Umbrella Insurance

Today, lawsuits are everywhere. Lawyers are awarding larger amounts of money than ever. Homeowners, auto, and watercraft policies have a limit on liability insurance. If an unfortunate accident should happen that is your fault, do you have enough liability insurance from your current policies to cover your costs for negligence? Since no one can predict how much a judge may award the injured person, umbrella insurance is not just for the wealthy anymore, but a needed protection for every policyholder.
Umbrella insurance is designed to give one added liability protection above and beyond the limits on homeowners, auto, and watercraft personal insurance policies. With an umbrella policy, depending on the insurance company, one can add an additional 1-5 million in liability protection. This protection is designed to "kick-in" when the liability on other current policies has been exhausted.
Liability insurance is the portion of a homeowners or auto policy that pays for expenses such as the injured persons medical bills, rehabilitative therapy, and lost wages due to the negligence of the at fault person. The liability portion of an insurance policy also covers a legal defense representative if the negligence would happen to land the at fault person in the court room. After adding up all of the medical expenses for the injured and the legal fees of the negligent person, the standard liability in one's homeowners or auto policy is often not enough. Almost every state has financial responsibility laws that will hold drivers accountable for bodily injury and property damage resulting from car accidents and the at fault driver could be sued for the damage. Personal assets from the at fault driver could be seized resulting from a lawsuit. Similar laws are also in force for home and watercraft owners.
There is good news. A personal liability umbrella insurance policy can give one added liability protection without a large added cost. Additional liability insurance is often inexpensive, especially compared to the added coverage one gains. Furthermore, liability insurance covers one's non-business activities anywhere in the world. Having the added protection of a liability umbrella policy is coverage no one should go without.
Umbrella insurance can give you additional liability protection above and beyond your current insurance. Below is a list of questions typically asked and information you will need to gather in order to complete an umbrella insurance quote with your chosen insurance agent. If you have not yet read Why Every Policyholder Needs Umbrella Insurance you will want to do that first to determine your need for umbrella insurance.

Information You Will Need When Purchasing an Umbrella Policy:

• First Name, Birth Date, Sex, Marital Status, Years Licensed, State Licensed, and Occupation of all drivers in your household.
• Violation and Accident information for the last 5 years of all drivers in your household.
• All the property you own including: Home, Auto, Watercraft, Recreational Vehicles (RV's), Rental Units, Land, and Motorcycles.
• Information about your current insurance company including: Expiration Dates and Losses and Claims in the past 5 years.
• The liability limit you are requesting which is typically 1-5 million.

Questions Typically Asked by the Insurance Agent When Purchasing an Umbrella Policy:

• Besides your auto, do you own any other motorized vehicles like motorcycles or mopeds?
• Do any drivers in your household have mental or physical impairments?
• Are you in the farming business?
• Do you have any employees at your residence?
• Are you caring for any property that is not your own and it exceeds $1,000?
• Are there any business activities conducted at your home or in any property that you own?
• Do you have any non-owned business or professional endorsements on your current insurance policies?
• Do any of your current insurance policies have reduced liability limits or exclude coverage for specific events?
• Within the last 5 years, have you been denied insurance coverage or been canceled or not renewed?
• Are there any drivers on your current insurance policies under the age of 25?
• Do you own, lease, or charter an aircraft?
• Do you use your property, vehicles, watercraft, or aircraft for business?
• Do you have any vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, or property that is owned, hired, leased or used on a regular basis that is not covered by insurance?

Umbrella insurance refers to a liability insurance policy that protects the assets and future income of the policyholder above and beyond the standard limits on their primary policies. Umbrella Insurance is distinguished from excess insurance in that excess coverage goes into effect only when all underlying policies are totally exhausted, while umbrella is able to "drop down" to fill coverage gaps in underlying policies. Therefore, an umbrella policy can become the primary policy "on the risk" in certain situations. The term "umbrella" refers to how the policy shields the insured's assets more broadly than primary coverage.
Typically, an umbrella insurance policy is pure liability coverage over and above the coverage afforded by the regular policy, and is sold in increments of one million dollars. The term "umbrella" is used because it covers liability claims from all policies underneath it, such as auto insurance and homeowners insurance policies. For example, if the insured carries an auto insurance policy with liability limits of $500,000 and a homeowners insurance policy with a limit of $300,000, then with a million dollar umbrella, the insured's limits become in effect, $1,500,000 on an auto liability claim and $1,300,000 on a homeowners liability claim.
Umbrella insurance provides broad insurance beyond traditional home and auto. It provides additional liability coverage above the limits of homeowner's, auto, and boat insurance policies. It can also provide coverage for claims that may be excluded by the primary policies. These may include, but are not limited to:

• False arrest
• Libel
• Slander
• Invasion of privacy

Umbrella Insurance

To really feel secure about protecting your assets and your future, you may need the extra level of protection provided by redirect.com’s vendors of  personal umbrella liability insurance.
What's Peace of Mind Worth to You?
An umbrella policy provides additional layers of liability protection. If the liability limits are exhausted on your home, auto, or other underlying insurance policy, your umbrella insurance policy takes over and provides you with additional protection. The cost is minimal compared to the comfort of knowing you're covered.
Do You Have Enough Liability Insurance?
Imagine if your dog were to bite a neighbor's child. Or if there's an accident on your rental property. Or a fire in your condo spreads to other units. What would happen if you or a family member missed a stop sign and struck and killed a pedestrian? If any of these things happened to you, there's a good chance your current liability limits wouldn't be adequate to protect your assets—or your future earnings.
Lawsuits Are Not Limited to Your Net Worth
A lot of factors determine the amount of coverage you need. Your financial status, lifestyle, and existing coverage are all relevant, but in liability lawsuits, judgements can exceed net worth. Talk to your Safeco agent to determine what's right for you.
You May Already Qualify
To qualify for our umbrella insurance coverage, you must carry auto insurance with specified liability limits. Your home insurance, condo insurance or renter’s insurance policy must also include certain limits of liability coverage. The same applies if you own an RV, Boat or other types of watercraft.  Other conditions may apply.
Liability Insurance Starts When the Others Stop
Once the liability limits are exhausted on your home, auto, or other policy your Umbrella policy takes over and provides a second layer of protection of at least $1,000,000. Higher limits are available.
Broad Coverages
An umbrella insurance policy also pays some claims not covered by your home, auto, or other underlying insurance. The policy covers not just you but your spouse and all family members living in your household anywhere in the world. Legal defense fees are also paid.
Savings to You
Considering the extra security and protection it provides, personal umbrella liability insurance is surprisingly reasonable. The average cost is just pennies a day.

Rogers Insurance Services, Inc.
(RIS Direct.com)
4145 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, #201
Blackhawk, CA 94506
Phone: 925-365-3200 / Fax: 925-226-1422
E-Mail us at: quote@RISdirect.com
California License # 0C94234