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| There can be ramifications to defending yourself. (picture: www.coloradopersonalsecurity.com ) |
In my rural part of the state, a lot of responsible citizens have a concealed weapons permit, which we abbreviated here as a CWP. Of course, we all hope that we will never be in a situation where it needs to be used, but we have it for the situations in which a family member (or myself) would likely die, if we didn't. I have a CWP in order to defend myself and my family. I have been fortunate enough thus far, that I have never had to draw it on a human being, but I have had occasion to shoot a couple of rabid animals in separate occasions, as in many places in the rural United States, rabid wildlife is endemic. I am well practiced, and I take this responsibility very seriously.
Once in a great while someone in a rural county which neighbors ours shoots and kills an intruder. The law here does allow the shooting of an intruder within your home and the law does leave room for you to shoot someone if you are facing a potentially lethal threat outside your home. . The last person I knew, or should say more accurately, with whom I was acquainted, who did this, spent $83,000 on legal fees defending himself for the shooting and subsequent death of an intruder who was armed with a knife. It seems that if you do everything correctly, and survive, you still may incur legal fees for your own protection afterward which could wipe out a retirement account. (If in this pale economy, you could ever manage to gather one, in the first place.)
It seems there is now an alternative. Whether your state calls it a CWP or CCW, CHL, HCP, HCL. CPL. or HR 218 you can now buy insurance which will protect you from having to pay the potentially outrageous costs of protecting yourself. CCW Safe is a type of insurance that you may buy annually or every five years. You may buy this as an individual, or as a dual membership (two in a family, husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and daughter etc.) There is even a specialized plan for off duty law enforcement officers who may need to shoot someone is a use of force incident while away from work. It not only pays your legal fees in association with the legal use of your firearm, but it provides expert investigators, expert attorneys who specialize in this type of case, and expert witnesses, all at your disposal. There is a significant discount in your annual fee if you are a military officer or a law enforcement officer. I have malpractice insurance in the course of working as a registered nurse. Think of this as malpractice insurance for the lawful use of your Concealed Weapons Permit and your weapon.
You may buy this insurance in whatever state you have a concealed weapons permit. They recommend, if you are traveling that you become very familiar with the laws of the states you may be traveling through. The terms of their Contract with you, is on their Terms Page. You are covered for the use of legal weapons, even those other than your handgun, while in your residence, as you defend yourself or your family from an intruder. You are covered for either a criminal, administrative or a civil charge in association with the legal use of a weapon. You are, of course, not insured for any criminal acts, (just as my malpractice insurance doesn't cover me for acts of total stupidity like placing a tourniquet around someone's neck.) Your annual fee will remain the same for that year, however it could go up when your insurance is renewed. To order, you must have a concealed weapons permit with number, and you must give the state in which you are licensed/permitted to carry a handgun.
These are important contact pages:
Main page
Single membership information
Dual membership information
Military or Law Enforcement membership information
How to Join By Mail
To Join Online
I am not an investor, nor do I have any financial interest in this company. I also suspect that those of you with an NRA membership might find that the NRA has a similar offer. I have not yet purchased this type of coverage, but I am considering it.
I am not recommending any one type of insurance over another. I am simply making my readers aware of such an offering. Please do your own due diligence. Check out other companies that offer a similar plan. Call these people and ask them questions.
Of course, let me know what you think, and with your permission, I'll post it here. Perhaps we can make other readers familiar with all the offerings of this type.
This is another company which also offers CWP insurance:
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/shield/
Remember that this type of insurance does not pay for the medical care of the person you shoot. It pays for or provides payment for professional witnesses, attorneys who specialize in this type of case, etc.
13 comments:
Okay. I just scared Joe to death by reading your post to him. (I hope he can finish washing the dishes). I went to the site. I have always thought our guns would be removed from our possession THROUGH insurance companies. If insurance becomes mandatory (like everything else) our premiums would skyrocket in the attempt to make it unaffordable to have a legal firearm. Now I'm seriously going to the NRA site to look at what they offer, but THIS company promises top notch defense lawyers, etc. Thank god I'm not younger. It's a shame when living becomes so scary you start counting your remaining days with a sigh of relief.
Jane,
Thanks for the information, makes for something one should check into if carrying a ccw.
Every adult in my family carries, but none of us have this insurance. I will need to speak to my attorney, do some price checking, and carefully consider the legal ramifications of having, or not having it. I wonder if a prosecutor would use, "So why did you choose to buy CWP liability insurance prior to killing Mr. Jones ? Ah PREMEDITATION !
