Umbrella Policies

An umbrella policy provides additional protection against lawsuits that might be brought against you. Umbrella policies are so named because it acts like an umbrella, sitting on top of your auto and/or homeowners liability policies. You should consider obtaining umbrella coverage if you own substantial assets.

In general your auto and homeowners policies have at least some liability insurance that would be used to settle legal claims. However, if the settlement or judgment exceeds these limits, you would still be liable for the remainder. At which point virtually everything you own would be fair game to pay off the debt. Your future income and inheritance you may receive could easily be jeopardized or seized for settlement payments.

Umbrella liability insurance usually requires a minimum amount of liability coverage in your underlying policies, usually about $300,000. At the very least you should obtain enough umbrella coverage to protect your assets.

With Americas love affair with lawsuits, you can’t afford to not have umbrella liability insurance.