Have you ever been the guy without an umbrella…
Pretty terrible right…
You normally don’t continue your leisurely stroll when you forgot your umbrella….
Then again, have you ever been that one guy WITH the umbrella.
Makes you feel pretty good about yourself.
“Sure glad I thought of bringing that Umbrella” “I told you it was going to rain”
Such a simple accessory, often over looked, and yet very effective when you remember to bring it along….
Its a lot like an Umbrella Insurance policy. Simple, effective, and does its job when you need it.
Umbrella Insurance Explained
An Umbrella insurance policy is just like the umbrella that you know and love. It exists to provide an extra layer of liability protection over your other insurance policies.
Think homeowners, auto, landlord policies, renters insurance….
Liability meaning?
Think of liability protection as being injuries that you cause to other people or their property. Could be someone falls in your home, dog bites, you causing an accident with your vehicle.
It’s also important to highlight what umbrella coverage is not.
It is not extra coverage for your property.
Its also not some kind of a catch all policy that covers you everywhere your other policies stop and it does not provide extra property coverage for your home.
Can you draw it out for me?
Using an auto insurance example with a liability limit of $250,000 per person.
Lets say you or another member of your family caused an accident and unfortunately injured someone pretty seriously.
After medical payments and rehabilitation costs, your insurance company pays the injured party $250,000 exhausting your current policy, then that person decides to sue you for damages….
Not all that far fetched, right?
Lets say the court then rules in their favor and requires you to pay additional damages of $500,000.
This is where your umbrella insurance picks up the remaining amount you owe that person including the court costs that you incurred.
Simply put, an umbrella policy kind of acts as a extra tank of gas when your main tank runs out!
The Claim
So….do you need one?
You might guess, I can make the argument that everyone needs one.
Here’s best part, they are very inexpensive and one of, if not the single best value in insurance products today.
A $1,000,000 umbrella would run somewhere between $150 – $350 for the year.
That’s less than a dollar per day….
That fact alone should be reason enough alone to have one.
But further more, If you own a home, have a dog, have two kids, 3 cars, and a rental property, a $1,000,000 umbrella policy is an absolute no brainer in my opinion.
On the flip side, if you rent a small apartment, own a vehicle, and are early in your income earning career you should also have one. A large liability suit could at the very worst cause your wages to be garnished if a settlement goes against you… That could take money from your paycheck for years and years.
Lastly, if your net worth (what you own subtracted from what you owe) is higher than the highest single liability limit on any of your policies you need to pick up the phone and give us a call immediately!
You have worked too hard in your life to, in the blink of an eye, loose everything you have because of an honest mistake.
This is what insurance is for. Defend yourself and your money against the unknown.
So Next time, be the person with the umbrella, you will be able to walk out into the rain.
Have more questions about umbrella insurance? Give us a call today at 910-484-6171.