Many gun owners are confused or misinformed about “concealed carry insurance”. Some gun owners believe that their homeowner’s insurance will protect them if they use their gun in a self-defense situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
State Farm, like all other insurers who write standard homeowners policies, do not cover criminal or civil defense costs. Many people seem to believe that the general liability coverage included with their homeowner’s policy will cover these costs.
To understand why your State Farm homeowner’s policy does not provide you with concealed carry coverage, you must understand how the insurance industry works. A look at the broad issues of insurance regulations is a logical place to start.
SKIP AHEAD
The Issues of Regulations
Insurance companies work in a complex regulatory environment. There is no overreaching set of federal regulations that govern the insurance industry. In truth, insurance companies must meet the demands of fifty different sets of regulations and laws.
Typically, each state has its own regulatory agency that manages the insurance carriers. Each insurance company must be licensed to operate in a state. You should now understand the difficulties of doing business nationwide.
Regulations differ greatly from state to state. Some states prohibit any insurance that provides insurance for criminal or civil legal issues. All in all, companies like State Farm that write homeowner insurance coverage must follow a strict set of rules that include the language of the insurance contract.
Risk and Risk Management
Insurance is all about risk and risk management. State Farm approaches this by only writing certain insurance forms such as homeowner’s policies and automobile insurance. It is this ability to target certain risks that allow insurance companies to continue to operate successfully.
Insurance companies like State Farm exist for only one reason. Their primary goal is to make money for their shareholders. Corporations like State Farm cannot meet this goal if they pay out more in claims than they take in through premiums. In the insurance industry, this is called risk management.
The Concept of Concealed Carry Insurance
The term “concealed carry insurance” is a misnomer. The organizations offering “concealed carry insurance” in the United States are not selling insurance at all. By and large, the companies commonly referred to as “concealed carry insurance” providers are, in fact, membership organizations that offer shared or subscription legal services.
This form of the organization falls outside the jurisdiction of most state insurance regulatory agencies. It is a fine distinction. Some states are looking hard at the way these membership organizations are operating. There is a movement in some areas to regulate the “concealed carry insurance” membership organizations like regular insurance providers.
Why Doesn’t My State Farm Liability Work as Conceal Carry Insurance?
The whole concept of the liability portion of your homeowner’s insurance is to protect you against accidental injury to someone on your property. The truth is most homeowner’s policies, which are contracts, specifically exclude any “intentional acts.”
The insurance contract usually defines “intentional acts,” and in that definition are even more specific terms that exclude the use of any weapon for a self-defense action. Reading the contract that is your insurance policy is not something most homeowners do as routine but should understand exactly what protections they are getting.
Risk management is the reason that these exclusions exist in homeowners’ policies. The cost to replace a home or defend a liability lawsuit is relatively easy to predict. On the other hand, the cost of mounting a legal defense in a criminal lawsuit is almost impossible to predict. It is this inability to manage the risk that keeps most insurance companies from writing concealed carry insurance.
If State Farm Won’t Cover Me, what can I Do?
The only recourse for legal protections for concealed carry license holders is the companies providing subscription or membership legal defense funds. Despite how the terms used to describe these companies, these are not insurance companies.
Legal Subscription and Prepaid Services
Most of the companies offering legal protection for concealed carry license holders and their families are, in truth, either pre-pair or legal subscription services. The difference is subtle but important. This subtle difference between insurance and subscription services allows these organizations or operates in today’s regulatory environment.
What is the Difference from an Insurance Contract?
The organizations that offer legal protection should use your weapon for a self-defense situation doffer from insurance because of its structure. When you purchase “concealed carry insurance,” you are joining some type of membership-based group. The legal protections you get are not the basis for the membership contract but a benefit of your membership.
Most of these organizations offer many other “benefits,” such as training and information. The legal protections are simply a part of a broader package of membership perks. You aren’t buying insurance. You are joining an organization that gives you certain privileges, one of which is some level of legal services.
Are There Other Options?
The only other option you may have is contacting a local attorney and asking about prepaid legal plans. Some law firms offer subscription services. In general, you contract with the law firm for services and pay a monthly subscription fee.
The contract with the law firm for the subscription service will stipulate what kind of legal services come with the agreement. You must be upfront and ask specifically about criminal and civil legal services in a concealed carry incident.
The monthly subscription rates depend on the types of services the law firm may provide. You should expect any pre-paid legal service for concealed carry protection to become expensive. Attorneys know both the cost of criminal and legal defense and the likelihood that they will have to mount that defense.
Don’t Depend on your State Farm Insurance Policy
State Farm is a respected insurance provider. However, you must understand exactly what you are buying when you purchase an insurance policy from State Farm. Most people rely on the advice of their insurance agents. If you have not specifically talked to your State Farm agent about the coverages you have, you will not do your due diligence.
I hope that this article answers the question, does State Farm provide concealed carry insurance? There is a lot of confusion about concealed carry insurance, liability insurance, and homeowner’s insurance. If you have any suggestions, experiences, or additional knowledge about this subject, please use the comment section below to share. Take care and be safe.
