Before determining whether you need umbrella insurance, it’s important to understand what umbrella insurance is and how it helps: Umbrella insurance is an add-on insurance product that provides an additional level of personal liability insurance for your home, automobiles, and boats.
Examples where this may come in handy:
- You are at fault in a multi-car accident and your automotive insurance does not cover the damage costs for all the other cars/drivers. With umbrella insurance, you don’t need to pay the difference out of pocket.
- An invited guest in your home trips and falls then sue you for the cost of their medical bills and your standard homeowner liability limits aren’t enough, umbrella insurance will pick up the slack.
- In most cases, an umbrella policy covers instances when your dog bites or harms a neighbor. There are exceptions to this based on the specific breed of the dog.
Umbrella insurance covers more than just bodily harm lawsuits. It can provide you and your family with extra coverage for slander, libel, malicious prosecution, false arrest, and mental anguish. Landlords and commercial business owners can also obtain umbrella insurance for extra liability coverage.
What are the main benefits of umbrella insurance?
The main benefit of umbrella insurance is its overall cost-effectiveness. Umbrella insurance is relatively inexpensive, so if you are ever in a situation where you need it, it will typically wind up saving you a lot of money.
Look at the examples above. If you are responsible for $700,000 in damages from a multi-car accident and your auto insurance policy only covers $300,000, you’ll be on the hook for $400,000! Not exactly pocket change…
An umbrella policy is an affordable way to protect you and your family from that nightmare scenario.
Do I need umbrella insurance?
As with most types of insurance, the answer depends on the specifics of your situation. Are you comfortable with risk? Can you pay for lawsuits should they occur? How good is your current policy? The list goes on.
Goodman Family Insurance can help you understand your current risks, evaluate your future options, and get great rates on umbrella insurance – call 262-599-8031 today to learn more.