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What is a Personal Umbrella Policy?
Primary insurance policies typically come with limit options that can be set quite high, but almost every primary personal insurance policy has a maximum upper limit to how much protection the policy will provide. Sometimes, this upper limit is less than the ammount of protection that people want. Massachusetts residents who want more liability coverage than their primary policies will offer may be able to get additional coverage through a personal umbrella policy.
A personal umbrella policy normally won’t come with an infinite limit, but this type of policy will usually have a maximum limit option that’s quite high. It’s not uncommon for policies to offer millions of dollars in coverage, and most meet or exceed residents’ needs.
(Personal umbrella insurance policies are distinct from commercial umbrella policies. Wile both offer supplemental liability protection, the types of risks they cover are normally different. Personal policies are generally designed for individuals, and commercial policies are usually intended for businesses.)
What Massachusetts Residents Need Personal Umbrella Insurance?
As liability lawsuits have gotten more common and more expensive in recent years, personal umbrella insurance is becoming increasingly important. Today, there are many people in Massachusetts who can benefit from the additional liability protection that this kind of insurance provides. The following are just a few examples of people who might want to purchase an umbrella policy:
● People who have valuable assets and may be targeted by opportunistic lawsuits
● Landlords who lease to many tenants and could be sued by any of them
● Family estate owners who don’t want to lose the estate in a liability lawsuit
● Amateur athletes who might seriously injure someone during practice or competition
● Dog owners whose pooches might bite a passerby and cause injury
Are Excess Liability Policies and Personal Umbrella Policies the Same?
Excess liability policies and personal umbrella policies both provide supplemental liability insurance protection for individuals, and both types of policies can come with high limits. The two policies vary in how broad their coverage is, though.
Excess liability policies typically take on the terms, conditions and exclusions of a single underlying policy that they supplement. Because of this, they don’t fill in coverage gaps or supplement multiple policies at once.
Personal umbrella policies come with their own terms, conditions and exclusions, which make them more flexible than excess liability policies. When set up properly, personal umbrella policies may fill in coverage gaps and/or supplement several underlying policies.
What Are Underlying Insurance Policies?
Underlying insurance policies are the primary insurance policies that an umbrella policy supplements. In the case of personal umbrella policies, underlying policies might be homeowners, auto, boat or similar insurance policies.
Because personal umbrella policies interact closely with the underlying policies that they supplement, it’s important to carefully review these policies when purchasing personal umbrella insurance. An experienced insurance agent who specializes in this type of protection can help residents review their primary policies and chosen umbrella policy to make sure all necessary coverages are in place.
Are Personal Umbrella Policies Expensive?
Since personal umbrella policies work as supplemental policies, insurance companies are able to keep the premiums for these policies low. It’s often possible to get millions of dollars in coverage for a remarkably affordable payment.
How Can Massachusetts Residents Get a Personal Umbrella Policy?
For help finding a personal umbrella policy that’ll give you the protection you need, contact the independent insurance agents at John P. Russell Insurance. Our agents have assisted many Massachusetts residents with these policies. We’d be happy to help you find one that supplements your primary insurance policies in the ways you want.
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