Personal Liability Umbrella Policy: what it is and how it works.
Many people refer to it as an Insurance Umbrella or as Umbrella Coverage, but it’s all the same.
And it does not cover property, just liability or lawsuit protection
So, what is a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy and should you buy one?
What does Umbrella Insurance cover?
Personal Umbrella Insurance policies place an excess layer of liability- up to $1,000,000 or higher over your:
- Your home,
- Your cars,
- Your boats,
- Your motorcycles and RV’s, and
- Your rental properties
An Umbrella Policy will also give you the option to increase your Uninsured Motorist coverage up to $1,000,000 or more.
An Umbrella policy does not cover damage to your cars, boats and properties, it covers the liability from accidents that cause bodily injury or property damage to others. And this can equal hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
Why would you need a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy?
- You worry that your family’s life savings are at risk in a liability lawsuit.
- You are concerned when you read about the large jury judgments in lawsuits.
- You hear commercial after commercial advising people to hire an attorney after an accident so they can “get their money”.
- You want to maximize Uninsured Motorist coverage in case you or your family are injured in an accident..
- You are searching for a truly integrated approach to cover your home and your cars.
How does a Personal Liability Umbrella Policy work?
First you need a minimum amount of insurance on the underlying policy.
For Cars, the Umbrella will usually require you to carry $250,000 each person, $500,000 each Accident, for Bodily Injury and $100,000 in Property Damage Liability on your Car Policy.
And $250,000/500,000 of Uninsured Motorist if you want to endorse that on your Umbrella too.
These requirements would usually be the same for Motorcycles, Boats, and RV’s, although that depends on the individual Umbrella Company.
For Home Insurance and Rental properties, the Umbrella Company usually require $300,000 of underlying liability.
The Umbrella gives you more coverage after the Car and Home Insurance Liability is exhausted.
So if you are hit with a judgement after a car accident of $750,000, the Car policy will pay the first $250,000 and then the Umbrella will respond with the extra $500,000.
Here are some examples of actual claims where an Umbrella Policy paid damages:
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This information is provided to assist you in understanding the coverage we offer and does not modify the terms and conditions of any insurance policy, nor does it imply that any claim is covered. Coverages are subject to underwriting.