Umbrellas

Umbrellas, What are they good for?

Insurance you can count on from people you can trust is more than a tagline at American Insurance & Investment. We believe protecting your assets and lifestyle are paramount to our promise to you, our customers. Protecting your family and assets is a top priority, which is why people have insurance. But what happens if you find yourself in a situation where your basic homeowners or automobile insurance is not enough? Well, that’s when a personal umbrella insurance policy could help cover you.

Umbrella coverages are for commercial policy holders as well. Significant assets can be at risk when businesses are the target of lawsuits. If the cost of a claim exceeds the limits of a business’s underlying primary insurance policies, Commercial Umbrella Insurance extends liability coverage for an additional layer of insurance to further protect business assets.

FAQ Umbrellas, “What are they good for?”

• A personal umbrella provides an additional layer of liability coverage above and beyond the liability limit in auto and homeowner policies. Coverage starts at $1 million and goes up from there.*
• The personal umbrella policy is extremely undersold. The vast majority of people with personal lines exposures don’t have an umbrella policy but they should, as it is one of the most inexpensive coverages available. An umbrella policy with $1 million of liability coverage can be had for around $200 dollars or less per year.*
• Most personal umbrella policies include an expert legal team on retainer and pay for legal defense at their own expense outside of policy limits to defend the insured and negotiate a fair settlement.**
• An insured doesn’t need to be a millionaire to have a $1 million personal umbrella policy. They don’t need to own a home, be married, have kids or be a certain age to have one. If the insured drives a car, crosses a street or has people over to their home (either rented or owned), they need this coverage. Even if someone is trespassing on your property, you could be liable for any injuries. **
• While umbrellas are often tied to auto and home policies, there are companies that offer standalone umbrellas at very reasonable prices. If an insured’s auto is with one carrier and their home is with another that doesn’t disqualify them from purchasing a personal umbrella.*
• A commercial umbrella policy provides additional liability limits over and above the primary limits in commercial general liability, commercial auto and employment liability policies. In some cases, it may schedule over a professional liability policy. ***

**Bill Gatewood, corporate vice president and director of personal insurance at Burns & Wilcox, **Daina Kawchack Smith, chief marketing officer for PersonalUmbrella Insurance Services Inc.***Chris Longo, CEO, McGowan Excess and Casualty and professor, Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance *