Umbrella policy renewal premium increase is 122%

[Chuckanut]

My umbrella insurance has doubled over the last decade. It's still worth having.

I shopped my all insurance out last year and could not find an insurance company I was comfortable with that offered lower premiums than my current one.

 

[athena53]

We started an umbrella policy last year with State Farm. This year the bill was nearly double what the cost was last year. I called and complained and said I might need to "shop around" (trying to negotiate) but they held firm and explained that there were likely going to be increases across the board for umbrella policies at other companies too.

Insurance rates for personal coverage are strictly regulated and must be approved in advance by the state and supported by statistics. Trust me, I've worked with actuaries at state insurance departments. They will pick apart every assumption that might over-state your need for a rate increase and none that might understate it. Once a rate structure is approved they are not permitted to negotiate with an individual policyholder.

You want to know what's behind it? It's all those zillion-dollar jury verdicts and the lawyers on billboards and on TV. Inflation is higher in the upper coverage layers than in the primary layer. Simple example: primary homeowners liability coverage is $100K per accident. A claim that was exactly $100,000 last year will be worth, let's say, $104,000 in the upcoming year being priced due to inflation. So the primary layer of the claim is still capped at $100,000 but the extra $4,000 goes into the excess layer. It's called the leveraged effect of inflation.

If there every was an example of a company padding its own profits, while crying wolf, these rising umbrella costs are probably it.

Please see my first paragraph. This is not how it works.

 

[Just_Steve]

I had been with State Farm for 25 years, last year decided to finally get an umbrella policy. State Farm agent said they are not waiting new umbrella policies in NY, called an independent agency now I'm with Farmers, 3 cars, 1 house with an in ground pool, 1m umbrella policy $365. Not bad plus their auto and home owners is less expensive than State Farm with better coverage. I will never use a captive agent again.

 

[N02L84ER]

Our umbrella insurance went up 30% in 2024 and 30% in 2025.

 

[PERSonalTime]

Does anyone have experience with umbrella renewal rates in Southern California?

 

[jebmke]

Our last renewal was 4% for Umbrella and 2.2% for HO and 0% for auto ( USAA in MD). Insurance is regulated by states so I would expect rates to differ not only due to risk pools but also state regulator involvement.

 

[srblanco7]

It took some effort, as I had to engage with three different brokers - first was non-responsive after a few emails, second couldn't beat our current price, and the third helped us out. End result was that we lowered the cost of our insurance bundle (4 cars, 1 home, $5M umbrella) by $1500 per year. Biggest savings was on the umbrella, where our premium was lowered from $1706/year to $805/year.

Pays to shop around and I don't think I'll ever go with a captive agent again.

 

[Dtail]

Stated this on a car insurance thread.
I used to be with Liberty Mutual. They raised the car insurance a bunch one year after being with them 30 years. I asked them that if I quit and then come back later as effectively a first time customer, would my insurance be lower as a "new customer"? They said yes. There was nothing more to discuss.
I wonder if umbrella insurance would work the same way.

 

[JoeWras]

Stated this on a car insurance thread.
I used to be with Liberty Mutual. They raised the car insurance a bunch one year after being with them 30 years. I asked them that if I quit and then come back later as effectively a first time customer, would my insurance be lower as a "new customer"? They said yes. There was nothing more to discuss.
I wonder if umbrella insurance would work the same way.

They are being transparent about the new policy discount, I guess.

 

[Dtail]

They are being transparent about the new policy discount, I guess.

I mean come on. 30 years of loyalty. No more for me on any insurances. Always shop around now if there is a large increase. I use 2 different brokers and let them do the work.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

My umbrella policy renewal came today. 87% increase!

 

[Redbugdave]

Mine with State Farm went up, too!

 

[RockyMNHiker]

I dropped State Farm recently after 10 years, and I found out from my new agent that SF never did cover (or even offer) protection from underinsured motorists on my $2M umbrella policy. I thought umbrella meant umbrella. Yes, the auto insurance portion covers up to a bit, but not anywhere up to the umbrella limits. Apparently SF only covers liability up to $2M. When I switched to Auto Owners Group, the premium doubled to $600, but now I am actually covered for UIM.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve also seen an almost doubling.

