Neighbor Slipped On Your Icy Driveway? What to Know About Milwaukee, WI Home Insurance

In Milwaukee, WI, snow and ice are a natural part of life. In fact, the inevitability of snow is so understood that there are several key ordinances on the city’s books when it comes to how residents should approach snow and ice that gathers on the sidewalks and hydrants in front of their home. To understand the answer to whether a Dern & Company home insurance policy will reimburse your neighbor if they slip and fall on your property, it’s first important to understand these ordinances.

Keeping Your Property Snow-free

Milwaukee Wi ordinances dictate that all homeowners must clear the sidewalks abutting their property, including any corner crosswalk areas, of snow and ice within 24 hours of when snow stopped falling. Getting caught with a driveway full of snow and ice can result in fins.

But it can also go much further than fines! When it comes to injuries to others like slip and fall injuries, your home insurance policy will likely be separated into two types of injury coverage:

  • Medical pay coverage which will cover all medical bills up to a certain limit but no extraneous costs like pain and suffering and
  • Liability coverage which protects you from a lawsuit that might arise from the injury.

Most policies will pay for guests’ direct medical payments (up to coverage limits) in any type of slip and fall accident. But in order to be approved for liability coverage, you must have shown that you did everything reasonably you could to protect others from injury on your property. In terms of slipping on snow and ice, you must have followed the ordinance and cleared driveway, sidewalks, and other pavement within 24 hours.

Contact Dern & Company to Learn More

To update your home insurance policy, contact our team today.