Home » What is Property Damage Liability and Who is Responsible?

What is Property Damage Liability and Who is Responsible?

Posted by Rick Charney on Oct 1, 2018

The term property damage liability is batted around a lot in the insurance industry, but what exactly is it? Put simply, if you are the cause of an accident, whether you hit a gate, a building or another vehicle, your property damage liability coverage will pay for it. Additionally, it will cover legal costs if you are sued as a result of the damage. Sounds simple, right? If you are a property owner or manager whose premises gets damaged, it can sometimes be difficult to determine who is responsible.

Remote video monitoring can help you prove liability. During monitoring hours, a trained video surveillance operator can watch apartment complexes, parking garages, office buildings or any other type of commercial property in real-time to spot any unusual activity. If an incident takes place during non-monitoring hours, the recorded footage can be analyzed by a video review team and used as evidence in property damage liability cases.

Our video review team found the following surveillance video which clearly shows who was involved in damaging a retail window. The faces have been blurred.

Car dealers may also benefit from video review for property damage liability claims. In a previous blog, we wrote about false claims at auto dealerships. It is not unusual for a customer to claim the car dealership damaged his car while it was in for service. Without proof, the dealership would typically pay for the repairs and would likely lose the customer. However, with remote video surveillance, cameras can be placed in service lanes and repair bays to document cars before they go into the shop.

Parking garages are often trouble spots for property damage liability cases. In a previous ‘Catch of the Month’, we compiled a variety of incidents that occurred in garages and other parking structures. Click the video below to see the compilation.