Req Advice - Liability Umbrella Insurance Policy

N

NoEZmoney

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Feb 22, 2011
Messages
97
I've kept my insurance (Home/Auto/Jewelry/Umbrella) with the same company for the past 30 years as our rates have been ok and I've never had an issue with a claim. I have had the same agent and it's been a good relationship.

But I've been noticing rate creep in all areas over the past few years and while the jumps haven't been huge, they do add up.

So anyone have any tips on liability umbrella policies? I have $1 million coverage and it's about $500 / annually. When I first got it 30 yrs ago it was less than $10 a month. (How time changes things).

We had to raise our auto coverage in order to get the umbrella (company policy we were told and I didn't know any differently) so there's that to consider. I am going to shop around for Home/Auto/etc. coverage as it's something that is long overdue and I need to compare what's out there. Guess I just got to be a loyal customer who had no strong reason to shop but still it's good to see what's out there.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. About to pop smoke and dust off in 1 year, 5 mos ( maybe sooner -- who knows).

Thanks in advance.
 
NoEZmoney said:
I've kept my insurance (Home/Auto/Jewelry/Umbrella) with the same company for the past 30 years as our rates have been ok and I've never had an issue with a claim. I have had the same agent and it's been a good relationship.

But I've been noticing rate creep in all areas over the past few years and while the jumps haven't been huge, they do add up.

So anyone have any tips on liability umbrella policies? I have $1 million coverage and it's about $500 / annually. When I first got it 30 yrs ago it was less than $10 a month. (How time changes things).

We had to raise our auto coverage in order to get the umbrella (company policy we were told and I didn't know any differently) so there's that to consider. I am going to shop around for Home/Auto/etc. coverage as it's something that is long overdue and I need to compare what's out there. Guess I just got to be a loyal customer who had no strong reason to shop but still it's good to see what's out there.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. About to pop smoke and dust off in 1 year, 5 mos ( maybe sooner -- who knows).

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Yes...you are paying way too much. You have shop around insurance every couple of years as there isn't much savings to be had for remaining loyal to one company. $500 would probably get me a 3MM policy with USAA and/or Amica.

edit: Our 2MM policy w/ USAA is $229.86/year.
 
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I recommend you engage an independent insurance agent to get bids on all the coverage you want. They will shop a number of firms that may have unfamiliar names but are highly rated.

Select a carrier or carrier. And then build relationship with your agent. And shop as often as you want while keeping the independent agent relationship.
 
That does sound high. I agree with the suggest to get an independent agent to get quotes from various carriers. Don't just accept the lowest quote. Find out what is different in coverage between carriers. I don't have my insurer with the company who quoted the lowest because there was coverage I wanted that this carrier would cover and others didn't. Ask your agent what is different in the coverage being offered by each quoted carrier.
 
I got a big bump when I went from 1 to 2 mill. I asked for 3, but they only went for 2 and the price went up more than 100%.
 
It depends greatly on your area though. Someone living in place A can say "oh my $500 is way too high!" but someone living in place B can say "sounds about right".

Either way, it's good to shop for quotes every couple of years, call around, allstate, geico, etc. Get apples to apples pricing, negotiate.
 
Take a peek at your policy too, does it still reflect risks you used to have but no longer do. Teen drivers is a prime example but could be others.
 
^ yes exactly!

Of course the more things that you have (number of cars) land or how many homes etc. will have a huge effect on cost of Umbrella. I got rid of some vehicles and my went down a lot.

As soon as I add the new land it will go up again.
 
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street said:
^ yes exactly!

Of course the more things that you have (number of cars) land or how many homes etc. will have a huge effect on cost of Umbrella. I got rid of some vehicles and my went down a lot.

As soon as I add the new land it will go up again.
Click to expand...

Yep, on mine every vehicle past the first costs another $25 (at the base $1 million coverage), multiplied by 1.75x for my $2 million umbrella policy.
 
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NoEZmoney said:
I've kept my insurance (Home/Auto/Jewelry/Umbrella) with the same company for the past 30 years as our rates have been ok and I've never had an issue with a claim. I have had the same agent and it's been a good relationship.
Click to expand...

