At what point would you drop umbrella policy?

[Sunset]

Curiosity got to me. Just sent DW to the file cabinet where she pulled the policy and yelled down the hall "$699 for 3 million." State Farm. Two cars with two drivers. 1 camper. Suburban house very near Chicago. Both retired. No high risk adders.

Just FYI.

Suburbs North of Chicago, $514 for 2 million coverage.
Two cars with two drivers.
With Allstate.

 

[Sunset]

We dropped our dog off for doggy day care. He was left in the sun and died of heatstroke. The local animal control cited the day care for animal neglect. The local paper heard of the death and published the story. The case is in the courts. We are only witnesses in the case. The owners of the daycare are suing us for libel and slander because their business dropped to nothing after the death. We consulted a lawyer who told us our homeowners and umbrella will defend us.

It’s cheap insurance to not lose millions. Life comes at you fast. We dropped our beloved dog at day care - we are sued. Protect yourself.

Wow.... very terrible.
It's not libel and slander if it's true (IMHO). I hope they pay dearly beyond a simple city fine.

 

[COcheesehead]

Wow.... very terrible.
It's not libel and slander if it's true (IMHO). I hope they pay dearly beyond a simple city fine.

Of course, but you still have to defend.
Here’s the rub they have 55 negative reviews, a D+ rating on the BBB, 6 lawsuits in the last four years and a 1.5 star rating on Yelp and the state still issues them a license.

Most of this data was hidden or former customers did not speak up until our dog’s death. Now everyone knows how bad they are and they blame us.

 

[badatmath]

Sunset, I was horrified to see what happened to your dog at daycare. I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

[gayl]

Amfam has raised our renewal rate yet again for our dinky 1 mil umbrella policy from $420 to $530 coming up this April.



I am starting to wonder if it is really financially smart to keep it. ....

I suggest looking elsewhere for a better rate. I pay $288.15 before multiple policy discount (auto, home, earthquake, 2m umbrella) with USAA

 

[frances]

I would keep the umbrella always because you just never know. My mom's company wouldn't let her keep hers when I took over the car (joint titled with me and cheaper for me to carry the car) so I found her an umbrella at PersonalUmbrella.com for MUCH less than she had been paying. If I remember right she got a $1M policy last year for about $200.

 

[kgtest]

Of course, but you still have to defend.
Here’s the rub they have 55 negative reviews, a D+ rating on the BBB, 6 lawsuits in the last four years and a 1.5 star rating on Yelp and the state still issues them a license.

Most of this data was hidden or former customers did not speak up until our dog’s death. Now everyone knows how bad they are and they blame us.

Sorry for the loss of your dog. That is terrible. The fact the business you trusted is suing you is just ludicrous.

 

[wildsun]

Amfam has raised our renewal rate yet again for our dinky 1 mil umbrella policy from $420 to $530 coming up this April.

Shop for Umbrella coverage. The costs for the same policy vary dramatically from one company to another. I've had quotes between $200 and $600 for the same coverage on the same day.

 

[orbops]

Since you live in Washington state, your retirement funds are protected from a lawsuit. Wash. Rev. Code §6.15.020

 

[Gumby]

We have an umbrella policy with USAA. Ours is $607 for $2 milllion.

 

[sunnysideup]

We went through this exact discussion earlier this year. We live in Florida for the past eight years, where every other commercial is lawyers telling you to call them in the case of an accident.

What we have seen from our own experience, and what we have seen happen to our friends, is when someone sues, the lawyers always ask “ how much insurance coverage do you have?” Then the lawsuit will proceed using that as the maximum. They don’t want to hurt any individual human being, they just want to hurt the insurance companies.

We are not renewing our umbrella insurance, saving us about $450 a year.

 

[COcheesehead]

Sorry for the loss of your dog. That is terrible. The fact the business you trusted is suing you is just ludicrous.

I appreciate it. It’s been one of the most bizarre things we have experienced, but I am glad we have coverage on our homeowners and umbrella. It’s cheap coverage for the black swan events.

 

[meleana]

Shop for Umbrella coverage. The costs for the same policy vary dramatically from one company to another. I've had quotes between $200 and $600 for the same coverage on the same day.

Most umbrella policies are attached to an auto policy so you’d have to move that as well.

We have Progressive for auto and home but they dropped their umbrella insurance company and now refer everyone to RLI which I think is the only true stand Alone umbrella insurance company. I think we paid like $500 for a $2 million policy.

 

[COcheesehead]

Most umbrella policies are attached to an auto policy so you’d have to move that as well.

We have Progressive for auto and home but they dropped their umbrella insurance company and now refer everyone to RLI which I think is the only true stand Alone umbrella insurance company. I think we paid like $500 for a $2 million policy.

Interesting. I also have Progressive for auto, home and umbrella. All just renewed within the last month. RLI was never mentioned.

 

[meleana]

Interesting. I also have Progressive for auto, home and umbrella. All just renewed within the last month. RLI was never mentioned.

