What Is Umbrella Insurance?

Excess liability insurance, or simply additional coverage, is what umbrella insurance offers in addition to the liability coverage already included in your vehicle, home, and/or watercraft insurance policy. It’s for pricey circumstances where medical expenses or repairs cost more than your “basic” auto, home, or boat coverage. Because it can prevent you from losing your assets to pay for a litigation judgment against you, you can think of it as asset protection.

When you and your family have incurred more liability than your auto and/or property insurance policy will cover, personal umbrella insurance, also known as personal umbrella coverage, will defend you and your loved ones.

If you don’t have the necessary amount of coverage, personal injury and property damage claims could put your assets, home equity, retirement funds, and more in danger. You can pick up to $5 million in additional liability protection on your umbrella policy when you request a quotation for umbrella insurance from Progressive, protecting the way of life you’ve fought so hard to achieve.

Additional insurance, or umbrella insurance, offers protection above and above the terms and conditions of other policies. Injuries, property damage, specific litigation, and personal liability issues may all be covered by umbrella insurance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A type of personal liability insurance known as umbrella insurance covers claims that go over and beyond the limits of a typical homeowner’s, auto, or watercraft policy.
In addition to the policyholder, other members of their family or household are also covered by umbrella insurance.
The policyholder’s property is not protected by umbrella insurance, which pays for damage to other people’s property or injuries to third parties.
Compared to other insurance options, umbrella insurance is fairly affordable.

How does an umbrella insurance policy work?

In two crucial ways, an umbrella insurance policy safeguards both your present and your future:

When the coverage limits of your homeowner’s, auto, and boat insurance policies are reached, umbrella insurance may still offer coverage.
Umbrella insurance offers coverage for claims such as false arrest, libel, slander, and liability coverage on your own rental properties that may be excluded by other liability policies.

What does umbrella insurance cover?

Beyond the scope of your other insurance policies’ limits or for potential claims that liability insurance may not cover, umbrella insurance offers protection. Liability protection is typically offered via umbrella insurance for:

Injuries
Loss of property
certain court cases
Situations involving personal liability

Who needs umbrella insurance?

“I have a vehicle and house insurance that covers some of these circumstances,” you say to yourself. True! However, umbrella insurance covers some scenarios that aren’t covered by the other types of policies and provides coverage above and above the limits of those policies. Get an estimate on umbrella insurance from us right away by calling (866) 272-5192. The costs are lower than you might expect!

Umbrella Policy Coverage Examples:

The injuries that another individual sustains as a result of the accident are covered under bodily injury responsibility. The cost of medical expenses and/or responsibility claims resulting from injuries brought on by are some examples.

a serious auto accident for which you are responsible
Your dog hurts someone else* A visitor slips and falls in your house
When playing in your yard, a neighbor’s child trips and falls.

Is Umbrella Insurance Necessary?

Particularly wealthy households require personal umbrella insurance. A wealthy person or family may be the focus of a lawsuit. Additionally, these situations might make you more likely to face legal action:

You work for a nonprofit board.
You have a trampoline, pond, or pool.
You own horses, dogs, or other sizable animals.
In charge of a family trust.
Large gatherings are held at your house.
You hire domestic help.
You have a prominent public persona.

If you are responsible for a significant claim, avoid paying out of pocket.

Suppose the following: After a vehicle accident or an incident on your land or at your house, you are sued for $1 million. However, the maximum amount of damage your insurance will pay is $500,000 (which is often the highest amount of liability coverage available for standard homeowners insurance and auto insurance). Up to the maximum you chose, your umbrella insurance policy can pay for the additional $500,000 you are accountable for as well as your legal fees.

Do you need an umbrella insurance policy?

Although it isn’t needed by law, persons with significant assets to safeguard or a high risk of being sued is more likely to buy umbrella insurance. It could be beneficial to have umbrella insurance if you:

possess a home.
possess large assets or funds.

Are you concerned about potential responsibility claims when visiting foreign countries?

owning items like pools, trampolines, weapons, or dogs can result in harm litigation (check with your insurer to make sure your breed is covered).
being a landlord
Have a novice driver living in your home.
instruct youth sports.
You frequently have gatherings in your house.
Join a nonprofit’s board of directors.
Post product and company reviews on a regular basis.
Play sports where you have a high risk of hurting people (such as hunting, skiing, or surfing).
a well-known individual.

Is an umbrella insurance policy right for me?

Personal umbrella insurance from Progressive is accessible to all income levels. Umbrella insurance offers additional coverage to safeguard your assets against the costs of legal action and huge judgments whether you own a car, own a home, or apartment, or are a renter. If you own an ATV, RV, boat, or motorcycle, you might also want additional protection. Find out if you require umbrella insurance. Anywhere in the USA, you can acquire personal umbrella coverage.

How much umbrella insurance do you need?

It’s advisable to carry liability insurance that at the very least covers your net worth. One fast way to determine how much umbrella insurance you require is, to sum up the worth of your valuables (including the value of your property, savings, and investment accounts). Then, compare your previous plans’ liability insurance coverage to what you already have in order to purchase adequate umbrella insurance to cover the shortfall. You can calculate your net worth with this calculator.

If you’re a medical student, for instance, and you’re projected to earn significantly more money in the near future than you do today, you could also wish to add anticipated income.

Keep in mind that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 [1] shields employer-sponsored retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, from the majority of lawsuits. Except for money transferred from an employer-sponsored account, IRAs are not. However, state laws frequently provide at least partial protection for IRA accounts and home equity. Before determining how much umbrella insurance you require, check your local legislation.

Umbrella insurance is often sold by insurers in million-dollar blocks. This implies that the cheapest policy on the market offers $1 million in coverage, the next-cheapest policy offers $2 million in coverage, and so on. As a result, regardless of the policy you buy, you get a respectable amount of coverage.

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What Is Umbrella Insurance?