Umbrella Insurance: What is it and do you need it?
We all hope that we will be able to go through life without accidentally injuring someone. However, the reality is that injuries do occur on a daily basis. If you or a loved one accidentally injure someone then you face the potential of a lawsuit being brought against you. If the injuries are minor it is likely that your home or auto liability insurance will respond to the lawsuit and pay any Judgment ordered against you. However, in very serious personal injury cases, such as a young man who suffers a severe brain injury in a car accident and requires 24 hour per day supervision as a result, a Judge may order the responsible party to pay more than $5 Million or even $10 Million to that accident victim. Very few of us carry enough insurance to cover that sort of Judgment.
If you wish to increase your liability coverage it would be wise to speak to your insurance broker about purchasing umbrella or excess liability coverage. You can purchase this additional liability coverage for a relatively low premium. This coverage acts like an umbrella over your home and auto liability coverage. If you accidentally injure someone and the claims exceed your primary policy limits then the umbrella coverage will respond as “excess” insurance and pay for any judgment that exceeds your primary liability limits up to the umbrella liability coverage limits. Another advantage to umbrella coverage is that if an uninsured or underinsured motorist injures you or your family member in most cases you will have coverage through your own car insurer up to the liability policy limits of your umbrella policy.
If you believe this coverage may be something that you should purchase please contact your insurance broker or liability insurance company to obtain further information.
