Can Home protection insurance cover a fallen Teletubby?

A child accidentally brushed against a large Teletubby in a toy shop, causing the figure to fall over and shatter. The parents paid more than HK$30,000 in compensation on the spot. However, after reviewing the footage, they discovered that their son had not kicked the figure over, but had merely brushed against it lightly, causing it to topple. The toy shop eventually apologised and refunded the amount.

We can consider a few scenarios to explore whether insurance can provide protection by transferring risk for shops and consumers. If the business had purchased property insurance for the shop, it should be able to make a claim against the insurer even if a customer damaged expensive products.

As an extreme example, suppose the customer really did damage the shop’s property through their own negligence. If they had taken out Home protection insurance, and that HomeCare Insurance provided them and their family with “global personal third-party liability cover”, including cover for property damage outside the home, the compensation payable for damaging the “Teletubbies” could be transferred to the insurer.

Taking AIG萬家寶Plus - 加強版綜合Home protection insurance as an example, its terms specify that it will provide the insured and their family with “legal liability cover”, including legal liability incurred worldwide (including the United States/Canada) as a result of personal negligence causing bodily injury to a third party or damage to their property, subject to Hong Kong law, with a maximum compensation of HK$1,000,000.

OneDegreeHome protection insurance also covers compensation payable by the insured and their family for bodily injury caused to a third party or accidental damage to property belonging to a third party, with the relevant amount ranging from HK$10,000,000 to HK$15,000,000. This is subject to the incident occurring in Hong Kong, or the insured bearing legal liability not having stayed continuously in another country or region for 30 days, and a court with jurisdiction having determined that they are legally liable to pay the amount.

FWDFWDHomeCare Insurance likewise states that if the insured or a family member causes bodily injury to another person or damage to their property through negligence, and is legally liable to pay monetary compensation, the relevant proceedings must also be handled by a Hong Kong court, with a maximum compensation of HK$5,000,000.

In addition, ZurichZurich保險HomeChoice Insurnace Plan – 住戶保險 provides the insured and household members with legal liability cover of up to HK$10,000,000, including personal worldwide liability, and not merely liability as an owner, occupier, pet owner or tenant, as well as an owner's liability in respect of common areas.

However, it is worth noting that not all Home protection insurance products provide compensation for personal legal liability outside the home. Therefore, policyholders who wish to obtain such cover should pay attention to the terms of the insurance product. We will also provide a comprehensive comparison of the relevant terms of Home protection insurance in due course.

In fact, it is not easy for an insured person to make a claim under liability insurance. The process can be complicated, so it is advisable to note and follow the following 7 points or steps to ensure a smoother claims process:

• Check whether your policy covers the relevant claim, the maximum amount payable and whether an excess applies.
• Do not negotiate with any third party or admit liability to any third party.
• If property damage is involved, report the matter to the police.
• Contact the insurance company and provide the police reference number so that it can investigate and determine the amount of compensation payable.
• Do not discard any damaged items, as the insurance company may need to inspect them when processing the claim as part of the claims procedure.
• Submit the completed claim form and relevant documents within the specified number of days from the date of the incident.
• If the matter ultimately involves legal proceedings, and the business sues the insured person and wins the case, the relevant compensation should be covered by the insurance company.

Finally, although Home protection insurance is nominally intended to protect the home, its actual scope of cover extends beyond the home and is more akin to personal property insurance. Consumers who wish to enquire about the details of the cover provided by HomeCare Insurance should seek professional advice from an insurance company agent or broker, or contact the insurance company directly.

Note: This article was last updated on 24 May 2022

This English version of this article has been generated by machine translation powered by AI. It is provided solely for reference purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between this translation and the original Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.