Homeowners · Premises liability
A party uses the liability you already have, until it runs out
There is usually no separate “party policy” on a homeowners form. A guest who is hurt on the property is a personal-liability claim, Coverage E, if you are legally responsible and nothing in the form excludes it. Medical payments, Coverage F, is a smaller no-fault amount for guest medical bills. It is not the liability limit, and neither one is a blank check for the evening.
Intentional injury is not an accident the form was built to pay. A business pursuit is a different exclusion: if you are charging admission, running a paid event, or catering as a business, the homeowners liability section often steps out. A hired bartender or server is not automatically a guest. Homeowners insurance does not replace workers’ compensation for a household or event employee. Do not guess an hour or wage threshold. Ask whether that person needs a workers’ compensation policy of their own.
Alcohol changes the facts of the claim. It does not add a coverage. Serving guests at home and selling alcohol are not the same legal problem, and this page is not legal advice about host liability. The insurance question is simpler: does Coverage E still apply, and is the limit large enough if it does.
Personal liability, explained: personal liability for Texas families. The Texas homeowners contract around it: Texas homeowners. The same section on a Tennessee form: Tennessee personal liability. What sits above the house limit: umbrella insurance and Tennessee umbrella.
