At least in my state, if you're injured by uninsured/underinsured motorist, your own umbrella policy wouldn't pay anything. That's what UM/UIM coverage is for.
Question about umbrella insurance
- Thread starter SunnyOne
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At least in my state, if you're injured by uninsured/underinsured motorist, your own umbrella policy wouldn't pay anything. That's what UM/UIM coverage is for.
Allstate in Nyc
Charges $1,898 for a $3 million dollar umbrella policy. I own a one family house, 2 cars, clean driving record. Seems awfully expensive.
Does anyone have a good independent insurance agent who may be able to get me cheaper coverage on a sole umbrella policy?
Charges $1,898 for a $3 million dollar umbrella policy. I own a one family house, 2 cars, clean driving record. Seems awfully expensive.
Does anyone have a good independent insurance agent who may be able to get me cheaper coverage on a sole umbrella policy?
CincyDave
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yes, the UM on your auto policy would pay first just like the auto liability or homeowners liability would pay first and the umbrella would kick in when those limits are exhausted. Some states allow you to buy uninsured motorists coverage on the umbrella as well, which would be excess over the UM on your auto policy.
bobandsherry
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Just got my renewal for FL. It's up a few cents from last year, $255 for $1mil through Travelers.
CincyDave
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Ours is $198 a year with State Farm for a 2 mill limit. We just have the house and 2 cars with no youthful drivers, so it's pretty cheap peace of mind.
Sounds like the driver involved didn't own the car and the passenger owned it (and let the friend take the wheel). Presumably the driver was a minor, so they went after the driver's parents.
We have a $3 million policy, but at the end of the day, if the damage/injury is severe enough to warrant a judgement above and beyond the policy amount of $3 million, our assets would still be fair game.
One thing we're currently exploring is setting up one or more Family Limited Partnership (FLP) for our different classes of assets. Aside from being a great tool for estate planning/wealth preservation, it also offers asset protection from creditors for us and our kids. In this day and age, the more protection the better.
SecondAttempt
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Interesting. I just paid $118 for $1 million coverage from State Farm on a policy I have had for at least 20 years. That is up from $104 the last few years but down from $167 for two of us before I was divorced. I am in a low risk profession (project manager) but my ex-wife was a college professor which, surprisingly is fairly high risk. I've got a couple of tickets and one at-fault accident in the last few years.
So basically, it sounds like you are being overcharged.
SecondAttempt
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This is the pragmatic rule of thumb I have always used. When I had little I did not carry umbella insurance because even if I did something stupid, was at fault, and got sued, the plaintiff could get no blood from this turnip. So, no lawyer would take their case.
Once I had substantial assets I took on insurance. Obviously the best approach is to not harm anyone. Drive carefully, treat people carefully and with respect, etc. But I had rental properties...and people can be idiots...and a car accident could go after me assets.
Honestly, a large part of the reason I originally purchased umbrella insurance was for the defense costs.
JoeWras
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JoeWras
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One other little reminder.
In my state, all accident records are very public. Anyone can search them. Your name, address and insurance is on the record.
From this information, it takes very little effort to find out a whole lot about you, and whether you are worth sueing.
Don't expect to hide.
In my state, all accident records are very public. Anyone can search them. Your name, address and insurance is on the record.
From this information, it takes very little effort to find out a whole lot about you, and whether you are worth sueing.
Don't expect to hide.
Callitaday2022
Recycles dryer sheets
Just got quotes from USAA: 5 vehicles, house, non biting dog, 23yo driver, and nothing else too weird...$806 for 2 million and $1075 for 3 million!
COcheesehead
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I pay half that for 5m, but that under 25 driver kills you.
ncbill
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Another reason for the umbrella...it may well be your (or another family member's) fault.
E.g. none of are such good drivers that we would never miss a stop sign partially obscured by grown-up vegetation on a road where we've never driven before.
So you buy the umbrella to provide compensation reasonable quickly (without the years-long delay of a civil trial) to those you've injured, perhaps permanently.
