A personal umbrella provides excess liability over your homeowners, auto, and other personal policies. When a covered liability claim exhausts the underlying limit, the umbrella pays above it, typically in increments of a million dollars. It is liability coverage, not property coverage.
How an umbrella works
The umbrella sits on top of your home and auto liability. If an at-fault accident or a lawsuit produces a judgment larger than your primary limit, the umbrella picks up where the primary stops, up to its own limit. To make this work, carriers require you to carry stated minimum liability limits on the underlying policies, which is why the umbrella has to be coordinated with the home and auto, not bought in a vacuum.
Why it costs so little
Catastrophic liability claims are rare, so the cost per million of umbrella coverage is remarkably low. For a modest annual premium, a family can add a million dollars or more of protection over their home and auto. That ratio, low cost for high protection against a rare but ruinous event, is exactly what insurance is supposed to do, and it is why an umbrella is one of the best values in a personal program.
Who needs one
Anyone with assets to protect or income to garnish should consider it, and that is most families, not just the wealthy. A teen driver, a swimming pool, a dog, a rental property, a role in the community, all raise the odds of a claim that exceeds a standard limit. The more you have built and the more exposure in your daily life, the more an umbrella earns its keep. It is the spine that ties a real plan together.
How we handle it
We confirm your home and auto carry the underlying limits the umbrella requires, so there is no gap between the layers. We size the umbrella to your assets, your income, and your exposure. We extend it over rental properties and other policies where it applies. And we keep the layers aligned as your life changes, a new driver, a new home, a new risk.
