I was talking about and would scour the company's plans to find something workable. I might have found a plan quicker if I changed insurance companies but my experience with that company was good and I didn't want to take a chance on a different company.

If all else fails, there is the group Hannity pushes on his shows. I can't recall the name off hand but it might be worth a look if you have no success with your current company.

I think he pushes USCCA. Has has some real positives to it.

Have you talked to your Insurance agent and ask about this?? I have a $1 million umbrella but
I don't believe either of those would be covered but I may ask.

Yes, it is something that needs to be discussed with your agent.

We got started on that route when my wife was required to carry a liability policy for work. Discussion with our agent turned up that we could drop the liability deductible on our vehicles and house. He also told us the policy would cover me for work related issues but he was corrected on that by the home office.

That got us looking around and we found a company that covered both of us for work and injury to others if the action was not in the commission of a crime initiated by ourselves. The policy also covers our vehicles and both home and cabin. The mortgage company required liability to be part of the coverage until the loan is paid off. The cabin was a different company and they allowed the umbrella to cover the cabin. What we saved on the cars and cabin pays the majority of the cost. Plus, the liability umbrella is a larger amount than was covered on the vehicles and homes.

It would pay to have a discussion with your agent to determine just what is covered and what is not. Have it run through the home office to verify the agent is correct and that you would have a written copy's taking what the coverage is. It would be a bad thing to discover that you were not covered for something you thought otherwise.

I have Texas Law Shield. Provides lawyers in case you are involved in a shooting. I hope I never need it. But I’m a Boy Scout. Hasbeen

I was a lawyer for 19 years. I have been a judge for the last 3 years. I have read the terms and conditions of a couple of those "I shot somebody" policies. In my opinion, the policies are a joke.

Many of the companies won't let you pick your own lawyer, and/or they don't pay anything if you take any kind of a deal (which means if you spend 2 years and $75,000 fighting a murder charge and the prosecutor decides to give up and offers you Disorderly Conduct and no jail, you can't take the deal if you want your policy to cover your legal fees). I haven't reviewed all the companies, so there may be something worthwhile out there, but I'd suggest you take the proposed policy to a lawyer you trust and have him review it. That might cost you a couple hundred dollars, but that's nothing in terms of what's at stake.

Good luck!

As Wader said most of these policies are tailored to a popular theme or market but lack much coverage depth. I have been involved with underwriters and liability court cases for over thirty years and honestly never heard of a company that didn't demand their legal team on the case from soup to nuts. Once the claim is assigned the call goes to legal and they show up and control every element if the loss is covered.

These law firms usually log more hours for insurance companies than any other client so they are tuned to controlling and mitigating the loss for their principals which the insured/you are not. Once they are on the claim you will lose almost all control of the case direction and outcome. You may be innocent or not liable but if it's going to cost the company 1.5 million to try in court or settle out of court for 250K they will take the later almost every time and you will never get your day in court

Be careful

I think some are confusing the criminal side of this issue with the civil. Liability is the civil side and determines who pays if you lose the case. My umbrella policy will cover judgements up to the specified amounts if I lose the civil case. The insurance company may provide attorneys but I can hire my own too if I so desire. They will not assist me in the paying of a criminal defense attorney as that is outside the scope of a liability policy.

First rule is to never accept and definitely do not trust any lawyer that you are not paying out of your own pocket. The attorneys hired by your insurance company are there to lessen any payout by the company and they will hang you out to dry if it means they save their employer any money. If there is any legal issue, hire your own attorney as they are the one most likely to look out for your interest. Do your talking to anyone involved through him and definitely do not talk to the insurance companies lawyers without going through him. I would trust the prosecuting attorney further than those representing the insurance company. The same goes for any other incident where someone else provides you with an attorney, don't trust them and get your own.

Insurance companies are very clear that their liability policies are void if you are tried and convicted or pled guilty to an illegal act so that isn't much of a concern. Liability covers the civil side of the law, not criminal. If I lose the criminal side there really isn't anything to get from a civil suit as all would likely have been spent on my defense. If there are any policies that protect you even if convicted of a crime I would like to know of them.

As for getting my day in court, I couldn't careless if the insurance company pays out $250,000 to settle rather than $1.5 million to "win". The object of liability insurance is to keep someone from taking my assets and whether through a lawsuit or settlement, if I haven't had to pay out of pocket my goals were met.

Second Call Defense for me


Mike