umbrella insurance coverage?

Question

is it a good idea to purchase a liability umbrella policy if you own a home? or should you up the liability on your car insurance?

Answer 1

An umbrella policy takes up where your insurance lets go. If someone falls and breaks their ankle on your property and sues you for a $1 million, insurance will not cover this, but an umbrella policy should if you take on a policy with a large amount.
Without this umbrella policy, if you are proven negligent with a deep hole on your property, you could lose it all.

Answer 2

The short answer: yes get the umbrella. The coverage is cheap and worthwhile.

The long answer: you need to inventory all your stuff (cars, boats, other toys) and evaluate which policy provides primary liability coverage and search for holes in your current coverage. Then evaluate the particular umbrella you're looking to buy and see if it provides the coverage you're missing. Have a sit down yak with your insurance person and have her bring a copy of the company umbrella policy she's looking to sell. Take the time to read it; it's the fine print you don't read that bites you in the a$$.

Answer 3

I pay about $120 per year for a $1 million umbrella policy. On your auto and home you will be required to have the max liability but it added to your coverage i.e. 1.3 million. If you need to protect your assets by all means get an umbrella policy.

Answer 4

You need to not just assess your current assets, but also your future earnings potential as your wages and other income can be garnished if you cannot meet a settlement. Just look at OJ. Anything he makes outside his pension goes to the Goldman's. Although I despise OJ he is a perfect example of how you cannot have too much liability insurance. Nicole's and Ron's death was tragic, but certainly not worth $34MM. Think about what might happen to you if you are accidentally responsible for the death of others from your car, your pool, your dog, your errant golf ball (all covered by an umbrella policy). I have one for $2MM and am thinking about raising it. I find it amazing the difficulty people go through trying to decide if they should carry a $250 or $500 deductible but don't think twice about buying this cheap form of insurance. Get at least $1MM. If you have a lot of assets or future earnings potential, buy more.

Answer 5

both. the umbrella policy is the greatest value offered by insurance companies. it does require that you have substantial limits on the underlying policies, however. most people worry about a $250-$750 collision deductible... what for? are you going to be forced to file bankruptcy over that amount if you have an at fault accident? what if a child is permanently disabled as a result of that same at fault accident? if your auto liability limits are 50/100/50, and the jury awards the child $1m, your deductible effectively becomes $950,000. and i don't entertain the "you can't get blood from a stone" arguement, because the people who use it would not accept it if their child were injured by another driver.

Answer 6

Yes. To both. An umbrella is a cheap, cheap way of increasing your liability coverage, but in order to get it, you usually must carry auto limits of 250/500/100 or homeowners limit of $500,000 (liability).

You need to insure yourself for your net worth, PLUS three years wages.

Answer 7

Perhaps if you explained what exactly you were wanting to accomplish? Simply asking a question without providing any background makes it hard to decide how much you know.