In the past few years, we have seen a drastic increase in firearm legislation coming from both sides of the aisle and at all levels of government. Larger cities in Ohio have passed ordinances putting additional regulations on firearms while the State government has gone the other direction working to cut regulations. The latest clash has come with Senate Bill 58, which would prohibit the requirement of firearm liability insurance.

Currently in Ohio, firearm owners aren’t required to have insurance, SB 58 is viewed by the sponsors as a safeguard to protect from potential local ordinances that we have seen gain traction in more liberal states.

So, what does this mean for your agency? If your agency does offer general liability that covers firearms or firearm liability insurance, then currently nothing will change even if the legislation is passed. You will still be able to sell general liability and firearm specific insurance as before.

So why bring this up? We have already seen, with the rhetoric on both sides, the misinformation circling. There have been some articles saying firearm liability insurance would be banned, while others say the way it is currently regulated would change drastically. Your clients may be seeing these articles and get confused about what this could mean for their coverage. This preemptive legislation in its current form whether you view it as right or wrong will not change how firearm liability insurance is sold in Ohio.

If you have any questions about this proposed legislation, how it could affect your agency or how it affects your clients please contact John Wells at john@ohioinsuranceagents.com with questions.