Liberty Mutual: Most Parents Lack Extra Coverage For Play Dates

Most parents lack umbrella liability insurance for everyday routines such as carpooling and hosting other children in their homes, Liberty Mutual determined in a new survey.

The auto and home insurer found in an online survey of 1,000 parents with children ages five to 12 that about one-third who had auto insurance, and close to half with home or renters insurance don’t know their liability coverage if someone gets injured in their vehicle or home.

Just 12 percent of parents responding had an umbrella policy that provided liability coverage beyond their basic home and auto policies, Liberty Mutual said.

Those numbers contrast with the 83 percent of responding parents who said they drive or host other children in their homes, Liberty Mutual noted.

“Many parents may not realize that everyday activities, like carpooling and play dates, may require a closer look at their coverage and where they may be vulnerable,” Ty Harris, executive vice president and chief product officer, said in a prepared statement.

Here are some of the major findings from the survey:

• About 32 percent of respondents said they don’t enforce basic home safety rules.
• Close to 80 percent said they have been guilty of talking on the phone, speeding or other distracted behaviors while driving other children.
• As many as half or more of responding parents said they don’t properly lock up or fence in things such as poisonous chemicals, prescription medication or a pool/hot tub.
• 31 percent of responding parents said they don’t know about any allergies of the children they care for.
• Out of parents who drive other children around, 20 percent said they do not have property car seats for every child in the vehicle.

Liberty Mutual had ORC International conduct the survey, which came in with a 95 percent confidence interval and a margin of error of plus- or minus- 2.94 percent.

Source: Liberty Mutual Insurance