An Umbrella insurance policy is designed to protect you from a liability claim above and beyond what your other insurance policies cover. It is sometimes referred to as "excess liability" coverage.
When you purchase a Home, Auto or watercraft insurance policy, each policy includes a certain dollar amount for liability insurance coverage. If you are sued for a dollar amount that exceeds the liability limits in your other insurance policies, your Umbrella policy would kick in to cover the difference. Without Umbrella insurance, you may be required to pay out of pocket for any costs that exceed your current liability limits.
Since Umbrella insurance does not go into effect until the other underlying coverage is exhausted, there are certain limits that must first be met before you can purchase a policy. Depending on the provider, if you want to purchase a $1,000,000 Umbrella insurance policy, you must first have $250,000 liability on your Auto insurance policy and $300,000 liability on your Home insurance policy with most companies. Umbrella insurance policies are sold in increments of $1 million the majority of the time. Some companies may require a higher level of underlying coverage if characteristics are riskier. For example, newly licensed drivers tend to get into more accidents than individuals that have been driving for a long time.
Bodily Injury: If you're liable for an accident that injures other drivers, their passengers or any pedestrians - and you've exhausted the limits on your other insurance policies - your Umbrella policy would cover the remaining liability expenses up to the limits that you purchased.
Property Damage: If you're liable for an accident that damages another person's vehicle and/or property, your Umbrella policy would cover the remaining balance of money needed to repair or replace the damaged property up to the limits that you purchased
Like all insurance, this is a personal decision based on your individual needs. Most Umbrella insurance policies start at $1 million as a supplemental policy (not available as a stand-alone policy). You should consider having enough insurance to cover your net worth. Basically, the more assets you have, the more insurance you will need. As a rule of thumb, you should consider these three things when deciding about how much Umbrella insurance to purchase:
If you have assets that you want to protect, Umbrella insurance is well worth the investment. As lawsuits become more and more prevalent, failing to protect yourself with this relatively inexpensive insurance is a risk you may not want to encounter.
How to purchase an Umbrella policy from Stillwater: