Umbrella insurance
Umbrella insurance is a type of personal liability insurance that can protect you if you find yourself liable for a claim larger than your Homeowners insurance or Auto insurance will cover. And if you own a boat, Umbrella insurance will also pick up where your Watercraft Liability insurance leaves off.
Think of Umbrella insurance as a fail-safe for your savings, and high-value assets.
Umbrella insurance also covers you and members of your household against lawsuits involving personal injury to others, damage to other people’s property and a variety of claims such as defamation, landlord liability and false imprisonment, depending on your policy.
Exceptional coverages that go beyond the basics
Anyone with significant assets or greater potential earnings will benefit from adding an Umbrella policy to their insurance portfolio.
Why? Because in our increasingly litigious world, the costs associated with liability claims and settlements can easily exceed these limits of regular policies and those additional costs would have to come out of your own pocket.
For example, if you face a liability claim of $1 million, and your policy has a limit of $300,000, you would have to fund the additional $700,00 yourself, which could threaten your long-term financial security and result in a lien being placed on your home or mandated deductions from future earnings.
An Important Part of Your Asset Protection Strategy
Umbrella insurance is additional insurance that provides protection beyond existing limits and coverages of other policies.
Umbrella insurance can provide coverage for injuries, property damage, certain lawsuits, and personal liability situations. The more you have to lose in a lawsuit, the more Umbrella insurance will be of value to you. You may also want to consider adding an Umbrella policy if your lifestyle puts you at increased risk of injuring others and/or being sued.
A standard Umbrella policy provides additional liability coverage for: your primary residence, two motorized vehicles, small sailboats, and motorboats with fewer than 50 horsepower But you can also add optional coverages for other property and situations such as: Additional motorized vehicles, recreational vehicles like jet skis, secondary or vacation homes, rental properties, or vacant land.
Renters also need Umbrella coverage to act as a safety net when damages from a claim exceed the limits of your existing Renters insurance policy.
And in the event you cause an auto accident, it's possible that your Auto policy’s liability limits may not be high enough to cover the damages suffered by the injured parties. The additional coverage provide by an Auto Umbrella policy adds another layer of liability limits to protect your assets when a covered loss exceeds the liability limits of your underlying Home or Auto policy.
If you're a business owner, a Commercial Umbrella policy extends the limits of some of your primary liability insurance policies, such as General Liability insurance and Commercial Auto insurance. If you don't have a Commercial Umbrella policy, you'd have to pay the amount that exceeds your policy limit, putting your business at financial risk.
And if all of this extended coverage wasn't enough to give you some peace of mind, you should know that Personal Umbrella insurance follows you anywhere in the world, and features additional coverage your underlying policies might not include.
It can also help with legal fees and damages if you’re accused of slander in a social media post.
Who Needs Asset Protection?
Investors, professionals, business owners and people with significant assets need protection against loss due to lawsuits, creditor claims, and other risks.
Umbrella insurance provides coverage beyond the limits of your other insurance policies, or for claims that may not be covered by liability policies. Umbrella insurance generally provides liability coverage for injuries, property damage, personal liability situations, and certain lawsuits.
Umbrella insurance is an ideal security solution if you:
Own property
Are a landlord
Have significant savings or other assets
Are a public figure
Frequently host parties in your home
Serve on the board of a nonprofit
Are worried about liability claims against you when traveling outside the U.S.
Own things that can lead to injury lawsuits such as a pools, trampoline, guns, or certain dog breeds
Participate in sports where you could easily injure others (such as hunting, skiing or surfing)
Have an inexperienced driver in your household
Coach kids’ sports
Regularly post reviews of products and businesses
Complete Coverage for the Entire Family
Umbrella insurance covers not just the policyholder, but also other members of their family or household.
Extend Your Financial Security by Supplementing Your Existing Insurance
Insurance is a vital financial tool, one that can help you live life with fewer worries. Think of it as a financial safety net which will help you and your loved ones recover after something bad happens — such as a fire, theft, lawsuit or car accident.
Extending your coverages beyond the limits of your existing policies is possible with Umbrella insurance.
A Personal Umbrella insurance policy provides additional coverage, augmenting your existing liability coverage of two underlying policies: Auto and Homeowners or Renters.
Umbrella insurance is an affordable way to keep an extraordinary event from becoming a financial life-changer or threatening your financial security.
Business Umbrella insurance can provide an additional layer of liability insurance that begins at the limit of an underlying liability policy.
Purchased in $1 million increments, it can provide up to $10 million of coverage for qualifying businesses with covered claims — and it allows you to help protect your business from risks like large jury awards.
Umbrella insurance generally provides liability coverage for:
Injuries
Damage to property
Certain lawsuits
Personal liability situations
Coverage is also provided if you're sued for:
Slander and/or Libel
False arrest, detention, or imprisonment
Malicious prosecution
Shock/mental anguish