3 Reasons Why Your Need an Umbrella Policy

Do you have a $1 million umbrella policy? You are not sure what this policy is and why you need it?

If you own a couple houses, and rent some houses out or have a dog, a boat, or a Jet Ski, motorcycle or RV, you should have it. The more property you own, the more risk you are taking. Any parent or guardian of a teenage driver in the household should consider this coverage as a necessity. If you are a movie star, a politician or other public figure, your additional liability policy should be purchased with an insurance company that specializes in those kinds of policies.

An umbrella policy provides additional liability insurance over and above the basic coverage provided by underlying liability insurance, such as an auto policy. You also can purchase a standalone excess liability policy that does not require an underlying policy. Such a policy also covers some losses that are excluded by the auto or homeowner's liability insurance.

Here are three major reasons why you need an umbrella policy:

These days, anyone can be sued for almost anything. If you caused a five-car accident on the road because you were texting, you can be sued. If you had a party in your home and somebody tripped on that staircase that you had no time to fix, you can be sued. Liability policy provides coverage against lawsuits that you, your spouse, partner or kids, or even a pet caused bodily injury or property damage to other person by accident. False claims, false arrests, slander, libel, vandalism are also covered. In case of a lawsuit, if you are guilty, the court can order your personal savings and personal property to be taken away from you to pay for the losses. Even your future earnings can be subject to paying for that loss. I am sure you don't want that to happen. An umbrella policy covers the insured and his or her family anywhere in the world.

Personal umbrella policy range can be from $1 million to $5 million, but the premiums are not that high. The majority of a loss is paid by your primary auto insurance, so your umbrella insurance rates are not that expensive. This type of policy can cost between $110 to $300 per year, depending on how much property it covers, the state and country where the policy was purchased. Contact your agent and purchase an umbrella policy and be safe!

When Is Umbrella Insurance Necessary?

To begin understanding when is umbrella insurance necessary, you will want to examine how umbrella policies work and their benefits. There are some common misconceptions about this type of insurance to look at when determining the types of insurance that you need, as well. Umbrella insurance is highly affordable and provides ample coverage when other types of insurance fall short.

The Basics

Insurance, such as liability, usually only covers a specific amount of damages. For example, if you have an accident policy that only covers $10,000, anything left over after insurance pays the injured party can be covered by other insurances or out of pocket. Having additional insurance policies is ideal regardless of your income, contrary to popular belief that only the wealthy need to have several types of coverage.

In fact, most people can benefit from having umbrella insurance throughout their lives. This type of insurance kicks in to cover several different types of issues, including slander and libel lawsuits, property damage and can even help pay your legal fees. You will find that expanding your coverage is also inexpensive, and only takes a few moments of your time to get.

The Costs and Benefits

Umbrella insurance can vary in cost from one hundred to about three hundred dollars annually, depending on the amount of coverage that you need. Most policies will cover up to one million dollars in legal fees and damage, ensuring you are fully protected in most cases. You will definitely want to have more insurance than assets to maintain your property and other personal assets in the case of a lawsuit. An insurance specialist can assist you in choosing the right coverage amount of you aren't sure what you need.

Quite often, umbrella insurance is best when started as soon as you obtain liability insurance for driving, or when you obtain personal property. Some people, such as those working in the media, can also benefit from umbrella coverage since the policy will cover damage caused by stating untruths, whether in online, print or spoken media. Working with an insurance expert can be the best way to determine when you need umbrella insurance, as well as figuring out how much you need.

Getting Started

When choosing umbrella insurance, you will want to be sure that you have the right policy at the right time. Most people can benefit from the addition of an umbrella policy added to their other insurance, especially when driving or after purchasing personal property.

The Facts and Truth About Umbrella Insurance

Do you volunteer on a non-profit board? Do a lot of community service?

Own some nice toys - boats, motorcycles, ATV, RV, snowmobile, camper or Skidoo?

You might be at higher risk than the "average" consumer and need extra liability protection called an Umbrella Policy.

Umbrella Insurance is probably the least understood insurance coverage there is and the most mistaken what it is too. Consumer's believe that everything they own is covered under 1 umbrella policy, like it is a "one policy fits all" blanket coverage.

Actually, an umbrella insurance policy goes over everything you own, not replacing your underlying insurance policies (like most people think). It is NOT blanket protection including all you own but blanket protection OVER everything you own.

Umbrella insurance policies protect you and your family with an additional $1,000,000 of liability protection, over and above what you have on the underneath policies. You still need the underlying policies in place before any umbrella protection will kick in.

Today's consumer is being more and more susceptible to lawsuits from others who make a claim against you. The more you have to lose, the more you need umbrella insurance protection. With some plans starting at $10 a month, it is pretty inexpensive coverage to add with those who have a lot to protect.

The best way to buy an extra $1,000,000 of protection is with your current auto and home insurance company, as they will have a bundled rate, discounted because of the other 2 policies. But there are also insurance companies out there that have "stand alone" policies, that will go over your existing auto and home insurance.

Let's say you have an at-fault auto accident, where you injure the 2 parties in the other car. They see an attorney advertising on TV and decide to press you with a lawsuit for their pain and suffering (actually 2 lawsuits). Your auto policy will cover the initial $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident coverage for the lawsuit (your need $250,000/$500,000 to qualify for an umbrella insurance policy).

