personal liability policy yes or no?

[trouthog]

Yes very reasonable I think $200+ for 2 mil. We have a few rentals so this was originally for those but the coverage is expansive.

 

[Ticker]

We used to have large annual Xmas parties at the house, LOTS of drinking, so I'd get the umbrella policy just to protect against folks driving home. we tried to monitor our guests' driving, even making a couple of them spend the night, but you never can tell. Since we don't have the parties anymore, I've let the policy lapse. Thanks to all of your comments, think I'll price the renewal tomorrow.

 

[spncity]

$2m umbrella @$225 annually. Definately worth it

Do you mind PMing me the company? I'm quoted $350 for $2 million umbrella.....

 

[Dreamer]

Yes, we have a $1M one that we just took out in 08/13, after our DD and her family left our home. I decided to get one after reading an earlier thread on it and it sounded like a good idea. Definitely piece of mind.

 

[keegs]

We have an add-on to the homeowner's policies that brings it up to $1m. Just checked the premium ...it's 150. per year if paid in full. Whether we'll ever use it and how much it will help us if we ever have to is unclear.

 

[LarryG]

Yes, definitely have one, for $2M, from my auto/home insurer, State Farm. Premiums went up quite a bit when my then teenage son starting driving (which makes sense). Also premiums went up when one member of the household got a DUI, which also makes sense (frankly I was thrilled that they didn't cancel the policy).

I have a friend (in her 60s) who blacked out at the wheel and her car drifted into the oncoming lane. She hit another car head on and the driver of the other car was unfortunately killed. They were sued and ended up paying $1.4M. Their insurance was only for $1M. And get this - her husband was a lawyer! (so it probably could have been financially worse). They had to pay the $400K out of pocket, which has been quite a blow to their retirement.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Some state laws provide protection on some assets against creditors and lawsuits. In MA where we live our home is protected by a "Homestead exemption" up to 500K ($1M at 62 years of age) and our IRAs are also protected up to $1M.

We have a $1M umbrella policy at an annual cost of $220 to protect other assets.

 

[kz]

Yes, we took out an umbrella policy when our sons were teenagers and have continued on with it. $1M...wouldn't do without it out.

 

[meierlde]

We have $2M of umbrella liability coverage that we pay about $430 per annum for. From some of the other posts, it looks like our premiums might be on the high side, but this could be due to where we live or other underwriting factors.

Just as importantly, we have our personal residence in a trust and all of our material investment assets in LLCs domiciled in Nevis (Caribbean Islands), which has strong asset protection laws. Yes, this adds costs for LLC maintenance fees and tax return preparation, but it dramatically increases the sleep at night factor. All actual investment assets are held by Fidelity in the US, but they are under the umbrella protection of the Nevis LLCs.

To protect your home just move to Texas and any and all equity in your home is protected (Homestead laws). Also of course 401ks are protected in Bankruptcy.

 

[Jack_Pine]

Hmm... My umbrella is only for $1M, and I am paying more than $500/yr. Something is wrong!

I just looked mine up last night. I am at 453 for 1mm. They want 780 for 2mm.

What are the factors that make some on here so cheap. It almost seems unbelievable (one way or the other)

BTW, we are with Farmers.

 

[MichaelB]

I just looked mine up last night. I am at 453 for 1mm. They want 780 for 2mm.

What are the factors that make some on here so cheap. It almost seems unbelievable (one way or the other)

BTW, we are with Farmers.

Pets, teenage drivers, amount of liability on homeowner and auto insurance are factors.

 

[Jack_Pine]

Pets, teenage drivers, amount of liability on homeowner and auto insurance are factors.

No kids, couple of dogs....will have to check auto. Seems like a huge diff in some reports. 2mm for $225? Going to have to run that past my agent (also my BIL)

 

[Dash man]

I'm paying $1088 for 4 million in coverage. We gave two rental properties and a three cars that drive up the cost for us. Not every policy is as comprehensive as others, so you need to read it closely to make sure exclusions won't leave you vulnerable.

 

[keegs]

I can't say for sure but I thought they applied the umbrella coverage to the existing homeowner policy. That policy had to cover up to 300k I think...(don't hold me to it) in liability and the umbrella took it the rest of the way. We have Allstate homeowner and auto. We have 3 vehicles and two homes and no kids

 

[REWahoo]

I can't say for sure but I thought they applied the umbrella coverage to the existing homeowner policy. That policy had to cover up to 300k I think...(don't hold me to it) in liability and the umbrella took it the rest of the way.

That's the way ours is structured.

 

[MichaelB]

Some insurers bundle umbrella liability with auto, such as State Farm. Other bundle with homeowners, like USAA. Other policies may not be stackable, so the umbrella coverage is not additional. This would explain some of the differences in pricing.

 

[Dash man]

My USAA policy requires maintaining $300,000/$500,000 limits for the underlying policy, then the umbrella kicks in. The two rental properties add about $60 each to the cost of the policy based on my savings when I dropped coverage on a property I sold last year. We also dropped a car that saved us $36 off the umbrella policy.

 

[Jack_Pine]

From BIL "However, should you decide you would like to increase the Umbrella we can increase your underlying liability on your auto's from 250/500 to 500/500 increasing the auto policy premium by $67 a year and you would receive a discount and decrease the $2M Umbrella by $117 to $746. That would save you about $40."

So mine must be tied to my auto polices.......................

 

[howdidigetthisold]

We just signed up for an umbrella policy. Didn't even know about it until we talked with a new insurance agent who happened to mention, "If your assets in retirement, property, etc. are higher than your home/auto insurance coverage, you should have an umbrella policy." We hesitated because of the cost and a real lack of documentation about how it works. So, we're very glad to hear that so many others on this forum have an umbrella policy. Thanks for sharing this info!

 

[tryan]

Everytime I visit getting an umbrella policy I learn that no one will touch those with 6+ rentals.

So the "hide n'seek" game is a little different ( and much more costly): S corp for the inter-city properties, trust on the primary residence and a liability policy rider on each property.

Been sued plenty ... only one resulted in the liability kicking in .... suit was dropped. All others settled for rent/debt credit.

 

[coalduck]

I've been checking into an umbrella policy for the past year or so, and have put off pulling the trigger on the purchase. Quote is $413.00 for $2 million coverage. Thanks to the great information in this thread, I just got off the phone with my agent. Trigger pulled! Thanks to all.