Umbrella insurance separate from home/auto ?

[Delawaredave5]

Do all insurance companies require that you have home and auto with them to write an umbrella ?

I don't like having everything "bundled" - I think insurance companies know it is harder for you to switch all three and are more likely to push big annual increases.

Thanks.

 

[brewer12345]

Some will, some won't. Check and see how you get the best price, combined or separate. You can shop all three if you wish, and if you have an independent agent do it its real easy.

 

[Walt34]

Requiring bundling is probably not an unreasonable position to take since they need to know exactly what they are and are not insuring. Otherwise they'd have to have their attorneys scrutinize the other company's insurance policies.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I don't believe this is necessary but in some situations could be helpful. For instance, I was with Progressive for six years on automobile insurance and tried to get my home bundled with them; however, the companies that write homeowners for Progressive do not write new policies in Florida.
Many companies do not write homeowners in Florida so how do you get something bundled and then add an umbrella on top of it?

I just switched auto insurance to 21st Century because Progressive upped
my rate $500 a year. Tried to have them write a homeowners but they don't write in Florida. What's a body to do?

 

[KingB]

My insurance agent will only give me a quote for an umbrella policy only if I increase my liability limits on my car insurance.

 

[MuirWannabe]

It does not require bundling with the same insurance agency. But the umbrella policy will require certain minimum coverage be in effect with auto/home for the umbrella policy to kick in with coverage. At least that is how mine works.

 

[SteveL]

Umbrella insurance is not simply an extension of auto or Ho insurance. They often provide coverage that isn't included in the underlying policies. (An example is Personal Injury coverage for libel and slander that is excluded on the primary HO Policy but sometimes covered on the umbrella)
The requirement for the issuing carrier to also write the auto and HO policies stems from a desire to lessen the expense of underwriting the umbrella. If you qualify for their auto and HO coverage, it is more likely that you will also qualify for umbrella coverage.
Many companies only retain a small portion of the exposure of an umbrella policy and reinsure the rest. This gives the reinsurance company a degree of control over what risks the primary company can accept and also has a lot to do with the limits required to be carried on the underlying auto and HO Policy. 20 years ago min req limts for an umbrella were 100/300/50 for auto and 100 for HO. Nowadays, this has increased to 300/300/100 or 300/500/100 for auto and 300k for HO. Higher limits keeps the reinsuror from paying many claims.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have umbrella coverage that is not with the carrier writing my home and auto insurance. Having a certain amount of home and auto insurance as underlying coverage is required but it doesn't matter that they are with a separate company. It is certainly not required that umbrella coverage be with the same carrier who writes your auto or your homeowners coverage.

 

[RunningBum]

What I found at one point is that if you didn't bundle, the carrier providing the umbrella insurance required higher liability coverage than if they provided the homeowners and auto insurance themselves.

 

[SteveL]

You can always find someone to write your Umbrella without bundling, but you will have to shop around, and you may find cover with a non-admitted company such as Lloyds. Policies from the same company will have less coverage gaps together compared to buying from several sources.

 

[Delawaredave5]

I have umbrella coverage that is not with the carrier writing my home and auto insurance. Having a certain amount of home and auto insurance as underlying coverage is required but it doesn't matter that they are with a separate company.

Can I ask who you are with ? Or PM me, pls.

Nationwide gave me minimum coverages home and auto and they had to have my home and auto to write umbrella. I'll double check tomorrow.

 

[VaCollector]

Nationwide gave me minimum coverages home and auto and they had to have my home and auto to write umbrella.

Yep...me too!....and then the umbrella cost crept up every year until I finally cancelled it this year!!

 

[Delawaredave5]

Yep...me too!....and then the umbrella cost crept up every year until I finally cancelled it this year!!

My unbrella just went up 17% and this is on top of 10% last year.

 

[growing_older]

Umbrella costs for me are the lowest of the bundle and have been rising much more slowly than other coverages. However, I like the bundle. I never want to be in the situation where 2 insurance companies each say the other should pay and I'm stuck in the middle with a loss.

 

[chinaco]

Ours has always been bundled.

 

[Ally]

So does everyone carry umbrella? I'm ashamed to say that we only recently heard about it, when our agent recommended it.

 

[Gumby]

So does everyone carry umbrella? I'm ashamed to say that we only recently heard about it, when our agent recommended it.

In my view, if you have substantial assets that would not otherwise be exempt from execution, it is a wise thing to have.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

Our "umbrella" is with State Farm, same as our house insurance. Our autos (3) are insured by AAA.

We don't want to be wiped out by a single accidental problem. We have heard of instances, usually traffic accidents, where the family's assets were sold off to pay for a single incident, so we carry an umbrella that is nearly 2X our net worth. Its high enough that State Farm's lawyers will try pretty hard not to spend it.

 

[Buckeye]

USAA sent me to a "partner" provider for whom they are the agent because I wouldn't purchase my Renter's Insurance is with them. USAA will write the umbrella policy only if all my insurance with them. My Renter's policy through Universal is $200 and USAA quoted $600.

I had to raise my auto liability to $300k/$500k (which I probably should have had already living in the VERY litigious state of FL) and confirm my Renter's policy liability was $300k. Umbrella was about $350 for $1 million.

From what I understand, you can carry whatever liability limits you want but the Umbrella policy does not start paying out until the $300k/$500k amounts have been paid out.

During the process, one of the insurance people told me that 84% of the dollars they pay out in claims are related to auto accidents. I didn't like the extra cost of the auto insurance but I understand why it is required.

 

[Ally]

Due to a short vacation, I am just now seeing these replies. We have State Farm and the higher Auto limits, so I will talk to our agent again about his suggestion for an umbrella policy. I can see the purpose for carrying it. Thank you. I am always learning here.

 

[Focus]

My insurance agent will only give me a quote for an umbrella policy only if I increase my liability limits on my car insurance.

Same here. And they told me that if I get rid of my car they will no longer be able to provide the umbrella coverage. For some reason, they can't attach it to the home policy.

 

[arebelspy]

Same here. And they told me that if I get rid of my car they will no longer be able to provide the umbrella coverage. For some reason, they can't attach it to the home policy.

Can you get insurance for driving tied to you (the driver) and not to a car?

 

[Katsmeow]

One issue that some people may be having is they aren't getting insurance with an independent agent (who places coverage with many insurers). Rather, they get insurance from agents who only write coverage for one insurer. So, if you get your coverage through a State Farm agent they aren't going to offer you coverage through, say, Safeco or Geico.

Personally I always get my insurance through an independent agent who can place with many insurers. So if X insurer only wants to write umbrella coverage if they also have the home and auto, the agent can go to Y insurer who doesn't have that limitation. When you deal with a non-independent agent then you have the issue of they may have only one option to offer you.

Even if you use an independent agent, it is perfectly OK to go to a different independent agent to get alternative quotes. I've done that as well.

 

[SteveL]

This is a bit of esoterica, but you can buy something called a personal non-owned auto policy. If you didn't own a car, but say you rented frequently and didn't want to pay the stiff charge of the rental company for liability cover. With this in hand, I think you could find a company to provide Umbrella Cover for you.

 

[arebelspy]

This is a bit of esoterica, but you can buy something called a personal non-owned auto policy. If you didn't own a car, but say you rented frequently and didn't want to pay the stiff charge of the rental company for liability cover. With this in hand, I think you could find a company to provide Umbrella Cover for you.

Yeah, that's what I was going for 3 posts up.