There are currently 2 petitions which are being offered and which call for requiring gun insurance. They are not detailed solutions and have not gained much support. They are:
Sponsor legislation requiring that all gun owners be required to purchase liability insurance from private carriers
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Megan McArdle has written a long piece in The Daily Beast entitled “Should People Be Forced to Buy Liability Insurance for their Guns?” It is by far the most detailed and thought out analysis of the suggestion that I have seen since Newtown. While I don’t agree with her conclusion that the problems make insurance as a solution unworkable, she gives logical reasons that need to be addressed.
She starts with three reasons that we would want insurance. The first is to Continue reading
There are many systems of insurance with varying breadths of coverage. The liability insurance that is talked about in the discussion at the moment would only cover a small proportion of the deaths and injuries that are occurring. The systems described below run from something so narrow that provides compensation to only a miniscule proportion those hurt to ones that could be implemented to protect almost all injured persons. Continue reading
There has been a stream of media articles and blog posts calling for mandatory gun insurance since Newtown. Many of them point out the desirability to have the market weigh the risks of different styles of gun ownership and price accordingly. Almost all have an underlying concern about Second Amendment issues with such a requirement but try to state bravely that it won’t ultimately win out. Here are some interesting recent ones. Continue reading
Much of the discussion of gun insurance that is currently going on is for requiring that gun owners have liability insurance covering injuries from their firearms. There is often a question as to whether it would be necessary for the owner to have been negligent in the incident or if a concept of strict liability would be made to apply. This would require payment regardless of fault. Continue reading
If you have information especially links to English translations of gun laws in other countries please send them to me. (tom@guninsuranceblog.com) or make a comment to this post. I have found some information about insurance of 100,000 euros being required in Portugal. In Germany the amount is one million euros and the law (link to German Weapons Law) says:
Section 4
Requirements for a licence
(1) In order to be granted a licence, applicants shall
1. be at least 18 years of age (Section 2 (1)),
2. have the necessary reliability (Section 5) and personal aptitude (Section 6),
3. demonstrate the necessary specialized knowledge (Section 7),
4. demonstrate a need (Section 8), and
5. enclose proof of liability insurance cover of one million euros for personal injury and property damage when applying for a weapons licence or shooting licence.