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.

Facts Everyone Should Know About Umbrella Insurance

Umbrella Insurance - sounds familiar, doesn't it? Many of us may have heard of this at one point or the other though most of us may know not much or anything about it. As the name itself indicates, the umbrella insurance protects an individual in times of legal troubles similar to an umbrella which protects one during a downpour. Well, it is a very beneficial insurance policy covering many areas which the home insurance or the auto insurance policies do not. Another noteworthy feature of Umbrella Insurance is that it is advantageous over so many other insurance policies as even after the exhaustion of an individual's regular policy it fills in the gaps in coverage.

It is a common knowledge that at no point of time any of us can foresee what might happen in the near or far future. There are so many instances wherein you or I have to face a lawsuit filed against us. For instance, you happen to injure someone with your car. He sues you for it and the legal expenses and the judgment costs levied on you exceed your auto insurance. Then, umbrella insurance comes to your rescue.

If you purchase the policy you can face such unforeseen situations without having to lose any of your personal assets. Though many people mistake it as an extra liability, it is not. Umbrella insurance comes to one's rescue in case if he is sued for a thing not covered by his home insurance or auto insurance.

The individual can select the amount of coverage after carefully calculating the worth of the assets he owns. For instance, if you have personal assets worth, say, a million dollars you have to go for a million dollar umbrella. Similar to an umbrella, it is also cheap. With just as little an amount as $120 dollars one can purchase as high as one million dollars of excess liability. Considering these two points, many individuals go for buying an umbrella policy the cost of which is far more than the actual worth of their personal assets. The excess liability provides protection for many things such as imprisonment, defamation, invasion of privacy and many more that have nothing to do with the car or home you own.

One important point worth considering is that an individual needs to maintain a certain amount of liability on his home and auto policies before seeking to purchase the umbrella policy.