Umbrella Liability Policy

[braumeister]

I diligently have tried to avoid killing or maiming anyone

You've never met my brother-in-law, have you?

 

[Golden sunsets]

Interesting.



USAA required the opposite when we purchased an umbrella policy - at least for our auto policies. We had to increase our liability limits to 300/500/100.

We had higher liability on our underlying auto policies, so we got to reduce our liability to 250,000/500,000, while increasing the umbrella from 2,000,000 to 4,000,000. Net additional cost-$33.00. The other great thing is that our auto policies have uninsured motorists coverage, a very important part of auto insurance that many policies don't include. Our umbrella policy includes that same coverage. Uninsured motorists covers a great deal more than being hit by a driver who is not insured or who is underinsured. Out 4MM liability policy costs $633/year.


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[panacea]

We have $1 million which is roughly equal to our exposure outside of 401(k)s and IRAs but it's probably time to increase to $2 million at this point as our income and non-retirement assets continue to grow nicely. It's cheap coverage anyway.

 

[Turn_the_Page]

$1 mil. It's enough to slow down the hounds if something bad happens.

 

[Jgot]

2.5 M


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[COcheesehead]

Cash buried in a whole life policy is also unattachable.

 

[523HRR]

Our $5 million umbrella liability policy costs $453 per year.

 

[RockyMtn]

Our $5 million umbrella liability policy costs $453 per year.

May I ask who your carrier is? Seems like a pretty good price!

 

[523HRR]

Our $5 million umbrella liability policy costs $453 per year.

May I ask who your carrier is? Seems like a pretty good price!

Electric Insurance

 

[CaliKid]

Currently at $2m and going to $3m. I think that should cover most any reasonably foreseeable lawsuit. Yes something bigger is always possible but doesn't seem likely.

 

[CaliKid]

I should add that the cost of the policy goes up with the number of rental units you have covered with underlying policies. At least with my company it's not just a flat rate for all customers.

 

[RockyMtn]

Electric Insurance

Do you have to be a GE employee or former employee?

 

[FUEGO]

I have a million umbrella, plus $1 million on the home liability policy (upgrading from $300k was trivial - something like $6/yr). Auto liability is at $500k. So overall for most risks we're covered at $1.5-2 million. Our taxable assets subject to creditors (outside IRAs and 401ks) is something like half a million plus another million in tax-deferred accounts.

If I face a huge lawsuit, I hope to spend every penny subject to a judgment on the defense of my case No reason to leave any crumbs for the judgment creditor to hoover up.

 

[Cobra9777]

We carry $1M umbrella, which is a bit more than our exposed assets under Texas law. Our premium is kinda high at just over $500/yr. But the policy covers two rental houses in addition to our main house, which is pretty large. It also covers 5 cars and 4 drivers because we still carry our kids (27 and 24) on the auto policy. They reimburse us of course, but it's a lot cheaper for them this way. I don't ask them to pay part of the umbrella however. At some point, I'll kick them off the auto policy and our umbrella will drop also. We also carry $1M liability on the homeowners, which is shared across all 3 properties. Anything related to one of the properties, we have $2M. Our auto coverage is 500/500/100, so anything car-related, we have $1.5M.

 

[523HRR]

Electric Insurance

Do you have to be a GE employee or former employee?

No.

 

[Sunset]

....
If I face a huge lawsuit, I hope to spend every penny subject to a judgment on the defense of my case No reason to leave any crumbs for the judgment creditor to hoover up.

Yes, the nice thing is you can have your lawyer pre-bill you for the estimated future costs of the case, which immediately drops your assets making you less attractive.

 

[JoeWras]

Aside from the insurance, we all need to watch our risk. Driving is a "do your best" thing. Be careful out there! We gotta drive. But let me mention something that came up at w*rk.

Be careful hiring day laborers.

Someone at w*rk thought they'd help out the community by picking up a guy looking for a day's work from "day laborer's row." He came over to the house and helped him throw away a bunch of trash.

Later, he got a nuisance lawsuit/insurance claim for a "back injury" suffered. Turns out this guy was a smart cookie. Saw the nice house, heard his "employer" was a high-tech guy, etc.

Not an umbrella case, but never the less, something you need to watch.

 

[Golden sunsets]

Our $5 million umbrella liability policy costs $453 per year.

That does seem low. Does it include uninsured/underinsured motorists. Our 4MM policy costs $633 but it does include uninsured motorists which is a cost component. I've never heard of Electric Insurance.


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[523HRR]

Does it include uninsured/underinsured motorists.

It does.

Electric Insurance

Do you have to be a GE employee or former employee?

No.

CORRECTION: Though Electric Insurance does offer home and auto insurance to the general public, Personal Excess Liability policies are only available for GE employees/retirees - apologies.

 

[someguy]

It does.


CORRECTION: Though Electric Insurance does offer home and auto insurance to the general public, Personal Excess Liability policies are only available for GE employees/retirees - apologies.

Their website makes it seem like the PEL and Umbrella are two different products.

 

[523HRR]

CORRECTION: Though Electric Insurance does offer home and auto insurance to the general public, Personal Excess Liability policies are only available for GE employees/retirees - apologies.

Their website makes it seem like the PEL and Umbrella are two different products.

Good catch, someguy. The representative at Electric Insurance explained that the PEL and Umbrella are the same product/coverage, but that the PEL is a discounted policy for GE employees/retirees. The Umbrella policy is for everybody else. So, as it turns out, they do offer Umbrella Liability policies to the general public, along with home and auto insurance.

 

[birdie]

Be sure excess policy covers the auto exposure too. When I see annual premiums that seem very low it calls into question what is and isn't covered. IMO the most exposure we all have comes from the auto side. Without covering the auto exposure the annual premium can be quite low. Regards

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[socca]

... I'm thinking mostly of the vast majority of drivers who carry the bare minimum or none at all.

GEICO's umbrella quote that includes uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is exactly twice the quote that excludes these folks, so I declined it. My rationale is that I'm primarily interested in liability coverage for what I might do to others (or what someone might claim that I did to them in a lawsuit) rather than what happens to me.

I noted that the umbrella policy includes coverage for claims arising from serving on a nonprofit board. So, if I decide to become an officer of my HOA and some moron sues me for some perceived slight, hopefully the legal costs associated with my defense would be covered.

 

[45th Birthday]

I noted that the umbrella policy includes coverage for claims arising from serving on a nonprofit board. So, if I decide to become an officer of my HOA and some moron sues me for some perceived slight, hopefully the legal costs associated with my defense would be covered.

Read the exclusions carefully and at every renewal. Most such policies will not cover employment practice liability (think sexual harassment, etc.). Many carriers have been slowly tightening what they will cover. Supplements are usually available at higher cost to cover broader risks. My wife is taking over as Board chair of a large non-profit with a handful of locations, many employees, and lots of children as clients. Big potential for all sorts of bad outcomes.