Umbrella insurance is a type of insurance that provides you with an additional level of liability coverage, over your base policy, for certain large-scale incidents. One of the notable benefits of this form of insurance is that other members of your household can be covered in addition to you, the policyholder. Let’s analyze umbrella insurance more closely and examine the scenarios where it can serve as a highly effective form of protection.
Umbrella Insurance Coverage
Umbrella insurance policies are often more particular and complex than other types of insurance policies. It is important to fully understand exactly what a typical umbrella insurance policy will cover and what it won’t. Umbrella insurance generally covers four different types of liability claims: bodily injury, personal injury, property damage, and landlord liability.
Bodily Injury
If you or any other person covered under your insurance policy physically harms someone else in any way, this is considered a bodily injury incident. Certain scenarios where you or someone in your household becomes sick and infects another person with the disease are typically not covered under liability insurance policies. Be sure to ask an attorney if you ever have questions about this issue.
Personal Injury
A personal injury involves one person sustaining physical or emotional harm due to an accident caused by someone else. Common examples of accidents or incidents that result in personal injury claims include car accidents, workplace accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, dog bites, product defects, defamation, and medical malpractice. Although negligence on the part of another person is often the basis of an argument for personal injury claims, intentional wrongs and strict liability can also serve as basis in some of these types of cases.
Property Damage
As the name indicates, these claims arise after any piece of property becomes damaged either as a result of someone else’s negligence or because another person intentionally destroyed your property. The destruction caused by a natural disaster (hurricane, flood, etc.) also falls under this category of claims. If a vehicle that someone else utilizes for routine business operations becomes destroyed due to your negligence, that person may likely be able to file a property damage claim.
Landlord Liability
The landlord may be held liable for an injury occurring on the premises of a building if it can be proven that this individual (or his/her agent) was careless in maintaining the property and that this consequently led to an injury. A landlord should always make sure that there are no dangerous conditions anywhere on the premises and also regularly verify that all common areas, including elevators, stairways, and hallways are maintained in good condition.
Surveillance equipment can often help with this responsibility. Finally, a landlord is responsible for taking appropriate action if he/she knows of any tenants who are engaging in illegal behavior. Umbrella insurance typically does not cover damage to your personal property, business-related losses, criminal acts, and oral or written contracts.
Who Should Acquire A Policy?
Nearly any individual can benefit from an umbrella insurance policy for one simple reason: severe accidents can happen to almost anyone. Umbrella insurance helps you by preventing you from becoming legally responsible for any form of damage to another individual (or their property). Lawsuits can often be extremely costly and last several long months. Therefore, you should protect yourself with umbrella insurance.
How Is It Different Than Excess Liability Insurance?
Excess liability coverage policies offer coverage for the same risks as your underlying policy and carry the same exclusions. Alternatively, a personal umbrella insurance policy will protect you against risks not listed in your policy, such as defamation (libel or slander).
Speak To An Experienced Business Insurance Agency
Contact the experts at Southern State Insurance in Alpharetta, Georgia for more information about umbrella insurance and its benefits. Since our founding in 1992, we have grown to become one of the largest, privately-held independent insurance agencies in the Southeastern part of the United States. We work with nearly every major insurance carrier (including AIG, Allstate, Hanover, and Liberty Mutual) and are committed to finding the best possible value for our clients. We place a large emphasis on the diversity of options and deep, long-lasting relationships.
Southern State Insurance offers umbrella insurance for both homeowners and business owners, and we will always provide you with a quote so that you never have to exceed your budget. We also provide auto insurance and are proud to support a wide variety of people and causes in our community. Call Southern State Insurance today at 888-971-6304 or contact us online to learn more about our products.