Lawsuit against an individual

[sstill]

MIchigan: when you sue an individual for "defamation of character" will insurance they have for home, auto or health etc... cover compensation if the case is proven or do you only have the right to the persons' personal assets and future earnings?

 

[ALawyer]

While there are a series of different policy forms in use, some homeowners or an umbrella policies could cover the cost to the defendant of defending of such charges. The policies generally exclude liability for intentionally harmful actions on the part of the insured. They never cover punitive damages.

And let's get you to face facts. Unless you have clearly suffered major financial losses as a result of the defamation, and can prove those losses, your case is a loser. No lawyer worth his or her salt would take on a private client on a contingency basis with the expectation of getting a large recovery. For you to bring the case likely will caost $25,000 or more in legal fees thru trial. Anytime someone talks about defamation lawyers and insurance companies laugh. Easy to claim. Hard to prove. Harder still to show damages. Almost impossible to collect.

 

[Donna32669]

HO Coverage

Hi, true intentional acts are excluded by the HO policy...at least all that I have read in Florida. However, some do include Personal
Injury liability, for an extra charge. It is not an automatic coverage, and often not elected unless it is an underlying requirement for an excess liability (Umbrella) policy; or the rare instance of an insured wanting to protect themselves against as much as possible. Hope this is helpful. You won't be able to find this out until you file a lawsuit , since I don't think the individual or their insurer will be forthcoming about the limits or coverages available, unless you follow the "procedures". Hope this helps, and I truly hope you suffered no real damages. It will all pass in time anyway!

P.S. The form # in Florida is FHO-82, this is an ISO form and may be standard in the industry.