Three choices for Umbrella Policy

[stephenson]

Hi, All,

For a variety of reasons, we have three choices for an umbrella policy ... USLI, RLI, and American Integrity.

All are in the same general price range ... about $480-500 for the first million, then to about $300 per million upper to $5 million of coverage.

Cars are with USAA but no property. Personal home and rental houses are with American Integrity.

Thoughts on the three options?

 

[Buckeye]

Are these the three options available from USAA? I would pick the cheapest if they are all vetted by USAA. I had RLI through them at one time. I think my umbrella policy is directly through them now after several years with other companies brokered by them.

 

[ziggy29]

All are in the same general price range ... about $480-500 for the first million, then to about $300 per million upper to $5 million of coverage.

Wow. Where is this, if I may ask? That seems awfully high. In Texas, when I went from $1M to $2M the premium rose from $185 to $260. And when I moved to Oregon last summer, that same $2M was $190 a year.

Maybe these insurers have lower requirements for insurance on underlying auto and homeowners, I don't know, but that would explain such a cost difference.

Are these the three options available from USAA? I would pick the cheapest if they are all vetted by USAA. I had RLI through them at one time. I think my umbrella policy is directly through them now after several years with other companies brokered by them.

I have umbrella through USAA, and I'm not aware of any "choice" like this. It sounds like these are three different underlying insurers, perhaps through a broker?

 

[CaliKid]

We have USAA for personal home and cars. They were STICKLERS about our umbrella. We have rentals with another company, because USAA was so difficult, and we had to prove they were in a business entity and totally apart from our personal lives. They even tried to cancel the umbrella at one point and had to fight for it. I would be surprised if USAA allows you to use other companies.

 

[stephenson]

Home and rentals not through USAA - only car.

USAA 2-3 times as much for home and rentals. They won’t do umbrella unless the houses are through them.

All in Florida. Umbrella is over four rental houses, two cars, one boat and one personal house.

 

[audreyh1]

Does it also cover uninsured underinsured motorist coverage? That usually adds several hundred dollars.

 

[MrLoco]

I currently have an umbrella with USAA for $4M. I pay about $1,100.
Currently have the house and cars with USAA. Auto coverage is $$300k per person and $500k per accident. They require that high coverage if you want umbrella.



Also, even though both my adult sons have their own auto insurance thru USAA.....because both sons still live at home; USAA adds them to the umbrella policy as they and their cars are "domiciled" ( as they put it) at our address. Once they move out, the premium should drop.



It is what it is. Could save a few bucks if I shopped around? Probably.
But I will say one thing about USAA....the 2 times in the past 30 years I had to put in a claim....the adjuster (USAA rep) showed up in 2 days and handled everything in a professional manner and to my satisfaction.
The "sleep at night " factor is a big reason I have and keep my umbrella policy. Lord knows I have spent $1,100 over the course of a year on many foolish things!

 

[athena53]

I've always had my Auto, Home and Umbrella with the same insurer. My reasoning is that if a catastrophic claim happens, there will be no conflicts between insurers. Let's say you have $100K per accident limits on Auto with Company A and a $1 million Umbrella with Company B, and you get sued for $1 million. Company A may push for a generous settlement offer because their payout is capped at $100K. Company B may want to take it to court and hope for less. Having it all with a single insurer simplifies things. Given that your Auto is with USAA (and most of the expensive claims are likely to be Auto), I'd go with USAA.

Another thought: there are less likely to be gaps in the coverages. Any Umbrella insurer will specify what limits and coverages you need to buy for Primary. If everything is with the same insurer, what's not covered by the primary is likely to be covered by the Umbrella. Sometimes there's even "drop-down" coverage, in which the Umbrella covers smaller claims not covered at all by the Primary. Easier to co-ordinate if it's all with the same insurer.

 

[stephenson]

Thanks so far for everyone’s comments!

USAA home and rental insurance in Florida is several times the available insurance ... sure, it’s better, but at a huge cost - mainly because of the number of prior military retirees in Florida ... and that darn hurricane thing.

So, I am left with a decision between USLI, RLI, and American Integrity.

Auto insurance is already at 300/100.

 

[Nords]

Cars are with USAA but no property. Personal home and rental houses are with American Integrity.
Thoughts on the three options?

I’d get a quote from Armed Forces Insurance (AFI.org) for the home (and possibly the rentals) and then get a quote for the umbrella liability.

AFI will carry up to $5M in umbrella liability. If you choose to insure the rentals with AFI then they’ll also want the tenants to carry personal liability insurance.

 

[ziggy29]

USAA home and rental insurance in Florida is several times the available insurance ... sure, it’s better, but at a huge cost - mainly because of the number of prior military retirees in Florida ... and that darn hurricane thing.

Yeah, that's a good point. When an insurer already has more than enough risk exposure in a particular area, they either have to stop writing policies there entirely or just jack up the rates so much for new policies that people look elsewhere. It isn't good for the insurer *or* the insured to have way too much risk exposure in any one area.

 

[stephenson]

Just compared USAA to American Integrity - clearly USAA is better ... but on only our primary residence ($300K) USAA is $1300 MORE per year ... think 87% higher than American Integrity.

I didn't have time to talk with USAA about the rentals, but let's assume about the same difference ...

Net - the difference in insurance on only our primary house is enough to pay for $3M umbrella from either USLI or RLI. Would this change anyone's opinion regarding the independent umbrella from USLI or RLI?

Then, back to the original question - does anyone see a substantive difference between USLI and RLI?

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Just compared USAA to American Integrity - clearly USAA is better ... but on only our primary residence ($300K) USAA is $1300 MORE per year ... think 87% higher than American Integrity.

I didn't have time to talk with USAA about the rentals, but let's assume about the same difference ...

Net - the difference in insurance on only our primary house is enough to pay for $3M umbrella from either USLI or RLI. Would this change anyone's opinion regarding the independent umbrella from USLI or RLI?

Then, back to the original question - does anyone see a substantive difference between USLI and RLI?

It would take a trained eye to tell if there is any difference between the two. All umbrella policies have many exclusions, limitations and conditions, that's where you find out what's really covered and what's not) I would agree with the others who advised that you have your umbrella with the same company as your Homeowners to avoid potential gaps. They're made for each other. Actually, most umbrella insurers require the underlying personal liability (homeowners).

It is not uncommon for an umbrella insurer to request a copy of another company's underlying policy if they're not writing it, I think that's good for everyone. In fact, I'd give them a copy even if they don't ask for it so they can confirm your underlying limits are adequate.

Make sure that the companies know about any extra toys, such as golf carts, snowmobiles/ATV's, boats, horses, dogs/pets, pools, planes or side businesses (basically, anything fun). Alcohol, engines and animals cause a lot of big claims and if they don't know about it ahead of time, it may not be covered.

Good luck in your research.