Of all of the various types of personal insurance policies that you can purchase, perhaps none is more cryptically misunderstood than personal umbrella insurance. No, an “umbrella” policy is not designed to insure your collection of rain repellent devices, nor does it even have anything to do with flooding or water damage. Instead, an umbrella policy offers additional liability coverage to keep you protected from lawsuits and other claims when the limited liability coverage on your other insurance policies – homeowners, car, or boat, usually – has been all used up.

So why should you consider getting additional liability coverage on top of the liability coverage already provided by your existing insurance policies? For the most part, an umbrella policy is just an extra layer of protection between you and any claims you might come up against.

For example, if you are responsible for a bad car accident that results in hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical costs and property damage, the liability coverage on your car insurance policy might take care of two thirds of the costs. That’s helpful, but it still leaves you responsible for paying one third of the damages on your own, and if one third of the damages equates to $100,000 or $200,000, then you’re still in big trouble. An umbrella policy would give you the additional liability coverage to pay those extra costs without bankrupting yourself. Sure, this example is an extreme one, but it illustrates a situation where having “just in case” umbrella coverage can save you from a world of financial woe.

The costliness of the above scenario could also be applied to any other situation where liability insurance would come in handy. Whether a guest is seriously injured at your home or your dog damages a neighbor’s property, liability insurance is designed to handle accidental and unpredictable expenses so you don’t have to. Umbrella insurance simply extends the coverage of that liability insurance, protecting you above and beyond the limits of your original policy so that particularly serious incidents don’t ruin your life.

In addition to providing higher levels of insurance coverage for common liability claims, umbrella policies can also provide coverage that you wouldn’t necessarily get from an average liability insurance policy.

Landlords: One of these extra types of coverage is liability insurance for rental units that you own and serve as landlord for. Say someone is attacked on your property or injured by a faulty appliance in one of your buildings, or say that your “pets allowed” policy goes awry when the dog that belongs to one your tenants bites or otherwise injures another tenant. All of these scenarios and many of others can result in costly lawsuits or liability claims against you as the landlord, even though you weren’t directly responsibility for any of the injuries or property damage that occurs in and around your rental units. Most insurance policies don’t offer liability coverage for landlords in these situations, but umbrella policies do.

Other Lawsuits: Ever been sued for libel? Or for causing another person some sort of mental anguish? These types of personal liability claims aren’t ever covered by traditional insurance policies obtained by homeowners or auto owners, but they are under the “umbrella” of umbrella liability insurance.

Want to learn more about the many ways that personal umbrella insurance can provide you with additional liability protection? Contact Linares Insurance today!