Ten Reasons to Buy a Personal Umbrella Policy

In general, personal umbrellas provide extra coverage, high limits and extend your other coverages &dash: all at relatively little cost. Here are the specifics:

1. The typical homeowners policy provides only $100,000 to $300,000 in liability coverage. A lawsuit can cost much more.
2. A personal umbrella policy can provide limits of $1 million or more, in $1 million increments, to protect you from catastrophic lawsuits.
3. Personal umbrella policies cost very little in relation to the coverage available.
4. Motor vehicle collisions account for more federal civil liability trials than any other type of case. They represent 20 percent of all federal civil liability trials—ahead of products liability (13 percent) and medical malpractice (10 percent). If you drive, you need enough liability coverage to cover your assets.
5. High-profile and high net worth individuals need more protection than others, as they are more likely to become the targets of a lawsuit.
6. A personal umbrella policy boosts the limits of liability coverage under both your homeowners and personal auto policies.
7. A personal umbrella usually covers some exposures excluded by the homeowners policy, such as libel, slander, invasion of privacy and other personal injuries (as opposed to bodily injuries, which the homeowners policy does cover).
8. Those who entertain frequently, especially if you serve alcohol, have higher liability exposures. A personal umbrella can protect you if an inebriated guest causes an accident.
9. Owning a swimming pool, which is considered an “attractive nuisance,” increases your liability exposures.
10. Likewise, owning lakefront or oceanfront property can increase your liability exposures due to the higher risk of serious accident or drowning.