NRA offers shooters' insurance

By Dahleen Glanton, Tribune reporter

But if you do end up being charged with a felony, the National Rifle Association offers its members an insurance policy that could pay thousands of dollars in legal costs.

The concealed carry liability insurance, which ranges from $165 a year for a $100,000 policy to $600 a year for $1 million in coverage, reimburses attorney fees and other legal costs resultingfrom criminal or civil case defense. Proceeds from the premiums go to the NRA.

The policyholder never sees a check. When a policy is paid, the money goes directly to the attorney. But there is a major caveat. The policyholder has to be acquitted of the charges before one dime is paid out. A conviction or a determination that the shooting was not justified voids the policy.

The NRA explains the purpose of the policy this way on its website: "We recognized this gap in coverage and created a plan to help protect National Rifle Association members should the unthinkable happen."

Other large organizations, including the US Concealed Carry Association, offer similar policies.

And now that Illinois has become the 50th state to allow residents to carry firearms in public, small insurance companies also are popping up, offering concealed carry liability insurance to gun owners who could potentially find themselves in court.

Such policies are necessary, some firearms experts said, because homeowners policies don't include coverage for acts of self-defense.

"Say you're attacked at an ATM or you end up shooting someone in your yard, you have to pay the court costs," said Andre Queen, owner of Fidelity Investigative Training Academy. "A good criminal defense attorney can be expensive."

Rocco Wlodarek, owner of Black Flag Firearms Training, said lawsuits also often follow a shooting.

"If a firearm clears your holster in public, you can probably count on about $40,000 to $100,000 in court costs in a justified shooting," said Wlodarek. "That doesn't include people, like the family of the assailant or the assailant himself, who might want to sue you for wanton misconduct."

dglanton@tribune.com

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