While driving to work one morning, John spilled his coffee all over his front passenger seat. He reached over to clean up some of the mess and took his eyes off the road for a few seconds. At that time he failed to stop and hit a car in front of him, who was waiting in line for the traffic light to change. That car hit another one in front of him. There was significant property damage and also significant injuries. Once the accident scene was cleaned up, John’s first thought was, “am I sufficiently covered for this?”.
If John’s auto policy limits were exhausted to pay for this claim, he would be liable to pay for any excess judgment against him out of his personal assets. He could be liable to pay for thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Savings could be wiped out and wages could be tapped into. This is a nightmare scenario.
If John carried an umbrella policy, once his auto policy limits were used up, his umbrella would kick in to pay for any excess judgment, up to the umbrella limit. This policy would have saved John from using his personal wealth to pay for the claim. If he had just spent a few more dollars on an umbrella policy, this nightmare could have been avoided.
An umbrella policy provides additional coverage, beyond the liability insurance already on your auto, home, boat, RV, motorcycle, etc. It is a relatively inexpensive way to protect your assets. Examples of umbrella coverages would be if you caused a serious auto accident as John did in the above story. If your dog bites someone. If a guest at your home falls down your stairs. If you injure someone in a boating accident. These are just a few examples of when an umbrella policy can come into play. There are plenty more.
The other benefit of an umbrella policy is that your legal defense costs are covered under this policy. If you are sued by a claimant, even if it is considered frivolous, your legal costs would be covered. This could save you tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
Please consider this policy an important part of your insurance package. Call our office for a consultation and quote for this valuable protection.