Winemaker
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
DW and I have a $3 million personal policy each, and two $3 million for each of our two rental properties. The rentals pay their own insurance premium as an expense. About $289 each, IIRC.
I guess the alternative is to get sued and have to pay a million.
I guess the alternative is to get sued and have to pay a million.
Everyone says it is cheap insurance but I just got our renewal letter and for a $1M policy they want to raise the rates from $420 a year to $528 when it renews in April. That is not cheap!
I am thinking about dropping it.
I guess the alternative is to get sued and have to pay a million.
Well first I am going to shop around and try to find a broker to get cheaper rates on all of these policies.
However....I don't think we should feel so held hostage by this stuff. Almost all of my policies already have $250,000 or $500,000 of liability coverage. From what I have been reading, the lawyers really don't want your clothes, they want to get the money from the insurers. They don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to get a judgement to sell your bicycle and extra boots.
And when is it enough? Say you have $5,000,000 of coverage...what is to stop someone from seeking a $6,000,000 judgement and still taking your clothes?
Well first I am going to shop around and try to find a broker to get cheaper rates on all of these policies.
However....I don't think we should feel so held hostage by this stuff. Almost all of my policies already have $250,000 or $500,000 of liability coverage. From what I have been reading, the lawyers really don't want your clothes, they want to get the money from the insurers. They don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to get a judgement to sell your bicycle and extra boots.
And when is it enough? Say you have $5,000,000 of coverage...what is to stop someone from seeking a $6,000,000 judgement and still taking your clothes?
It seems it boils down to a mathematical question, what is the likelihood you will get sued and your coverage not be enough, similar to other questions like should you purchase LTC insurance (which seems like it could bankrupt you just as fast as a lawsuit but many people forgo getting it on here).
If the odds are, say 1 in 10,000 of getting sued for a major event, is it worth it to pay 0.5% of your unprotected net worth each year to protect against it?
Here are the amounts I was quoted from State Farm for umbrella annual premiums: $1M = $129; $3M = $306; $5M = $432; $6M = $832.
Everyone says it is cheap insurance but I just got our renewal letter and for a $1M policy they want to raise the rates from $420 a year to $528 when it renews in April. That is not cheap!
I am thinking about dropping it.
It depends on the circumstances. We can all say "what is enough?" It is impossible to answer.
The $1M judgement I mention above was 20 years ago. The number came about because it was a smart, young person near the top of the class that was involved. Same can go if it is a renown surgeon that lost proper use of hands.
If it is that surgeon, and you clap back with only $250k liability, you can be sure a law office will do a little searching on you. Likewise -- and this is difficult to hear -- if it is a friend or acquaintance that knows you, knows a bit about your lifestyle, job, or previous profession, you may also be in for a bit more further action.
There's never a good answer with umbrella. But I can tell you when kids are coming out of college and making $100k on their first job, that $250k coverage probably isn't enough.
It might be enough for another kid fresh out of college. But for people here when they talk about their multi millions NW? Uh... think carefully.
Question---if my adult child drives his own car (i.e., the car is registered under his name only), and he and I are both on the same policy, if he's involved an accident and is found to be liable for monetary damages, can a party come after me (e.g. my umbrella policy and personal assets)?
I hate quoting myself...
I spent a few minutes to look it up. Looks like as long as I'm not on the title, I'm not legally liable even though we're on the same policy. Does this sound right?