The current policy has no limit on defense expenses incurred in either criminal or civil court, and there is a $2,000,000 annual liability insurance limit which is applied towards damages if they were awarded in a civil case. Additionally, there is a $250,000 cost of bail expense limit included in the policy, which in most states would cover a $2,500,000 bail bond. Additional sub limits apply to certain extra coverages. Coverage and benefits are subject to the benefits, conditions, and exclusions of the insurance policy.

You do not need to apply for Self-Defense Liability Insurance with the USCCA. USCCA Members are automatically additional insureds on a policy issued to the USCCA by Universal Fire and Casualty Insurance Company. If you're not yet a USCCA Member, become a USCCA Member Now.

The USCCA purchased the insurance policy and is the Named Insured on the policy. All of its members are automatically insured on the policy as well. The policy extends coverage benefits to the members of the USCCA by making all members additional insureds. You must be registered as a member with the USCCA using your legal name to be qualified to utilize coverage benefits under the USCCA's Self-Defense Liability Insurance policy. Residents of NJ, NY and WA are not eligible for USCCA Membership. Coverage and benefits are subject to the benefits, conditions, and exclusions of the insurance policy.

A person who is not a member, but who is related by blood, marriage or adoption to the "association member", or is a minor person in the legal custody of the primary member and resides with the primary member at his/her permanent residence qualifies as an insured if the incident occurs at the residence premises, but NOT if that individual experiences an incident that takes place away from the primary member's permanent residence. If you're a USCCA Member, you can add a spouse membership to your account at a 50% discount!

The self-defense liability insurance policy is underwritten by Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, a Universal Shield Insurance Group company. Universal Shield Insurance Group companies have a financial strength rating of A- from A.M. Best.

You have around-the-clock access to the Critical Response Team — 24/7/365. If you get into a self-defense incident at night, after calling 911 you can simply call the Critical Response Team. You will be connected with one of the Critical Response Team Case Managers who will help guide you and your family through the aftermath of a self-defense incident. They will assist in connecting you with an attorney of your choice and submit a report to the UFCIC. If a USCCA member is involved in a covered incident, expenses are paid by the insurer as they are incurred.

As long as a USCCA Member and their attorney are permitted to argue self-defense as a justification and defense of the Member's actions, and no other exclusions in the policy apply, the USCCA Member will be covered for their self-defense incident.

Once an incident occurs, a member calls the Critical Response Team who will connect the member with an attorney if needed and submit a report to the insurance company. The insurance company will then contact the member or the member's attorney to coordinate the payment of expenses such as posting a bail bond, defense expenses, and other incidentals.

Yes, USCCA Members can choose their own attorney. However, this attorney must have the necessary professional experience to represent the USCCA Member in their case and the attorney must agree to the insurance company's customary rates and reporting and billing guidelines. If you do not have a specific attorney you would like to use, the USCCA Attorney Network has over 1,200 available attorneys.

If you've been involved in a self-defense incident, your first call after 911 should be to the Critical Response Team. You will be connected with one of the Critical Response Team Case Managers, who are available 24/7/365. Your Critical Response Team Case Manager will help guide you through the aftermath of a self-defense incident, helping you retain a criminal defense attorney of your choice or from an experienced attorney from the USCCA Attorney Network.

For a covered self-defense incident/occurrence, defense expenses have no limit. That applies for civil or criminal cases and covers all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred to defend the member. That includes things like attorneys fees, court costs, court taxes, expert witnesses, private investigations, and digital crime scene reenactment. There are limits on legal fees paid to defeat a red flag law action or to have your record expunged/sealed after the conclusion of the case.

There is a separate and stand-alone $250,000 allowance to cover the Cost of Bail Expenses. A $2,500,000 bail bond typically costs $250,000 or 10% of the set bail. You'll have $250,000 of funds available for bail expenses, including cash bail or the cost of a bail bond and monitoring expenses.

Yes. For a covered Act of Self-Defense, the policy does include appeals until you can no longer appeal. For example, if a member loses their court case at the initial level and they have the ability to appeal the initial court verdict, self-defense liability insurance coverage would still apply until they no longer have the ability to appeal the verdict.

The criminal act exclusion has no impact on your claim if you are able to argue self-defense as a defense to the charges brought against you. For example, there is no coverage if a member claims self-defense while they were in the middle of committing a criminal act like armed robbery.

Much like most other insurance policies, the self-defense liability insurance policy issued to the USCCA does have a "criminal act exclusion". However, as stated directly in the policy, the "criminal acts exclusion" does NOT include any action for which self-defense is a justification or defense.

As with most insurance policies to protect against fraud, the self-defense liability insurance policy issued to the USCCA does include a "recovery and recoupment" provision. The insurance company has NEVER recouped any amount paid on behalf of USCCA Members. However, it is included for the extremely unlikely situation in which the insurance company is ordered by a governing body to take action.

If you accept a plea deal to a charge that is not considered a "crime of violence", you will still have coverage in any civil suit that follows. A "crime of violence" means any offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of unlawful force against the person or property of another, or any offense that resulted in bodily injury to another person.

Examples of plea deals that are potentially not "crimes of violence" include pleas such as negligent discharge or reckless use of a firearm.

If you accept a plea deal to a charge that is a "crime of violence" coverage will end under the policy.

If you are providing law enforcement, corrections, recovery, or repossession services either as a volunteer or for a fee, you will not have coverage.

If you are providing paid security or safety service, you will not have coverage. However, you CAN have coverage if you are providing security or safety services as a volunteer.

All other occupations, other than those listed above, DO have coverage while actively on the job. This includes firefighters and EMTs.

