UMBRELLA Insurance

What is Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance, often referred to as excess liability insurance, is an insurance policy that covers you above and beyond the amount of liability insurance you carry on your auto and homeowners insurance. While the typical maximum homeowners or auto liability insurance policy is $500,000 an umbrella policy may be purchased to provide liability protection up to $5 million or more, an amount more in line with today’s aggressive lawsuits. In fact, given our increasing litigious society, umbrella insurance may be the most important insurance you can buy! To learn more about why umbrella insurance may be the most important protection you can own, roll over the following terms:

• How does it work?
• How much should I have?
• What does it cover?
• What is not covered?

Why you need umbrella insurance

Imagine that you are in an automobile accident. The road was icy and you lost control and smashed into a new Mercedes sedan carrying a young mother and father and their two children. You have the typical $250,000 in auto liability insurance (in New York State, the minimum insurance is actually as low as $25,000 per accident!). All four people and you are badly injured, one severely. Medical bills quickly rise to more than $300,000 and there’s no end in sight. It cost nearly $100,000 to replace the family’s Mercedes and repair your car. Then you’re hit with a lawsuit for $2 million. Your insurance will pay just $250,000 and you are now liable for the rest! Where will you get the money? An umbrella insurance policy for $5 million could have protected you from financial ruin.

It is affordable

You might think that umbrella insurance is expensive but it is not. It is actually quite inexpensive given the amount of protection you receive. Most umbrella insurance policies are sold in million dollar increments up to about $20 million. A $1 million policy will cost you as little as $150-$300 per year and each $1 million additional coverage is typically less.

Getting a quote

Consider purchasing an umbrella insurance policy with $1 million to $5 million in coverage. The cost is minimal when you have your auto and homeowners insurance with OneGroup and it could quite literally save your nest-egg from ruin.