A good way to think of an umbrella policy is like a goalie in soccer. It’s there when all your defenders have been unable to stop the offense. Your goalies’ job is to step up and keep the offense from scoring. The umbrella policy performs a similar action, however its job is to protect your assets and future earnings.
Think about this for a second….We all risk our life savings and future earnings every time we drive a car, or someone visits our house, you operate any of your fun summer vehicles, or even when we do something as simple sounding as playing golf.
How?
All that has to happen is someone gets injured as a result of your actions or inaction. I.E. you cause an accident in your car, hit someone with an errant golf ball, or have a party and someone trip and blow out a knee on your walkway.
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If/when any of these happen, and you cause significant damage to someone, they can and often will come back to you to pay for damages. That is why you carry liability coverage on your auto and home policy.
But what happens if the damages exceed you home or auto policy?
This is where the umbrella policy (the goalie) steps in and saves the day. It steps in and pays the damages once the auto or home policy limits have been exhausted.
4 FACTS ABOUT UMBRELLA POLICIES:
1. COST
The are generally inexpensive- generally 150-350.00/year for 1mm in coverage. Cost will be higher if you have more vehicles, homes, drivers, etc. or if you select higher limits.
2. SETTING THE POLICY UP
If you have toys like motorcycles, ATV’s, Boat(s), etc., they MUST be listed on the umbrella policy in order to have any coverage.
3. TYPICAL EXCLUSIONS
They generally DO NOT address coverage for business practices. So if you are engaged in business related practices at the time of an accident you may have trouble getting an umbrella policy to respond. Many policies will exclude damage to family members, so in other words in those cases there may be exclusions that say you can not be liable to members of your family
4. WHO MAY HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ONE?
You may have trouble getting an umbrella if you are a professional athlete or have a job that make you a high profile individual.
For help with this or any of your insurance needs. Email me now at steve@stevewhiteinsurance.com
DISCLAIMER: This is meant for use as general guidance for how umbrella policies typically work. Coverage for you is always determined by the circumstances, your policy, and the company you are insured with.