Did you know that every personal insurance policy has exclusions on criminal acts, professional services, and even war? You bet they do — go take a look! Few motorists know that if your nephew uses your car as a getaway vehicle during a crime and gets in a wreck, your car insurance will not cover it. Similarly, if you rent your pickup truck to a stranger for the day as a side-hustle and he wrecks it, it will not be covered. Additionally, if China invades and your house is destroyed in the ensuing war, your home insurance will not cover you!

All these policies have exclusions — not in an attempt to short-change you, but to protect you. For example, without a war exclusion, your home insurance company would simply go bankrupt — and all their customers would be without protection. Without a Criminal Acts exclusion, your car insurance company might be on the hook to cover a getaway vehicle — which would put them in violation of the law — and could cause their entire company to be shut down, ruining their great protection for all their honest customers!

Exclusions are an important part of any insurance policy, and Self-Defense Liability Insurance is no different.

Here are the ways these exact same exclusions are an integral part of our self-defense liability insurance policy, and why only by having these safeguards in place can we legally offer you the excellent, industry-leading coverage we offer through our self-defense liability insurance policy.

• Expected or Intended Injury (This does not include any expected or intended injury arising from an Act of Self-Defense) — This policy is to provide coverage for Acts of Self-Defense. If you take an action that is not in self-defense that will likely result in injury to a person (ie, if you intentionally try to hurt someone without provocation), your actions will likely be excluded from coverage.
• Criminal Acts (This does not include any acts for which self-defense is applicable as a justification or a defense of those actions) — This policy is to provide coverage for Acts of Self-Defense, this policy is not designed to provide coverage for robbing a bank, holding up a gas station, or any other criminal acts. Unless you were acting in self-defense, any actions that are criminal acts will likely be excluded. A "Criminal Acts'' exclusion is common to virtually all types of insurance. However, it is important to note that for this policy, if you engage in self-defense while violating a "gun free zone" or potentially violating any of the massive list of state burdensome regulations on gun owners, coverage would NOT be denied.
• Contractual Liability — If you have assumed liability for the actions of another through a contract or have assumed an obligation to defend another person through a contract (such as having a contract to serve as someone's personal security guard), this policy will not provide you with any coverage.
• Non-Insureds — Just like all other insurance policies, actions by someone who isn't insured by the policy are not covered. If you are not the USCCA, a USCCA Member, or fall within any of the categories listed out in the endorsement to the policy, this policy doesn't provide any coverage to you.
• Employer's Liability — Injury or damage suffered as a result of one's business are not covered (such as your liability as the owner of a repossession company if one of your employees was injured in a self-defense incident while on the job). This is not a commercial lines policy and doesn't provide coverage for any employer's liability.
• Professional Services — This policy will not provide coverage if the incident is related to you providing some sort of professional service for another party or if you are sued because one of your employees was involved in a self-defense incident (such as if you're the owner of a repossession company and one of your employees acts in self-defense while on the job, this coverage doesn't provide insurance to you as the owner for your employee's actions) .
• War — You can't claim self-defense if you are acting in a military capacity. This exclusion would not apply if you were attacked during an anti-war protest, or any protest, and needed to defend yourself.
• Occupational Use — Any actions by law enforcement, corrections, recovery or repossessions services as a part of their job/profession. And actions by anyone providing security or safety services for compensation. Individuals in these professions are still covered in their personal lives for Acts of Self-Defense by this policy, but if they are acting in their professional capacity, they are excluded from this coverage. In addition, anyone providing security or safety services as a volunteer is not excluded from coverage, even while providing those services.
• Damage to Property — The cost to replace or repair any property damaged in a self-defense incident that you own, borrowed or is generally in your possession, excluding the damages discussed in the "supplementary payments" section of the policy.
• Electronic Data — Any injury or damage arising from anything having to do with electronic data. The cost to replace, repair or recover any electronic data or information that was lost or damaged as a part of a self-defense incident is excluded from coverage.
• Mysterious Disappearance — injury or damage arising out of the unexplained or mysterious disappearance of a firearm or other weapon.
• Violation of 18 U.S.C § 922 — If the possession or use of a firearm or other weapon is in violation of federal law 18 U.S. Code § 922. This policy does not exclude a self-defense incident from being covered for carrying a firearm in violation of any state regulations.

The insurance company's obligation to make payments under this policy ends when the $2 million limit for civil damages has been exhausted, the moment the member has received a final, unappealable conviction, or if the member accepts a plea deal to a charge that qualifies as a "crime of violence."

The self-defense insurance policy issued to the USCCA provides up to $15,000 in coverage to USCCA Members to cover the attorney fees and expenses incurred in defending against or challenging any extreme risk protection order or any similar government action taken against the Member for the purpose of temporarily seizing any otherwise lawfully possessed firearm.

The self-defense liability insurance policy issued to the USCCA can provide assistance to USCCA Members for missed time after a self-defense incident in two ways:

• Up to $10,000 for actual loss of earnings for time taken off from work within 30 days of any covered Act of Self-Defense
• Up to an additional $750/day for lost earnings for time off work, taken at the request of the insurance company to assist with the defense.

Imagine you are involved in a self-defense incident, are charged with a crime and ultimately found innocent at trial. This coverage can pay for you to hire an attorney who will work to have all records of the matter removed or sealed.

The policy covers incidents in all 50 states, however the policy currently cannot be issued to RESIDENTS of New York state, New Jersey state, or Washington State.

Average hourly billing rates for attorneys can vary due to many different variables. Based on the situation, location, and experience level of an attorney, rates can range from $300-$1,000+ per hour.

There is no such thing as an "average" self-defense case. A standard criminal defense trial takes months to prepare and weeks in court to defend. Based on the situation, location, and experience level of an attorney, rates can range from $300 -$1,000+ per hour. The self-defense liability policy has come through for thousands of USCCA Members, paying out tens of millions of dollars worth of claims.