Personal Umbrella Liability Policy

If you are ever sued, your standard homeowners or auto policy will usually provide you with liability coverage which pays for judgments against you and your attorney's fees. However, in this litigious world we live, you may want to have an extra layer of liability protection. That's what a personal umbrella liability policy provides.

It kicks in when you reach the limit on the underlying liability coverage in a homeowners, renters, condo or auto policy. An umbrella policy may also cover you for things that may not be covered in the underlying policy, such as libel and slander.

If you feel insecure with the amount of insurance you have, then you should consider purchasing a personal umbrella liability policy. For about $150 to $200 per year you can buy a $1 million personal umbrella liability policy. The next million will cost about $75 and $50 for every million after that. Because the personal umbrella policy goes into affect after the underlying coverage is exhausted, there are certain limits that usually must be met in order to purchase this coverage:

Check with your own company to see what they require:

• Homeowners Liability - typical minimum required - $300,000
• Auto Insurance Liability - typical minimum required
  • $250,000/bodily injury per person
  • $500,000/bodily injury per occurrence
  • $100,000/property damage