umbrella renewal

[Buckeye]

We pay $336 per year for 1 million in central Indiana. One house and two cars with State Farm.

That sounds expensive.

 

[Sconie]

$269 for $1MM, southern Arizona. Two drivers, 3 vehicles and 2 homes. Coverage by AARP/Hartford.

 

[Oilcan]

$574 for $5MM in Nebraska with Allstate. One car, one house, two drivers.

 

[Kroeran]

As a retired Canadian couple with separate liability on Canadian auto (which covers US events), home and Florida condo, I am perplexed by this umbrella liability thing.

Is this something I should be getting?

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Another data point: $3M, 2 cars (one high performance) + truck + rv, upstate NY = $566 at Amica.

 

[Jim in PA]

I pay only $112 for $1M. As others have alluded to, the liability limits on your homeowners & Auto need to be synced to the umbrella policy. My cost may be lower because the liability coverage on my auto & homeowners is higher AND I PAY FOR IT THERE.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

So I'm not RE yet (prob in next 7 years). I don't have umbrella coverage. Is it worthwhile if I have 100/300 injury coverage on autos?

Also, any experience on insurance companies actually making good on that policy? I had so so experience with Geico on an auto claim (other driver 100% at fault).

As a retired Canadian couple with separate liability on Canadian auto (which covers US events), home and Florida condo, I am perplexed by this umbrella liability thing.

Is this something I should be getting?

I've had a policy (started at $1M) for at least 30 years, more likely closer to 40. As soon as I had a decent stash, I recognized that if I were sued I could potentially lose that stash. More importantly, I wanted my insurance company to be invested in not having that happen.

That's also the reason I've increased from $1 to $2 and now $3 million. That's a lot of money and will get an insurance companies time and effort to keep from paying (and thus exceeding that amount and impacting my savings). (I came to the conclusion that $1 million wasn't enough incentive for an insurance company to really work the case.)

 

[Bluegrass]

Man, it’s disheartening to read through this thread and realize our premium is the highest by a long shot. My agent has always been very reliable and cost conscious. Maybe there is some obvious reason why our premium seems to be such an outlier by comparison to the discussion above

Here is a quick summary of the particulars:

5M umbrella w/1M in uninsured motorist. We live in Florida and this is a Chubb Masterpiece Policy. Our policy lists our primary residence and four rental properties. The rental property portion of the premium is negligible.
34 bucks each. The biggest expense are our two vehicles: $1015 for 2015 BMW SUV. And $696.00 for 2107 GMC pickup. Note, we obviously carry primary auto insurance too, and we have blemish free driving records.

Total premium (gulp): $2,114.00.

 

[stephenson]

Bluegrass,

It us surprising the rental properties add so little in cost to the umbrella ... I thought the rental property risk was one if the main cost factors in umbrella coverage?

 

[street]

I pay only $112 for $1M. As others have alluded to, the liability limits on your homeowners & Auto need to be synced to the umbrella policy. My cost may be lower because the liability coverage on my auto & homeowners is higher AND I PAY FOR IT THERE.

Exactly.

 

[YeahNo]

Man, it’s disheartening to read through this thread and realize our premium is the highest by a long shot. My agent has always been very reliable and cost conscious. Maybe there is some obvious reason why our premium seems to be such an outlier by comparison to the discussion above

Here is a quick summary of the particulars:

5M umbrella w/1M in uninsured motorist. We live in Florida and this is a Chubb Masterpiece Policy. Our policy lists our primary residence and four rental properties. The rental property portion of the premium is negligible.
34 bucks each. The biggest expense are our two vehicles: $1015 for 2015 BMW SUV. And $696.00 for 2107 GMC pickup. Note, we obviously carry primary auto insurance too, and we have blemish free driving records.

Total premium (gulp): $2,114.00.

