personal liability policy yes or no?

[Bestwifeever]

Has anyone ever needed to use the insurance? Does it kick in after the car and homeowners (whichever applies) maxes out?

Never mind, Dawg's link answered the question, it kicks in after the car or homeowners insurance pays.

 

[NW-Bound]

I'm sure those six pit bulls, two trampolines, your 10 meter diving board plus your sky diving, rock climbing and auto racing hobbies have some impact on your premium.

which means I should not complain if any of that were true, but I do not possess or enjoy any of those things! And other than the loose pitbulls and trampolines that might be used by guests, how does the rest of the above imply a liability to another party?

Shop around. We have an umbrella policy and this year the premium was going up significantly. I had my agent look around and ended up the same coverage for less than half of the upcoming premium.

Well, I have the 2 home policies and 5 vehicles (4 cars+motorhome) all with 1 company. I guess instead of getting a break, the "stuff" that I have causes the higher premium. I can get rid of the 2 extra cars, but wonder if it would make a dent in the premium.

 

[Dash man]

I have a $3M policy for $650/yr. It's higher because of our two rental properties. I'm considering bumping it up to $5M sometime soon.

 

[REWahoo]

And other than the loose pitbulls and trampolines that might be used by guests, how does the rest of the above imply a liability to another party?

Impact damage.

 

[pb4uski]

Yes we have umbrella coverage, and yes we think it is necessary.

+1

 

[pb4uski]

Can anyone confirm this?

I would not think that the insurance coverage that you carry is public records since your insurance contract is a private contract between you and the carrier. I don't see where it would be or how an unauthorized party could access that information.

 

[brewer12345]

Has anyone ever needed to use the insurance? Does it kick in after the car and homeowners (whichever applies) maxes out?

Never mind, Dawg's link answered the question, it kicks in after the car or homeowners insurance pays.

My parents have been sued at least 3 times for amounts that got into the umbrella level. All of these cases were settled for peanuts, but the umbrella coverage gave lots of peace of mind and meant that the insurance company wheeled out some very nasty legal talent to defend them.

 

[robnplunder]

I've just added for $333/year. With existing home & car coverage, I am covered up to $1.5M. When I decided to add it, I was thinking of Murphy's law & the fact that I get absent minded sometimes while I am driving.

 

[bld999]

I would not think that the insurance coverage that you carry is public records since your insurance contract is a private contract between you and the carrier. I don't see where it would be or how an unauthorized party could access that information.

That is my impression as well. Unless documents are recorded, i think you would have to have moles in every insurance carrier in the US to find the info.
But somebody may school us, who knows.

 

[Helen]

We carry a $2 million dollar policy. I think it is two hundred something a year. I suppose I should bump this up to $3 million.

I worked with a guy who had just paid of his mortgage and a few months later a little girl ran out into his lane and he hit her with his car. The little girl was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. I don't know why they found him liable as she was not in a crosswalk and he was not speeding. At any rate, her hospital bills exceeded his automobile insurance and he had to take out a new mortgage to pay the rest of the hospital bill.

 

[Danmar]

Just checked our coverage. Looks like $2million for $332 per year. Maybe a little lite I think. $5million sounds safer to me. Will look into it.

 

[frank]

I have one million for 138 dollars a year. so maybe not as bad as I thought. considering what you guys are saying maybe will check the cost for two million. thanks for all the input.

frank

 

[H2ODude]

We pay about $180 a year for 1mm. We need to up it though as this would not cover our assets. IMO you should insure for whatever your assets are, or if you're young with a good income, think about having a major judgement hanging onto your income. My father always said that when you need it, the best insurance isn't good enough; also insisted that if you had a choice to drive without a license or insurance, take the insurance. Not sure about that one.

 

[braumeister]

I have 2 MM and it cost about $20 a month. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Same here. Cheap peace of mind.

 

[jwkde]

2MM umbrella here. Cost is worth the piece of mine

 

[pb4uski]

$1m umbrella over $1m home liability coverage and $500k auto liability coverage. Umbrella costs us $258/year. Peace of mind and the insurer's lawyers scraping for me if I need it for a little more than $20/month.

BTW, when we did ours we found it was less expensive to increase the base policy liability coverages to their maximums and go with a lower umbrella than keep our liability where it was and go with a bigger umbrella.

 

[Dawg52]

Well I decided to get my agent to give me a quote on a $2 mil policy. Came in at $326, currently paying $175 for 1 mil. Cost another $150 for a $3 mil policy. Will think about it over the weekend, but will probably go ahead and bump it a one notch. The price seems in line to what people here are paying.

Funny how my parents never had much coverage over the years. I remember looking at my mom's auto policy a few years ago and seeing where she only had $100k worth of liability coverage. She was about 90 at the time and I talked her into giving up the car keys. She was starting to get a few unexplained scratches on the car so I had a good argument to get her to stop driving. She wasn't rich by any means, but she was no where near covered under her policy. She was lucky.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Yep, I have one. Got it about 6 years ago when I first became aware of them. I consider it cheap insurance in this litigious day and age. I bought a pair of boots last month that cost more than my annual policy.

 

[WestLake]

I'm having a hard time getting anyone to sell me one. I have several rental properties and they are insured with different companies. The main agent I deal with insists I must first insure all of them with him, the other agent doesn't call me back. Another guy will do it for a fairly high price but there is also a huge amount of paperwork involved!

 

[zedd]

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

 

[LoneAspen]

This has been something on my list of things to look into this year, as I'm expecting a jump in assets, and want to protect myself.

Are umbrella policies sold through the same types of insurance agents that handle things like cars, homeowners, etc? Places like Allstate, State Farm, etc?

Or are there "special" insurance companies or agents you have to go to for umbrella policies?

 

[REWahoo]

Are umbrella policies sold through the same types of insurance agents that handle things like cars, homeowners, etc? Places like Allstate, State Farm, etc?

Yes.

Normally the insurers will require you have your home and auto coverage through them at limits they specify before issuing umbrella coverage. As I understand it, the coverage in the umbrella policy is actually an extension of the liability coverage in your home and auto policies.

 

[youbet]

I've been told to have coverage equal to your net worth.

We worked out a number, with the help of our attorney, based on our occupations, our home location, a few other factors that escape my mind at the moment and his knowledge of settlement amounts common at the time for people in our situation.

 

[Singletrack]

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.

 

[bld999]

I'm having a hard time getting anyone to sell me one. I have several rental properties and they are insured with different companies. The main agent I deal with insists I must first insure all of them with him, the other agent doesn't call me back. Another guy will do it for a fairly high price but there is also a huge amount of paperwork involved!

We have a few rentals under our umbrella policy, all with the same carrier. That made it easy, a one signature page deal. I think i spent an hour on the entire issue, including writing a check to launch the policy.