 

[Montecfo]

I will never use a captive agent again.

Wise.

 

[Montecfo]

Mine went up about 20 pct. RLI priced it exactly the same. So I went with it.

 

[Koolau]

All our insurance has taken off. I guess my question would be: Where are the State Insurance watch dogs (regulators) in all of this? In theory, all premium increases must be "justified" to the watch dogs. It sounds like the watch dogs are simply signing off on all the increases.

 

[Fishsticks007]

I received my $1,000,000 umbrella policy renewal (for April 2026) notification from USAA today. My annual premium for 1 house and 2 cars went from $299 to $665. I actually burst out laughing. A 122% increase when nothing has changed in our situation. We have the same vehicles, no additional vehicles, no additional dwellings, no tickets, no accidents, no claims on any insurance. Just one year older. And we live in Florida.

Has anyone else with umbrella coverage from USAA and/or in Florida seen such an enormous increase like this? I will call them on Monday and ask what is going on but I'm sure I'll get some generic response like, "Well, costs have increased." I'll see whether they have any other partners who write umbrella policies for them (they used to use RLI) but I'll probably have to shop it elsewhere. The increase just seems bizarre.

EDIT: Corrected price of renewal policy to $665 from $635.

I spoke with our State Farm agent a few days ago who warned us umbrella policies across the board are going up. And in many states where they seem to encourage lawsuits with big financial rewards, they will no longer issue policies to people who don’t already have one. I hate paying insurance and taxes but in the event you do need it, the insurance should be there for you. I’m thinking we are lucky to have the policy and lucky not to be in a state where they no longer will issue them. Even though I don’t like it, I will pay it because it isn’t worth the risk to not have it. Good luck with your costs.

 

[braumeister]

My umbrella policy actually went down. I think mainly due to going from two cars to just one.

 

[jgrdarrash]

How do you find a "non-captive" agent?

 

[Just_Steve]

How do you find a "non-captive" agent?

Just google independent agents in your area.

 

[catii]

Your USAA increase must be location-related. Our $2,000,000 umbrella policy just decreased by around $100. As an aside, I've been with USAA for 56 years with no claims, accidents, or tickets (oter than parking). Right now we have 4 cars, a motorcycle, & a pontoon boat. It'll be interesting to see how prices change when we sell one car & the bike,

 

[stngray]

Just renewed my $2,000,000 umbrella policy with Erie . 1 house, 4 cars in Maryland and farm in WV for $195.00 same price as last year

 

[lakerunner]

Try having a house on a lake with a boat and 2 jet skis.

 

[meleana]

I received my $1,000,000 umbrella policy renewal (for April 2026) notification from USAA today. My annual premium for 1 house and 2 cars went from $299 to $665. I actually burst out laughing. A 122% increase when nothing has changed in our situation. We have the same vehicles, no additional vehicles, no additional dwellings, no tickets, no accidents, no claims on any insurance. Just one year older. And we live in Florida.

Has anyone else with umbrella coverage from USAA and/or in Florida seen such an enormous increase like this? I will call them on Monday and ask what is going on but I'm sure I'll get some generic response like, "Well, costs have increased." I'll see whether they have any other partners who write umbrella policies for them (they used to use RLI) but I'll probably have to shop it elsewhere. The increase just seems bizarre.

EDIT: Corrected price of renewal policy to $665 from $635.

Ours doubled a year ago- also for no reason- and I was forced to decrease the coverage from 2 million to 1 million to lower the premium.

It’s an RLI standalone policy Progressive got us into since they do not have umbrella policies. So not wanting to change our auto and homeowners policies to another company I got RLI, but went back to the 1 million policy after only switching to 2 million a few years ago at the suggestion of our Financial Advisor. It’s still very expensive.