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What is a Personal Umbrella Policy?
Primary personal insurance policies grant policyholders access to substantial liability protections, but there are limits to how much coverage primary policies offer. When California residents want more coverage than their primary policies afford, a personal umbrella policy might provide the supplemental liability protection that’s desired.
Personal umbrella policies themselves normally have limits as to how much coverage they provide. These policies typically have high limits, though, often offering $1 million with of coverage or more. Whatever limits a personal umbrella policy provides normally are in addition to the underlying policies’ limits.
What California residents should carry Personal Umbrella Insurance?
Given the high potential cost of a liability lawsuit, many California residents may want to consider adding personal umbrella coverage to their insurance portfolio. The following are just a few examples of people who might benefit from the coverage:
- High-Net-Worth Individuals: May be targeted by opportunistic lawsuits
- Owners of Family Properties: May not want to risk a forced sale due to legal costs
- Dog Owners: May need added protection against dog bite lawsuits
- Boat Owners: May need added protection for on-water accidents
- Athletes: May want added liability protection for amateur boxing, skiing, etc.
- Landlords: May be personally sued by tenants or their guests
There are still many others who may benefit from having this coverage. An insurance broker who specializes in personal umbrella policies can help residents fully assess whether this coverage is right for them
What policies can Personal Umbrella Insurance supplement?
Personal umbrella policies can be used to supplement an array of underlying, primary insurance policies. Residents commonly use the coverage to extend protections that homeowners insurance, auto insurance, boat insurance, and RV insurance along with other types of personal insurance.
How are Personal Umbrella Policies and Excess Liability Policies different?
Personal umbrella policies and excess liability policies both generally act as secondary liability coverage. The two policies often differ in how broad their protections are, though.
Excess liability policies normally adopt the terms and conditions of a single underlying policy, which can limit them to only extending that one underlying policy’s coverages.
Personal umbrella policies normally come with their own terms and conditions, which normally allows them to extend the protections of multiple underlying policies. They might also fill in some coverage gaps that underlying policies have, as well.
For broad supplemental liability protection, personal umbrella insurance is typically the more suitable choice.
How much are premiums for Personal Umbrella Policies?
Premiums for personal umbrella policies tend to remain low, mostly because these policies act as secondary insurance and not primary insurance. They also often can be bundled with primary policies to get a discount.
In many cases, even $1 million worth of coverage or more is still quite affordable. An independent insurance broker, who’s able to compare quotes from different insurers, can show residents exactly how much they’d have to pay for personal umbrella insurance.
How can California residents get a Personal Umbrella Policy?
For help finding a personal umbrella policy that works well with your current primary policies, contact the independent insurance brokers at Heffernan Walton Insurance. Our California brokers can help you review current coverages, assess your total liability coverage needs, and find personal umbrella insurance that meets your particular needs.