Los Angeles Times

Are you ready to defend your Super Bowl party turf?

Homeowners insurance can keep you from taking a hit.

- By Alex Glenn Extra point: Ask your insurer to help determine your home’s current rebuilding cost, Sherlock said. If it exceeds the dwelling insurance, increase limits on that coverage. Glenn is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.

Hosting a Super Bowl bash can feel like trying to dodge a blitz. With lots of guests, alcohol and charged emotions, disaster can strike from any direction. Here’s how homeowners insurance can keep your wallet from taking a hit.

Intercepte­d belongings. Even small parties could include a few friends of a friend whom you don’t know. If you discover come Monday that your prized autographe­d football is gone, home insurance can help. Personal property coverage pays to replace stolen items, up to your policy’s limit.

Extra point: “Take a personal contents inventory,” State Farm agent Greg Sherlock said. Even going room to room and photograph­ing belongings with your phone will help you provide claim details if something’s stolen, he said.

The action heats up … at the same time as the grill. More than 1 in 4 grill owners fire up grub for the game, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Assn.

Unfortunat­ely, Sherlock said, the festive atmosphere makes cooking fires one of the more common sources of party accidents.

If your house is damaged or destroyed by fire, you can file a claim through your home insurance’s dwelling coverage.

Guests on the injured list. You could be financiall­y responsibl­e if that bigscreen TV topples onto someone’s foot or your appetizers trigger food poisoning.

A standard home insurance policy includes medical payments coverage for injuries to visitors. It also includes liability coverage, which kicks in if you’re sued for injuries, Sherlock said.

Extra point: It’s wise to check your medical payments insurance limit. A standard home policy provides about $1,000 in medical coverage per person, which might not be enough.

Ineligible partygoer behind the wheel. California law generally absolves a social host from civil liability if a guest leaves sloshed and then has an accident.

But there are some circumstan­ces that could change the equation, such as charging a cover fee to attend the party. Also, serving alcohol to someone under 21 is a misdemeano­r.

If your home insurance policy includes liquor liability coverage, limits are often capped at $100,000 to $300,000, according to the Insurance Informatio­n Institute.

Extra point: Taking steps to prevent drunk driving is best, so invite designated drivers.

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