I will have to consider what the law of unintended consequences does with insurances such as this.
BTW, our acquaintance who shot and killed an intruder spent nine months sweating as to whether the prosecutor would go after him. He endured a coroner's inquest, and a grand jury, but eventually, everyone thought that a reasonable person would do what he did, and it went no furthur. Still, 80 plus thousand dollars for legal expenses sounds pretty punitive to me.
Sounds like a great idea, so long as it works as intended. Too many cases like your acquaintance where someone legally defended themselves with lethal force, only to be bankrupted by the inevitable legal proceedings.
I do have misgivings about getting this type of insurance. Not only is it a significant annual expense, but our government just required everyone who is breathing to get health insurance of their own design. If they require us to have this type of insurance in order to have a CWP, this would be yet another barrier to firearm use. (Of course, since this type of insurance doesn't pay for the medical expenses or the family of the criminal from whom you defended yourself, it would be insane of any government to require this insurance.) However, our federal government and the present regime has been insane in their actions before.
I think we need to take a look at how such cases in your region are handled. If they prosecute those who must defend themselves, then perhaps it should be considered. In a place where your sheriff is pro self defense, perhaps you don't. It's a personal decision.
Whew. I spoke to the police. In Florida, even if someone is in your yard stealing something, you can shoot and kill. I thought that was rather overkill (no pun intended), but it makes self-defense a non-problem. Which is the main reason there are so many people demanding "stand your ground" be changed.
Chances are, an older couple who must use deadly force in order to protect their home are not going to be dragged through the mud. However, the Trayvon Martin case has made a lot of people very nervous. I have no control as to whether the person who breaks into my home while I am there is Asian, African American or Swedish, or whether someone will scream racism if I shoot an intruder an HOUR from the sheriff's office.
HEY! I resent being called "older". Sheesh. The truth hurts. I AM old.....but if age has its privileges, I should get out of prison a lot quicker than you young folks. lol
Lotta Joy, I am OLDER too ! Let me clarify. It may be that someone in their twenties, like the gentleman who shot Trayvon Martin, or people my kids ages in their twenties, would be given a harder time than "mature folk".
The challenge is only to shoot when you are in fear of your life. Shoot to "stop the intruder". The intent should not be to kill him. However, if it does, you simply needed to stop his reckless action which could have taken your life. Tell a consistent clear story to the police. Don't doubt yourself or second guess leaving room for the police to doubt you also. Do the mental preparation for shooting many times in your own head.
It took me years to be able to shoot another human being, but if it is a question of an intruder's survival or my own, I will do what I must. I don't want my kids to find me dead. Sparing them that horror gives me more courage than I used to have.
I don't have a carry permit, I live in an open carry state. But you can get a permit to hide it. I've never shot anyone but I'm pretty sure I could if they was messing with me.
Last night here a drunk lady killed a lady crossing the street. You have to be careful around these monkeymobiles.
The Amish are not getting into Obama Care, they have their own good plan.
As much as I carry on about guns I seldom pack one, except for then I have a couple in the truck when I'm going to the shooting range. That may not be smart on my part, I think I'm more likely to get shot at during some random event in Monkeyville than I am at home.
I don't have a gun and never will. However, it was interesting that this type insurance exists.
It's certainly a personal decision. I feared firearms through my entire childhood,(even when my Dad tried to teach me about them) and most especially through early adulthood when I saw patients come through the ER and to the ICU with devastating gunshot wounds. It was only after there was an attempted kidnapping of my youngest child while we were out one day, and some other incidents that I realized that my husband would likely be away at work when the most dangerous of things happened. This began a process for me of procuring certified instructors and learning not only how to take down both handguns and rifles, and to reassemble them quickly. I also learned to be an excellent shot, and to get over the flinching I did when the weapon fires. (I don't like the noise) I am never without a handgun. However, I am not out to arm everyone, or even to arm all women.
Cleaning your weapon regularly, practicing regularly, having a gunsmith do maintenance and repair on your weapon as it reaches a certain number of rounds fired is a responsibility and a fair amount of work. In addition, there is the responsibility of seeing to it that no one but you ever uses your weapon.
I have mixed feelings about getting insurance of this kind. I don't think anyone should think that they can draw their weapon because "they are insured for this."
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