Too often I read articles about injuries, most often of children, caused by the use or misuse of golf carts.

Parents learn golf carts can be dangerous as son recovers from accident.

The big question then is this:

Are golf carts covered under my Homeowners policy?

Typically, if you do not own the golf cart, your homeowner’s policy will provide coverage for your liability arising out of its use.

For example, if you borrow your neighbor’s golf cart to ride around in the cul-de-sac or if you go to the golf course and rent a golf cart to play golf, your homeowner’s policy will provide liability coverage arising out of any accidents you may cause while using it.

Keep in mind, I am not saying that damage to the golf cart would be covered, just the liability arising out of its use.

The problem though arises out of an OWNED golf cart.

This article is an example of what can happen.

Most industry-standard homeowners policies will provide liability coverage for the use of an owned golf cart if:

1) it is used to service your premises (like going to get the mail at the mailbox, etc)
2) it is being used to play golf on a golfing facility
3) it is being used inside a residential community in which the by-laws specifically allow their use and in which you own a home

What is not usually covered for example are:

1) driving the cart to the golf course on city streets
2) using the golf cart for any purpose other than those listed above (for example…carrying a gift to the neighbors down the street, driving to the swimming pool down the street, etc)

The bad news is that this is a HUGE exposure; the good news is that it is easily handled.

Let’s all be safe.

If you own a golf cart, be sure to purchase a separate recreational vehicle policy on the golf cart.

By doing so, you don’t usually have to worry about the non-golfing use that these vehicles are bound to be used for. And also, by doing this, hopefully, you will not end up in the headlines of the local paper as the young boy above did.

Stay safe and let us know if you have any further questions or if we can help in any way.