And as a lawyer's article I saw online years ago noted the reason to buy hefty UM/UIM coverage (he recommended $1 million, either on the umbrella or underlying auto policy) is that most umbrella policies have an "own household" exclusion.
So if mom or dad is driving and causes an accident that injures their kids riding with them the umbrella won't pay.
E.g. none of are such good drivers that we would never miss a stop sign partially obscured by grown-up vegetation on a road where we've never driven before.
So you buy the umbrella to provide compensation reasonable quickly (without the years-long delay of a civil trial) to those you've injured, perhaps permanently.
And as a lawyer's article I saw online years ago noted the reason to buy hefty UM/UIM coverage (he recommended $1 million, either on the umbrella or underlying auto policy) is that most umbrella policies have an "own household" exclusion.
So if mom or dad is driving and causes an accident that injures their kids riding with them the umbrella won't pay.
JoeWras
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Thanks for the reminder. I really need to look into this.
In my state, I've heard it is standard for one spouse to sue (or rather claim) certain aspects of insurance from the other in a typical accident. That's an interesting concept!
But UM/UIM is another animal and typical. If you get paralyzed by some bozo without insurance, you may be screwed if they have no (or inadequate) insurance. Gotta look into UM/UIM to cover this.
Stormy Kromer
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When your kids reach 18. Title the car they drive in their name and have them insure it well. Not on your policy.
Then, take out an umbrella policy to cover your net worth and sleep well.
I can't get over the trouble folks on this forum spend about a couple hundred bucks over an umbrella policy. You're all loaded or you're not worried about it in the first place. Get the kids on their own and get a big umbrella for a couple hundred bucks.....
Then, take out an umbrella policy to cover your net worth and sleep well.
I can't get over the trouble folks on this forum spend about a couple hundred bucks over an umbrella policy. You're all loaded or you're not worried about it in the first place. Get the kids on their own and get a big umbrella for a couple hundred bucks.....
+1
Quibbling over a couple of hundred over an umbrella policy that can protect one's entire NW seems penny wise, pound foolish.
CRLLS
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
IMO, the biggest risk in having too low liability insurance coverage is that the insurance company will not assign their top attorneys to your case. Umbrella insurance puts that above most homeowner's and auto policy's coverage. Higher Umbrella coverage is better.
Nobody here plans to use the "average life" for running out of money. Therefore, nobody should use the average liability lawsuit as a basis for the amount of coverage you should get. Having the insurance company highly vested in the outcome of a lawsuit is a good thing. Possibly more important than using your net worth as the amount of coverage you sign up for.
Nobody here plans to use the "average life" for running out of money. Therefore, nobody should use the average liability lawsuit as a basis for the amount of coverage you should get. Having the insurance company highly vested in the outcome of a lawsuit is a good thing. Possibly more important than using your net worth as the amount of coverage you sign up for.
JoeWras
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We'll said!
bobandsherry
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For those with an umbrella policy, does anyone have a standalone policy? Or is it tied to your auto or home?
bobandsherry
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If they are tied to their auto or home policy it could be they pay more for their auto or home than if they shopped companies for just auto or home. With the exception of an umbrella policy I had through work, which was dirt cheap, every other option has required either holding an auto or home with the company to get an umbrella policy issued.
CincyDave
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$198 a year with State Farm for a 2 mill limit. Ohio feels more like tundra than desert right now. Prices obviously vary widely by location and risk factors.
Dtail
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Yeah we pay 531 for 2m coverage for 4 vehicles and a house and a 22 yr old driver.
However, kind of a quirky policy in that the rate is the same for 3 or 4 people and thus the 22 year old was an add on, so effectively no extra cost for him.
That does seem to be the norm with most companies. But what you pay (high or low) for umbrella should be in line with the cost of your home/auto insurance, and that is highly dependent on where you live. Around here it varies tremendously from one zip code to the next. Also, for me the umbrella requires that I have high limits on my auto liability coverage.
ncbill
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Using my auto/home insurer was much cheaper than buying an umbrella policy from a standalone insurer (e.g. RLI)...but I'm sure that changes depending on the insurer and location.
