How protected would you say you are? You have a homeowners insurance policy and an auto insurance policy. That should be it, right? Did you know that the limits on these policies often do not cover you in the event of a lawsuit? Unfortunately, we live in a very litigious society where your assets and future wages are put in danger without adequate liability coverage. An umbrella policy works as a supplemental insurance policy.
A personal insurance umbrella policy pays above your home, auto and other liability policies. A common limit among homeowners policies is $300,000. As you can imagine, if you are found to be liable for an injury to a guest in your home, this amount would hardly scratch the surface. Certain risk factors make you more susceptible to these types of risks. Examples include teenage drivers, owning a swimming pool or entertaining guests frequently. Most standard homeowners policies are insufficient when covering claims from animal attacks or bites, liabilities arising from social media, claims outside the US, recreational vehicles (i.e. golf carts), and rented boats over 50 horsepower, just to name a few. A personal umbrella policy can also help eliminate these gaps in coverage.
To illustrate the importance of this policy, consider this: You have a large pool with a fenced-in enclosure. You go on vacation and leave your property locked. Four teenagers hop your fence. One of them attempts a dive into the pool, breaks his neck, and as a result becomes paralyzed. The judgment for the lawsuit is $1 million. Your homeowners policy has a limit of $300,000 for liability. The remaining $700,000 would be your responsibility to pay if you did not have a personal umbrella policy. If you did not have the funds to cover this, then your assets would be used to pay this judgment.
While this is a simplified example, it helps illustrate that a personal umbrella policy offers a large benefit for a small yearly premium. The policy offers peace-of-mind from knowing you are protected in the event of a claim. Please Contact Us today for a personalized quote.