You may have been identified as one of those customers who just doesn't change insurance companies very often and is therefore a prime target for rate creep. Yes, they acutely do this. My advice is to shop for new insurance and make a change. Get off the "This guy will pay more and not do a thing about it" list.
 
I'm single and pay $500/year for $3 million coverage in MO.

Yes, you do need to keep high underlying limits on Auto and Homeowners because typically the Umbrella starts paying only after a claim exceeds those amounts ($500K per person/per accident for an Auto claim in my policy). Otherwise you'll have a gap in coverage where you're on the hook for the amount in between the Auto policy limit and the Umbrella attachment point for a very large claim.

I highly recommend having all 3 coverages with the same insurer so there are no other gaps between the underlying and the umbrella and only one insurer (with a large amount at stake) is handling the claim.

Finally, be very careful of going with the cheapest out there. Some companies don't use standard coverage forms and you find out when, for example, you rent a car and lend it to a friend and THEY lend it to an uninsured friend who gets in a wreck with it that you don't have coverage under your policy.

This doesn't apply to Umbrella coverage but a friend who's really hard-up for money shopped her homeowners coverage around got a lower premium and found out just last week that they have no coverage for the $20,000 sewer pipe repair they have to make because a tree in their yard invaded the pipe. She must have saved the expired policies because she says one would have paid $6K and the other would have paid $20K. They'd had a separate policy for that but dropped it when money got tight.
 
NoEZmoney said:
I've kept my insurance (Home/Auto/Jewelry/Umbrella) with the same company for the past 30 years as our rates have been ok and I've never had an issue with a claim. I have had the same agent and it's been a good relationship.

But I've been noticing rate creep in all areas over the past few years and while the jumps haven't been huge, they do add up.

So anyone have any tips on liability umbrella policies? I have $1 million coverage and it's about $500 / annually. When I first got it 30 yrs ago it was less than $10 a month. (How time changes things).

We had to raise our auto coverage in order to get the umbrella (company policy we were told and I didn't know any differently) so there's that to consider. I am going to shop around for Home/Auto/etc. coverage as it's something that is long overdue and I need to compare what's out there. Guess I just got to be a loyal customer who had no strong reason to shop but still it's good to see what's out there.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. About to pop smoke and dust off in 1 year, 5 mos ( maybe sooner -- who knows).

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

When shopping around, be very careful to compare apples to apples, and not to sacrifice coverage that you really want. For example, when I purchase automobile insurance I purchase the maximum of SUM (supplemental underinsured/uninsured motorist) coverage. My rationale is I pay for a large policy to cover other people, I might as well cover my own family. Interestingly, I specifically had to ask to have that added to the policy, it wasn't automatically offered.

With umbrella coverage, yes it is normal that they require certain underlying limits. The one advantage about having the umbrella with the the same company as you have the home and auto, it is easier to keep track of whether the underlying coverage is in place. In other words, they let you know.
 
+1 on having an independent agent shop the coverage, but they should shop your whole insurance as a package. A good agent will not recommend an unreliable company and will also coordinate coverages so they fit together.

Make copies of the "deck" (declarations -- coverages and amounts) pages of all policies, preferably blacking out premium amounts and recopying. Then send to an agent you're familiar with or who is recommended by other customers.

Every two or three years ask your independent agent to shop the coverage. This is work they might not voluntarily do unless reminded.

Never buy from a tied agent (State Farm, etc.) as they work for the company, not you (despite what they tell you). They can't shop coverage.
 
I recently got a $2m Umbrella Policy fro $315/yr. Admittedly, we are very low risk for a claim; no motortoys, no pool, no hot tub, no dangerous dog breed, no accidents in 20 years, no tickets in 30 years. We are pretty boring.
 
$2M costs me $300/yr in Florida, I consider it prepaid legal fees if anything tragic happens... probably overkill but cheap peace of mind.
 
I third or fourth the idea that $500 sounds way high for umbrella liability, OR that you may have a number of underlying risks which are driving up that premium.

Second home, rental properties, three or four cars, boats, ATV's, jetskis, dogs, teen drivers, etc., can all increase your umbrella premium.

I pay $199 for $1 million, but at a competitor I could get it for $101 (but higher auto and HO so I did not switch carriers).
 
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