Why Do You Need a Personal Umbrella Policy?

Imagine that you’re just a few years away from a well deserved retirement. You’ve got a sizable retirement account, plus a house and car, or two, that are fully paid off. In short, life is pretty good.

Then, one day, you get into a car crash. Fortunately, you’re not badly hurt, and the damage to your car is well within the limits of your auto policy coverage. Unfortunately, the other car involved in the crash is full of executives from a large company – and their injuries, and the damage to the car, are much more serious.

A court rules that you are responsible for the accident and must pay for the executives’ medical bills, and their lost wages for the time they were unable to work after the accident. Altogether, you owe about a million dollars in damages. Your auto insurance policy only covers the first $250,000 of that, so you’re on the hook for the remaining $750,000.

Umbrella insurance is a type of liability insurance, meaning that its job is to protect you against lawsuits. With most auto insurance policies, there is a maximum amount of liability coverage you can buy per accident, but damages in a lawsuit can easily add up to millions of dollars. Having an umbrella policy keeps a massive lawsuit from wiping out all your other assets. In addition, an umbrella policy protects you against being sued for damage that other policies don’t cover, such as an accident you cause at work or on vacation.

 

For more information, click here. Contact an agent at PUI today to discuss Personal Umbrella coverage and premiums.