Yeah thats really high. If you see my response above, we are paying aroun $1k for the same level. Our two luxury cars are 2016 Mercedes S550 and a 2017 Mercedes GLS550.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Man, it’s disheartening to read through this thread and realize our premium is the highest by a long shot. My agent has always been very reliable and cost conscious. Maybe there is some obvious reason why our premium seems to be such an outlier by comparison to the discussion above

Here is a quick summary of the particulars:

5M umbrella w/1M in uninsured motorist. We live in Florida and this is a Chubb Masterpiece Policy. Our policy lists our primary residence and four rental properties. The rental property portion of the premium is negligible.
34 bucks each. The biggest expense are our two vehicles: $1015 for 2015 BMW SUV. And $696.00 for 2107 GMC pickup. Note, we obviously carry primary auto insurance too, and we have blemish free driving records.

Total premium (gulp): $2,114.00.

You are comparing your overall premium to what other people are reporting (the umbrella policy only). My total premiums for 3 cars (one truck w/full coverage), one old car with just liability, one car (not on road, comprehensive only), one rv (no coverage other than comprehensive i.e. not on road), house and umbrella is about $3600.

Taxes and Insurance are my highest budget items!

 

[Sunset]

Heh, it also serves as an enticement for someone to sue you. Years ago my daughter was involved in accident. Suit was filed against us, reason really unknown. But lawyer for insurance company said that when someone finds a large umbrella policy it just invites them to file a suit, just playing the odds that they get a friendly judge and/or jury. But as you said it also caused insurance company to put a quality attorney on the case to cover their interest. In the end the suit was settled for an amount that covered the medical bills, which wasn't a whole lot.

If you didn't have umbrella coverage, you might have been sued anyhow as you probably own a home.
Then you would have had to hire a lawyer and face losing your home.
End up paying the lawyer and the medical costs...

I'd rather have an umbrella.

 

[Sunset]

As a retired Canadian couple with separate liability on Canadian auto (which covers US events), home and Florida condo, I am perplexed by this umbrella liability thing.

Is this something I should be getting?

How much will you pay when you accidentally drive into an American's car in FL and they have injuries and no medical insurance ?

Is your separate liability on the Canadian auto in CDN dollars (worth $0.72 USD) or USD, as it may not cover as much as you initially thought.

 

[Chi-Town]

In TX, been w/State Farm 40yrs. $401 for 1m. 2 houses plus a rental, 911, 370z and Lexus with college student. Never had to make a claim but have had it since my 20's when my career began.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I think that $273 might have been an error by USAA. We live in the same area, also insure with USAA and are paying $348 for $1M.

Our 1M policy w/ USAA is $141.00. We live in a rural area (but inside city limits of moderate sized midwest city).

One house (with pool, but USAA said this doesn't matter) two cars, two drivers.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Heh, it also serves as an enticement for someone to sue you. Years ago my daughter was involved in accident. Suit was filed against us, reason really unknown. But lawyer for insurance company said that when someone finds a large umbrella policy it just invites them to file a suit, just playing the odds that they get a friendly judge and/or jury. But as you said it also caused insurance company to put a quality attorney on the case to cover their interest. In the end the suit was settled for an amount that covered the medical bills, which wasn't a whole lot.

True, but talk to any PI attorney and they will tell you that they are not a fan of some companies, because they play hard ball. USAA is consistently on the list of insurance companies PI attys don't want to sue.

 

[cxr133]

i know i should probably do a search. But what are the factors in determining if i need an additional Umbrella policy if i have homeowners, car ,life, etc.?

Thanks

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

i know i should probably do a search. But what are the factors in determining if i need an additional Umbrella policy if i have homeowners, car ,life, etc.?

Thanks

It boils down to what helps you sleep at night. Umbrella is just additional coverage for those that might look like they have deep pockets in case you have an accident and are negligent. As far as I know, most folks w/ umbrella coverage limits that are AT LEAST the same as the value of their estate, and sometimes more so. Also, as mentioned, insurance companies are obligated to defend you in a lawsuit, and the higher the coverage, the "better" representation you likely to get.

If you have minimal coverage (say $25K for auto), they might pay out the entire amount, but anything OVER THAT you would still be responsible for if you happened to lose said lawsuit.