I'm assuming it depends on the state you are in. I am in New Hampshire.


(and here auto insurance is not even required except for either liability coverage or proof that you have money to cover an accident- something like that. Of course, you'd be crazy not to have auto insurance. but I guess there's a lot of people here that don't)

 

[Gumby]

I'm assuming it depends on the state you are in. I am in New Hampshire.


(and here auto insurance is not even required except for either liability coverage or proof that you have money to cover an accident- something like that. Of course, you'd be crazy not to have auto insurance. but I guess there's a lot of people here that don't)

Isn't the state motto "Live FOR free or die?"

 

[kyzymurgist]

Lot's of good arguments for keeping your umbrella. I won't drop mine despite having under $300k in non protected assets other than primary home.

But i didn't see anyone mention shopping to reduce the cost. If you've been with the same insurer for two or three years, you may realize substantial savings by switching. There is no benefit to loyalty. Their pricing models penalize inertia.

And I appreciate that business model as a stockholder and customer that shops my policy every 3 years and frequently changes insurers. It's the same as always, the lazy shoppers subsidize the cheapskates with time to shop.

Develop a system to streamline the process. I like sending last year's policy documents with all pricing to the competition and ask for a better quote with all correspondence by email. Absolutely no phone calls accepted! And there is usually a better offer.

What is surprising to me is that insurers haven't yet developed a way to identify customers like me and avoid the turnover with more appropriate price increases. Especially when informed that I'm a shopper. Oh well.

Going through this process right now a year earlier than planned since a 24% rate increase after Farmers bought the MetLife property insurance portfolio. Too bad...I really liked the current agent.

 

[COcheesehead]

Lot's of good arguments for keeping your umbrella. I won't drop mine despite having under $300k in non protected assets other than primary home.

But i didn't see anyone mention shopping to reduce the cost. If you've been with the same insurer for two or three years, you may realize substantial savings by switching. There is no benefit to loyalty. Their pricing models penalize inertia.

And I appreciate that business model as a stockholder and customer that shops my policy every 3 years and frequently changes insurers. It's the same as always, the lazy shoppers subsidize the cheapskates with time to shop.

Develop a system to streamline the process. I like sending last year's policy documents with all pricing to the competition and ask for a better quote with all correspondence by email. Absolutely no phone calls accepted! And there is usually a better offer.

What is surprising to me is that insurers haven't yet developed a way to identify customers like me and avoid the turnover with more appropriate price increases. Especially when informed that I'm a shopper. Oh well.

Going through this process right now a year earlier than planned since a 24% rate increase after Farmers bought the MetLife property insurance portfolio. Too bad...I really liked the current agent.

Use an independent agent and let them shop. Keep the agent, drop the carrier.

 

[COcheesehead]

I'm assuming it depends on the state you are in. I am in New Hampshire.


(and here auto insurance is not even required except for either liability coverage or proof that you have money to cover an accident- something like that. Of course, you'd be crazy not to have auto insurance. but I guess there's a lot of people here that don't)

Well that’s a little different than your original statement of Progressive referring “everyone” to a third party provider.

 

[youbet]

Just FYI.

Suburbs North of Chicago, $514 for 2 million coverage.
Two cars with two drivers.
With Allstate.

That seems to fit pretty well with my $699 for 3 mil. Thanks Sunset.

 

[athena53]

What is surprising to me is that insurers haven't yet developed a way to identify customers like me and avoid the turnover with more appropriate price increases. Especially when informed that I'm a shopper. Oh well.

They'd have to build a model to justify it to the state insurance department since these rates are regulated. An interesting thought, though. There wouldn't be any issue if you could show that people who stay on for years have lower loss rates, and develop a "renewal discount".

I never thought of getting Umbrella from a separate company because of the issues pointed out earlier- you want seamless coverage between the underlying and the umbrella, and you're likely to get the best legal representation form a company with a stake in the entire claim- but RLI is a good company. The CEO is a former manager of mine!

 

[gayl]

We have an umbrella policy with USAA. Ours is $607 for $2 milllion.

Wow thats some spread!! I pay USAA $288 and you pay $607 for the same 2m!!

 

[braumeister]

Wow thats some spread!! I pay USAA $288 and you pay $607 for the same 2m!!

There are many factors, but much of New England is a high COL area in my opinion, so that's probably the main explanation.

 

[dflowers1]

I decided to drop my umbrella policy for a very similar reason. I would wonder if anyone knows of anybody who's had a claim against an umbrella policy.

My guess is there's a reason these policies are so cheap relative to the coverage, and that's because the insurance companies know that the probability of a claim is very small.

 

[COcheesehead]

I decided to drop my umbrella policy for a very similar reason. I would wonder if anyone knows of anybody who's had a claim against an umbrella policy.

My guess is there's a reason these policies are so cheap relative to the coverage, and that's because the insurance companies know that the probability of a claim is very small.

I know of two: one me and one a friend.