What Is Umbrella Insurance?

An umbrella insurance policy is extra liability insurance that protects policyholders from major lawsuits and claims.  Therefore, it is an additional way to keep your assets secure, and your future as well.

It accomplishes this in a couple of different ways.  First, it provides additional liability coverage beyond the limits of your auto, homeowners, and boat insurance policies that kicks in when the coverage on those policies has been used up.  Second, it may provide coverage for claims that are otherwise excluded by other liability policies that you have, such as libel, slander, false arrest and liability coverage on your owned rental units.

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But exactly what does umbrella insurance cover in detail?

Remember: umbrella insurance gives you insurance beyond the limits of your existing policies and even some situations that aren’t covered by any of the policies that you have. Some examples include:

• Property damage liability. Umbrella insurance covers the cost of any damage to another person’s property, such as damage to vehicles in an accident that you caused, damage caused by your pet to another person’s home or damage to school property that your child caused.
• Bodily injury liability. This type of umbrella insurance coverage protects you if others attempt to hold you liable for injuries to another person. This could include injuries in an auto accident that you caused, injuries to a person sustained on your property or injuries sustained by a neighbor’s child while playing at your house.
• Rental units. If you own rental units, you are protected against liability that you could face as a landlord. Common examples of claims that arise include people tripping and falling on your property and suing for damages and healthcare, or a tenant’s dog biting someone and you being held liable for its actions.
• Other common liabilities. These include false arrest, libel, slander, mental anguish and more.

Umbrella policies can be an extremely important safeguard in worst-case scenarios when they arise. For more information about these policies and to find out whether you are eligible, we encourage you to contact us today.