Why You Need Hunting Insurance
As all experienced hunters now, you need to be ready for accidents and aside from your first aid kit, your best tool to protect yourself and your partners on private land is hunting insurance.
If you're new to the world of hunting but have grown tired of public grounds and their restrictions, you've probably heard of hunting leases and it's easy to see why they're so attractive: imagine access to vast stretches of land, teeming with game and without the usual downsides of overcrowding and low bag limits. That being said, some limits are usually a part of most hunting lease agreements but they're usually higher than public ones; make sure to discuss this with the landowner while looking over your agreement.
Although the details may vary according to your location, when hunting on public grounds with your license up-to-date your hunting insurance is already taken care of so the details tend to be overlooked, but hunting on private land is not quite so straightforward. To ensure that you and the members of your party are properly covered you need to learn the basics about hunting insurance so that you'll be ready when the time comes to sign your lease agreement.
When looking for a potential lease, you need to look beyond the landscape and into the fine print to make sure the landowner has adequate hunting lease insurance and coverage, which protects both you and him in case of any unforeseen consequences.
A great hunting land lease insurance policy will include:
These legal terms may seem overwhelming but actually they're all critical to ensure that both hunters and landowners are as well protected as possible. In the hunter's case, the dangers seem obvious, but even landowners face some risk when they enter into a hunting lease agreement, their property could be damaged over time if they permit the use of vehicles, campfires could result in fires, members of their family could be injured and if uninsured, they'd leave themselves open to liability from their guests.
Now that you understand the importance of hunting insurance, let's look into some of these legal terms so you'll be on the lookout when signing your next lease.
First of all, member to member coverage or cross-member liability refers to accidents that result directly from the actions of other hunters, whether they're members of your own party or simply other people who have signed leases for the same land, which is something common since owners naturally seek to maximize their own profit.
The next clauses, guest liability coverage and damage to premises rented basically cover hunters and landowners respectively in the case of property damage. Experienced hunters are renown for being careful not to damage the land they hunt on, but sometimes the unexpected occurs and every landowner surely rests more soundly knowing that they're insured in case their grounds won't be damaged.
Medical expenses are self explanatory, but as an added bonus, some hunting lease insurance coverage include even those expenses incurred due to accidents unrelated to hunting.
Next on the list we've got operations liability which is a clause included to protect those landowners who run businesses on their properties, whatever they might be. If you're hunting on private land, make sure you know the limits in which you're allowed to operate so you won't risk damaging your lease provider's property or source of income!
Aside from the aforementioned clauses, it's important to remember that even outside of hunting leases, landowners always face a certain degree of responsibility not only for their guests, but even for trespassers in some occasions. Paying for a lease however increases these responsibilities and entitles the hunter not only to the right to perform his craft on the agreed upon premises, but also to a safe hunting environment, as far as any hidden dangers and the general good state of maintenance of the property. If you're a hunter you've got the right to demand that the property is well-kept and owners share that responsibility, which diminishes the potential dangers for both parties.
If you find that your hunting insurance covers both parties in all these potential situations, then you've got a good hunting lease on your hands. Happy hunting!
Additional Resources:
If you're new to the world of hunting but have grown tired of public grounds and their restrictions, you've probably heard of hunting leases and it's easy to see why they're so attractive: imagine access to vast stretches of land, teeming with game and without the usual downsides of overcrowding and low bag limits. That being said, some limits are usually a part of most hunting lease agreements but they're usually higher than public ones; make sure to discuss this with the landowner while looking over your agreement.
Although the details may vary according to your location, when hunting on public grounds with your license up-to-date your hunting insurance is already taken care of so the details tend to be overlooked, but hunting on private land is not quite so straightforward. To ensure that you and the members of your party are properly covered you need to learn the basics about hunting insurance so that you'll be ready when the time comes to sign your lease agreement.
When looking for a potential lease, you need to look beyond the landscape and into the fine print to make sure the landowner has adequate hunting lease insurance and coverage, which protects both you and him in case of any unforeseen consequences.
A great hunting land lease insurance policy will include:
- Member to member coverage
- Guest liability coverage
- Damage to premises rented
- Medical expenses (in some cases they may even cover those that are incurred in accidents unrelated to hunting)
- Operations liability
These legal terms may seem overwhelming but actually they're all critical to ensure that both hunters and landowners are as well protected as possible. In the hunter's case, the dangers seem obvious, but even landowners face some risk when they enter into a hunting lease agreement, their property could be damaged over time if they permit the use of vehicles, campfires could result in fires, members of their family could be injured and if uninsured, they'd leave themselves open to liability from their guests.
Now that you understand the importance of hunting insurance, let's look into some of these legal terms so you'll be on the lookout when signing your next lease.
First of all, member to member coverage or cross-member liability refers to accidents that result directly from the actions of other hunters, whether they're members of your own party or simply other people who have signed leases for the same land, which is something common since owners naturally seek to maximize their own profit.
The next clauses, guest liability coverage and damage to premises rented basically cover hunters and landowners respectively in the case of property damage. Experienced hunters are renown for being careful not to damage the land they hunt on, but sometimes the unexpected occurs and every landowner surely rests more soundly knowing that they're insured in case their grounds won't be damaged.
Medical expenses are self explanatory, but as an added bonus, some hunting lease insurance coverage include even those expenses incurred due to accidents unrelated to hunting.
Next on the list we've got operations liability which is a clause included to protect those landowners who run businesses on their properties, whatever they might be. If you're hunting on private land, make sure you know the limits in which you're allowed to operate so you won't risk damaging your lease provider's property or source of income!
Aside from the aforementioned clauses, it's important to remember that even outside of hunting leases, landowners always face a certain degree of responsibility not only for their guests, but even for trespassers in some occasions. Paying for a lease however increases these responsibilities and entitles the hunter not only to the right to perform his craft on the agreed upon premises, but also to a safe hunting environment, as far as any hidden dangers and the general good state of maintenance of the property. If you're a hunter you've got the right to demand that the property is well-kept and owners share that responsibility, which diminishes the potential dangers for both parties.
If you find that your hunting insurance covers both parties in all these potential situations, then you've got a good hunting lease on your hands. Happy hunting!
Additional Resources:
- AHLA: What is a Hunting Lease? - http://ahuntinglease.org/what-hunting-lease
- AHLA: What is Hunting Lease Insurance? - http://ahuntinglease.org/what-hunting-lease-insurance