 

[I am He]

What sucks is that the Umbrella goes up for everything you are separately insuring. I have 20 year old stand up PWCs, a sit down, an old boat, 10 year old snowmobiles, the standard car for each of us and every one jacks up the price of the umbrella. It's like I'm going to have 10 people each on one vehicle simultaneously and we're all high-risk.

It makes me want to sell everything to eliminate the hassle of ownership and just rent things here or there. Lord knows I haven't been on the sleds for two winters, and since we camped all of last summer, I didn't get on a single watercraft.

 

[Buckeye]

i know i should probably do a search. But what are the factors in determining if i need an additional Umbrella policy if i have homeowners, car ,life, etc.?

Thanks

I was once on a mock jury trial for an automobile accident. It was not a particularly severe accident but the stationary driver (stopped for a school bus) received some life-changing, life-long injuries when she was hit from behind by a woman who was just not paying attention. As we (the mock jury) began deliberating and then totalling up the long term medical costs/possible award for this relatively young driver, we hit large numbers quickly. I immediately began to investigate umbrella insurance after this experience. If I ever make a mistake while driving and cause serious harm to someone (and I don't mean while texting or DUI), I want there to be funds to care for the injured without devastating us financially.

 

[Oilcan]

For those who think they will never be sued: About four years ago my wife who was driving our car, came through an intersection making a left turn, well within the speed limit, into the flow of two lanes of traffic. About 50 yards from the intersection was a lady (about age 66) jaywalking across the street in front of my wife who stopped the car immediately. Course the lady was scared and fell to the ground. Cops were called to investigate. The lady said she was okay but they talked her into letting the rescue squad take her to the hospital. Witness nearby said she was not hit by the car, the car didn't have a scratch, and the cop said not to worry as it wasn't my wife's fault. Cop later stopped by the house for something. He had been to the hospital and the lady was laughing and joking with everybody so he said she was fine.

Well about two months went by and don't you suppose an "ambulance chaser" lawyer got in touch with the lady and filed a lawsuit against my wife. The lawsuit said the lady had headaches, nightmares, loss of appetite, afraid to go outside, etc.

Since we have our Umbrella policy with Allstate they had a great attorney for us. In the end the lawsuit was dropped but it was 8 months of stress for my wife. At least it saved us money on attorney fees. Thankfully nothing more. So if you can be sued for something like this, you can be sued for anything now days.

Just something for all to think about when trying to decide about umbrella insurance.

 

[PatrickA5]

I remember years ago DW backed into a car in the Home Depot parking lot. We all got out of the car, exchanged info and DW even knew the girl she backed into. They laughed and had a good time. The "collision" was maybe 5MPH. Car damage to the other car was less than $500 (ours wasn't even scratched). Months later State Farm calls us saying we're being sued for pain and suffering. We never heard another word, so I guess they dropped it. But, yes anybody can sue for anything.

Full disclosure: I'm going to see a lawyer about our rear end accident that happened at Christmas. Found out today that I've got some pretty serious cervical spine problems that my surgeon says will probably require surgery at some point. We're trying some other things first. He's the one who suggested it's time to lawyer up. I don't imagine spine surgery will be cheap.

 

[sheehs1]

For Umbrella: $330 for 2 million, one car, one house, one condo water front on the Bay.
Travelers Insurance: Mid-Atlantic

 

[Buckeye]

Man, it’s disheartening to read through this thread and realize our premium is the highest by a long shot. My agent has always been very reliable and cost conscious. Maybe there is some obvious reason why our premium seems to be such an outlier by comparison to the discussion above

Here is a quick summary of the particulars:

5M umbrella w/1M in uninsured motorist. We live in Florida and this is a Chubb Masterpiece Policy. Our policy lists our primary residence and four rental properties. The rental property portion of the premium is negligible.
34 bucks each. The biggest expense are our two vehicles: $1015 for 2015 BMW SUV. And $696.00 for 2107 GMC pickup. Note, we obviously carry primary auto insurance too, and we have blemish free driving records.

Total premium (gulp): $2,114.00.

Only adult drivers?

Does the $2114 include both auto insurance as well as the liability insurance?