Nowadays, gun owners are subject to much scrutiny. However, vilification by politicians and the media aren’t where things end. For this reason, you may be considering insurance and wondering if concealed carry insurance is worth it. If you own a firearm for personal protection, then concealed carry insurance is absolutely worth the investment to protect your livelihood and assets.
Today I’m crunching some numbers and doing a cost-benefit analysis to help you understand why concealed carry insurance is a worthwhile investment.
Table of Contents
What Is Concealed Carry Insurance?
Concealed carry insurance is a way to protect yourself if you are ever put into a situation where you use your firearm in self defense. Generally, this insurance coverage extends beyond concealed carry and includes home defense situations too.
Having CCW insurance is similar to any other insurance; house, car, or life. Unless you find yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself or others with a firearm, it sits quietly by protecting you for if/when that time comes.
What Concealed Carry Insurance Is Not
Concealed carry insurance is not a catch all for any firearms related claims. Therefore, here is a list of things that concealed carry coverage doesn’t address.
- Lost or stolen firearms – These scenarios usually fall under homeowner insurance coverage.
- Damaged or destroyed firearms – If firearms are damaged or destroyed in a home event (e.g. a house fire) this falls under homeowners or renters insurance.
- Negligence with firearms – Concealed carry insurance strictly deals with lawful self defense scenarios, and doesn’t address negligent handling.
- Instructor coverage – There is a separate insurance to cover liability of instructors. Unless you need to invoke your right to self defense during a lesson, CCW insurance doesn’t provide instructor coverage.
Although these constitute a majority of scenarios, you’ll need to discuss your specific questions with a CCW insurance provider.
Average Costs For Criminal & Civil Defense
Alright, now that we’ve talked about what concealed carry insurance is, and is not, let’s discuss why it earns a spot on the concealed carry essentials list. First, using a firearm in self defense does not automatically absolve you of criminal charges.
The police still have a job to do and protocols to follow. Therefore, you may end up facing fines or even jail time if things go south. According to this finance site, you could end up spending in excess of $25,000 for a defense lawyer for a felony offense.
“In misdemeanor cases, it is not unusual for a lawyer to request a retainer of several thousand dollars. For felony cases, retainers often start at $5,000 – $10,000, and can be $25,000 or more for serious or life felonies[…]”
Second, being cleared of wrongdoing by law enforcement doesn’t necessarily mean you are immune from civil suits.
According to this lawyer, wrongful death settlements end up between $500,000 to $1 million and that doesn’t include money spent on hiring a defense attorney.
Starting to understand why concealed carry insurance is worth it?
What To Look For In Concealed Carry Insurance
If you are looking into concealed carry insurance, the terminology used to describe your benefits can be confusing. Below are explanations of common items you’ll find on any insurance providers page. Additionally, I’ve provided items you should verify your concealed carry insurance provider offers.
Damages
When using a firearm in self defense, civil lawsuits and settlements make up a bulk of the ultimate costs. Therefore, a good concealed carry insurance will have a high limit on damages. Damages are the monetary awards granted in the event of negligence. Currently, USCCA has a $2M claim limit for self defense expenses and damages. Alternatively,CCWsafe offers an upgrade to $1M of civil liability coverage.
Defense Coverage
Settlement costs are only a portion of the costs associated with a criminal or civil case. Additionally, you’ll need significant funds for your legal defense. An attorney, or in a high profile case, a team of lawyers may be required.
As previously discussed, legal counsel doesn’t come cheap. Furthermore, hiring experts to testify, private investigators, and more all cost money.
USCCA partners with Delta Defense, and they advertise a “no limit” on defense expenses. Ideally, your choice of CCW insurance should provide similar coverage.
Lost Wages
Lost wages are another form of coverage. Every day you are in court is a day you won’t be in the office earning a living. Therefore, a reputable concealed carry insurance policy has some coverage for lost wages.
It’s worth noting that the lost wages value is an “up to” amount. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect to receive the maximum payout per day when your actual income is below that.
Are Family Members Covered Under Your Policy?
You’ll need to do your research on your particular coverage. However, from my research, many concealed carry insurance plans offer add-on coverage for family members for an additional cost.
Additionally, spousal coverage does NOT extend to a significant other living in your house. I only mention this because my girlfriend (of many years) lives with me. After speaking with a representative I discovered that she is not eligible for coverage under my plan.
How Much Is Concealed Carry Insurance?
The cost of concealed carry insurance will vary by coverage and insurance provider. However, you can expect to pay between $18 and $29 per month for basic coverage. Alternatively, you can end up spending closer to $49 a month for premium coverage from a provider who specializes in concealed carry insurance.
Unfortunately, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” goes doubly for CCW insurance. However, in the event you need legal defense a good insurance company goes a long way. That’s why I use USCCA for my insurance needs.
What Level Of Coverage Do I Need?
Each person will need to decide what level of concealed carry coverage is right for their budget. However, it’s a good idea to get at least $1 million coverage given the average settlements cost of wrongful death civil suits. Of course, it’s better if you can afford more coverage without compromising your budget.
To put things plainly, at a monthly cost of $25 it would take you over 1,000 years to have paid $500,000 in insurance premiums. Just like you carry a firearm for peace of mind, insurance offers similar protection for your financial assets. Not to mention, it helps keep (or get) you out of jail.
Therefore, it only takes one incident of lawful self defense to make concealed carry insurance worth it!
2nd Amendment And Concealed Carry Liability
Many folks mistakenly believe that the 2nd Amendment gives them carte blanche for all things firearm related. Unfortunately, the injury or death of another person resulting from a firearm means the Constitution itself is no substitute for legal counsel.
The Constitution is a check on government power and serves to protect the rights of the individual. Thus, there may be some validity when applied in certain instances to criminal firearm charges. However, during civil lawsuits the Judicial branch is effectively a moderator between two individuals, entities, or any combination thereof.
Parting Shots
Hopefully this cost analysis has helped convince you that concealed carry insurance is worth the investment. Additionally, I hope my explanation of some common terms you’ll encounter when shopping for CCW insurance are more clear. If you’re so inclined, stop by USCCA/Delta Defense to pick up your coverage. If you found this content helpful, please leave a comment or share with your social network as it helps me out a ton.
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