An insurance policy is one of the most effective means of ensuring that your most valuable assets are protected. You may feel like certain insurance plans are simply too expensive, and these costs can undoubtedly add up if you are protecting multiple, high-value assets (business, auto, etc.) at once. Fortunately, an alternative option exists: umbrella insurance.
Typical Umbrella Insurance Policy Coverage
Personal umbrella insurance is intended to provide additional liability coverage over another insurance policy (e.g. home or auto). Umbrella insurance will protect you in the event you or your property sustains significant harm.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, a majority of insurance companies will require you to have approximately $250,000 of liability insurance on your auto policy and $300,000 of liability insurance on your homeowners’ policy before offering you an umbrella liability policy containing $1 million in additional coverage.
Types Of Claims Covered By An Umbrella Insurance Policy
Four types of claims are typically covered by an umbrella insurance policy: bodily injury, personal injury, property damage and landlord liability. Let’s examine each of these claims more closely.
Bodily Injury
A “bodily injury” occurs whenever you, or anybody else covered under your insurance policy, causes physical harm to someone else. If you have pets and one of them harms someone, this could result in a bodily injury claim. Typically, bodily injury claims related to events such as infections and diseases that you transmit to others are not covered under liability insurance policies.
Personal Injury
Personal injury claims fall under tort law, which deals with two fundamental issues: damages and liability. In other words, two questions are typically asked to determine whether a personal injury case exists:
- Was the defendant responsible for any damages you suffered?
- If the answer to the previous question is “yes:” what is the nature and extent of the damages?
Common examples of personal injury cases include automobile accidents, dog bites, slip-and-fall incidents, workplace accidents, medical malpractice and defamation. Negligence is often a basis for personal injury claims, although it is not the only basis. According to the American Bar Association, strict liability and intentional wrongs can also serve as the foundation for personal injury claims.
Property Damage
Damage to a property, including vehicles used for business practices, due to negligence, willful destruction (vandalism), or defacement caused by a natural occurrence (flood, hurricane, etc.) typically qualify as instances of property damage. If the damage sustained occurred as a result of events that were out of your control, you may be protected under comprehensive coverage.
If necessary, contact the police to file a report, creating an official record of the existence of the damage.
What Is Typically Not Covered?
There are four types of claims or incidents that are generally not covered by an umbrella insurance policy: your own personal belongings, business-related losses, criminal acts or omissions and oral and written contracts.
Your Own Personal Property
Although personal umbrella insurance is intended to cover expenses in the event you are held responsible for damages to another person’s property, this coverage usually doesn’t apply if you destroy your own property (e.g. machinery and other office equipment).
Business-Related Losses
Losses tied to your business’s regular operations are typically not covered under an umbrella insurance policy, even if your company is home-based. This also means that business-related liabilities (e.g. malpractice lawsuits) are not covered by personal umbrella insurance.
Criminal Acts
If you ever engage in intentionally injurious behavior, or otherwise illegal acts, an umbrella insurance policy generally won’t be sufficient to protect you. This includes any restitution you may owe after facing a criminal conviction.
Oral & Written Contracts
An umbrella insurance policy can’t shield you from any liabilities that surface with links to a written or oral contract you have agreed to. This exclusion also includes lawsuits you may be facing from a co-worker.
Reach Out To A Professional Business Insurance Agency
Speak to the experts at Southern State Insurance in Alpharetta, Georgia for more information on the benefits of a personal umbrella insurance policy. Since our founding in 1992, we have grown to become one of the largest, privately-held independent insurance agencies in the Southeast.
At SSI, we place a major emphasis on value, diversity of options, and deep, long-lasting relationships. We work with several major insurance carriers, including AIG, AllState, Cigna and Liberty Mutual. Southern State offers affordable rates for products (sometimes even better prices than direct-to-consumer companies!) and can always quickly provide you with a quote via phone or email. Call Southern State Insurance today at (888) 971-6304 or contact us online for a quote or to learn more about our products.