Once those limits have been satisfied, then you $1,000,000 (or more) umbrella insurance limit would kick in and provide the additional liability coverage for your lawsuit. This coverage protects you and your family in the event you are found guilty of any amount over the $250,000 per person.

Be a smart insurance consumer, get proper insurance protection.

Loan Protection Insurance - An Umbrella Cover in Times of Calamity

Loan protection Insurance may be provided along with your loan. If you apply for a secured loan you may have often come across an insurance plan which provides you security against missing out on your payments. Keep your house or any other asset pledged against your loan intact by being consistent with your payments. How do you ensure that your mortgage payments are made out on time?

Simple, get an insurance cover which will ensure that your mortgage payments are made despite of you being out of employment. You may be bed ridden for long and are unable to meet your financial expenses. Don't worry, your policy will take care of your expenses too. Ensure that you have opted for a right policy when you apply for your mortgage.

Usually, you are given out a monthly compensation of 65- 70%. When an unforeseen event occurs in your life, you can make use of these policies and claim for a compensation. Avert any kind of financial calamity and be secured. Despite of all financial odds, you should be in a position to lead a normal life covering up all your expenses. Isn't it peaceful, to have paid out your mortgage payments on time and continue to enjoy your three square meal with your family despite of being out of employment.

Avoid late fees or any penalty associated with non payment of your mortgage. You may risk your asset pledged against your mortgage. In order to have a secured future, understand the terms and conditions of these protective policies.

Get Yourself Protected Against Uncertainty - Get Umbrella Insurance

An Umbrella provides protection against rain or sun light. The term Umbrella Insurance has the same concept and thus it is self explanatory. Umbrella Insurance is a policy, which is a bit different from other regular insurance policies. A person pays some extra amount of money to get this insurance product to protect him against uncertain event, which may arise without any prior notification. An uncertain event is usually taken as something, which gives an eventual stress and pressure on the mind of the person going through the situation. The importance of protection from these uncertain events is well known by a person, who has been into it previously but for those who have their luck protecting them up till today, they must not wait a day more and should get an Umbrella over their heads to protect them.

Umbrella Insurance works in a peculiar way. When a regular liability policy refuses to give the coverage against a claim, Umbrella makes the entry and covers the exceeding amount. For instance, if a person has been facing a lawsuit and his liability policy's limit is already exhausted, he could use his umbrella to protect him further.

Umbrella Insurance Policy covers all other policies, which comes under its shadow such as auto insurance and homeowner's insurance. It also provides coverage for claims those may be excluded by other regular liability policies.

A person is always unaware, when he is going to be hit by a car from behind, a flood, an earthquake etc. A person can face lawsuits for a bad thing happened with and than he is required to pay regular visits to the court for hearing. Going ahead, he is left crying with empty pockets and a long way yet to go for those hearings. So, it is far better to play safe before the safety option goes far away.

As the awareness has already been created regarding insurance policies and the benefits those policies provide to an individual or businesses; there is still some awareness required to make the benefits of umbrella insurance prominent. This policy is not only for a person with great wealth but for everyone, who can afford it, when putting it on the first priority. It is a must and cannot be ignored. After all, if a product can provide peace of mind then no price is big enough. If you think, you need that extra bit of cover, then go and buy it.

Universal Life Insurance Planning For Your Future

Life can be an amazing experience at times. There are some instances where everything may be just fine and then our life can be on death's door. It is important that everyone has some type of life insurance to protect their family members and loved ones in the event of a sudden or unexpected death. There are a number of life insurance options to choose from including Term Life, Whole Life and Universal Life insurance.

Universal Life insurance is a particular type of life insurance under which an individual is covered for their entire life. Any premium payments that are made by the insured party above and beyond the requirement are added to the cash balance. Typically, an insured party will make an insurance premium payment. The amount will then be credited to their Universal Life insurance policy. However, there will be fees that are deducted from the policy. Administration fees and other fees that are written within the policy will be deducted from the balance each month.

These fees are typically a very small amount and are meant to pay the staff, which runs the policy as well as for claims and customer support.

One of the numerous advantages to owning a Universal Life insurance policy is that it can be used to pay off debt. All Universal Life policies have a cash surrender value. This is the value of the policy if it were to be terminated and a cash benefit paid out to the beneficiary at the present time. Some individuals purchase a Universal Life policy with the idea of saving money. While it is not meant to be a savings account, a Universal Life policy could be used to store money should an individual need to access it at a later date. There are three main types of Universal Life policies: single, fixed and flexible.

Single premium polices used to be more common. They typically involved placing a single large premium into the policy. This was very similar to placing a large amount of money into a bank that was not taxed or subject to any scrutiny. Federal legislators changed the law to ensure that this type of policy was not abused by the wealthy.

Fixed premium policies are where the same amount is paid each and every premium payment until the death benefit is reached. There may be some premium payment periods that are short, while some may be for the length of the policy. It is written differently in each and every policy. These policies are considered to be higher risk due to the fact that they require a certain amount of interest to accrue from the paid premiums. During periods of high interest, there may be problems with the policy. An individual may have to pay more in order to still have the same amount of death benefit.

Flexible premium policies are useful for individuals who want to keep their options open. Payments can be varied in time and amount based upon the policy requirements and the owners choice. There is typically a choice for the level of a death benefit in dollars and an amount of risk, which an individual is willing to take. These types of policies are useful for younger individuals as well as those who follow their insurance accounts closely.