Category: Personal

Umbrella insurance policies can be an important feature of personal financial plans. They provide additional insurance that takes over when a claim uses up all of the homeowner’s or auto insurance. They even cover some losses that home and auto insurance do not cover, though the policyholder must pay a small deductible for them. They provide insurance amounts as low as $1,000,000 and may provide $5,000,000 or more. Despite the large amounts, they are not just for wealthy people. Here are five (actually six) situations where umbrella policies are vital:

• Auto insurance: A man is late for work and speeding on the highway. He loses control on icy pavement and strikes another car in the driver’s side. The other driver suffers serious injuries; hospitalization, follow-up care, medicine, rehabilitation and pain and suffering tally up to $900,000. The at-fault driver has an auto insurance policy that covers $250,000 for injuries to any one person. If he has an umbrella with a $1,000,000 limit, it will pay the remaining $650,000.
• Bonus auto insurance scenario, based on a true story: The policyholder’s son loses control on a highway overpass. His car plunges off the overpass and lands on a row of vehicles for sale in a Lexus dealer’s lot. Six vehicles are damaged to the tune of $150,000. His father’s auto insurance covers $100,000 in property damage from any one accident. If he has an umbrella, it will pay the remaining $50,000.
• Homeowners insurance: A homeowner has insurance that covers her liability for bodily injuries to others, up to $300,000 per accident. A neighbor who has three children under age 10 drowns in her swimming pool. His estate sues her for $1,500,000. Her homeowner’s insurance will pay all of its $300,000; if she doesn’t have an umbrella, she is responsible for the remaining $1,200,000.
• Boats: A man has a boat insurance policy that covers his liability for injuries to others up to $300,000 and an umbrella policy with a $2,000,000 limit. He loans his boat to a friend for the weekend. The friend takes it out on a lake with three buddies and a case of beer. He becomes intoxicated and plows into another boat late at night. The survivors and the estates of the deceased sue the driver and the boat owner. The court finds the owner 20 percent liable for the $5,000,000 judgment. His boat policy pays $300,000 and his umbrella pays $700,000.
• All-terrain vehicles: A man’s grandson from out of state visits him for the holidays. He takes the boy out for a spin on the ATV he bought the week before, but the boy bounces off and suffers critical injuries. The man bought coverage for the ATV under his auto policy, but the most it will pay is $100,000. The boy’s medical care will cost $750,000; his grandfather’s umbrella policy will pay $650,000.
• Personal injury: A woman loudly repeats a rumor she heard about one of her neighbors. The neighbor sues her for defamation of character and wins $500,000. The woman’s homeowner’s insurance does not cover defamation, but her $1,000,000 umbrella does. After she pays a $250 deductible her umbrella pays the rest.

Severe accidents like these can and do happen to people every day. When something like this happens, an umbrella policy may be all there is to keep the person responsible from financial ruin. An insurance agent can explain coverage details and provide estimates of the cost. The relatively low cost may be well worth the peace of mind should a catastrophic accident occur.

Hopefully, you will never be served with legal papers and involved in a costly lawsuit. But in the event you are, it will be imperative that you have the insurance to cover your legal liability. That’s where a personal liability umbrella policy can help.

Umbrella policies supplement the liability coverage you have through home and auto insurance and provide an extra layer of security by protecting your assets that might be at risk in a liability lawsuit.

If you don’t have enough liability coverage from your homeowner’s and auto policies to adequately resolve a claim, the person suing you can go after your home and your other assets to pay for damages. Umbrella policies cover damage claims that you, your dependents, or even your pets may cause.

Umbrella policies kick in after, and pay in addition to, your auto and homeowner’s insurance liability limits. The bulk of the risk is assumed under the primary auto or home policy, which enables insurers to offer umbrella policies at very reasonable costs.

However, most insurance companies will not sell an umbrella policy unless both your auto and homeowner’s insurance is with them. In addition, your insurer may stipulate that your auto or homeowner’s liability limits be at least a certain amount, such as $200,000 to $300,000. Umbrella policies are generally sold with a deductible that might run anywhere from $250 to $1,000, pocket change if you’re being sued for millions!

Umbrella policies provide much broader coverage in case you are sued, covering you if you cause bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury. Certain umbrella policies also cover you if you face liability arising from your service on the board of a civic, charitable, or religious organization.

Umbrella policies typically do not cover claims from business endeavors. If you own a business, even a small one, you’ll need to purchase business insurance to protect yourself from business-related liability claims.

To determine if you need an umbrella policy, analyze your risk of being sued and the assets you have at risk. Do you have a swimming pool or trampoline that may pose a threat to visitors? Of course, you may decide your personal situation makes lawsuits very unlikely.

Before making any decision, compare the umbrella premium with the cost of raising the liability limits on your auto and homeowner’s policies. It may work to your advantage to raise these current limits by several hundred thousand dollars, and you may come out spending less than you would on umbrella policy premiums.

Social networking Web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, are growing increasingly popular with young people and adults alike. These sites allow people to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and to make new connections. However, as with most other Web sites, these sites allow the posting of communications that the posters may come to regret. These posts can cause hard feelings and may result in significant financial loss.

In the winter of 2009, a teenager from Oceanside, New York sued Facebook, four of her high school classmates, and their parents for $3 million. The suit accused the four classmates of bullying and humiliating her in a forum on Facebook. They allegedly posted derogatory and false statements about her that were intended to hold her up to “public hatred, ridicule and disgrace.” Whether or not the allegations prove to be true, the teenagers and their parents need legal defense and possibly resources to pay judgments against them. They may look to their homeowner’s insurance policies to cover these costs, but will the policies respond?

A standard policy will probably not cover this. The policy pays amounts for which the policyholder (the insured) is legally liable, plus the costs of legal defense, for bodily injury or property damage done to someone else. The policy defines bodily injury as meaning bodily harm, sickness or disease; it defines property damage as injury to, destruction of, or loss of use of physical property. Neither of these definitions includes saying or publishing something that injures another’s reputation or feelings. Consequently, the policy is unlikely to cover a post on Facebook. The girl from Oceanside did not allege that her classmates hurt her body, made her sick or passed her a disease; she accused them of making her life miserable. The policy does not cover that offense.

Insurance companies may offer special personal injury coverage that can be added to homeowner’s policies. This coverage pays for the insured’s liability for several offenses, including oral or written publication of material that violates someone’s privacy. If any of the Oceanside classmates’ parents have this coverage, their insurance may cover the claims.

Another potential source of coverage is a personal umbrella policy. An umbrella provides additional insurance in situations where a loss has used up the amounts of liability insurance under homeowner’s or auto policies. It also covers some liability losses that those policies do not cover, such as personal injury losses. Umbrellas typically carry a deductible of $250 or $500. Suppose one of the parents in the Oceanside case does not have personal injury coverage on his homeowner’s policy, but he does have an umbrella. The umbrella will pay for his and his child’s defense and their shares of any judgment, minus the $250 deductible. If he does have the coverage on his homeowner’s policy, this policy will pay until its limits are exhausted, and the umbrella will pay the rest, up to its limit.

The costs of enhanced homeowner’s policies and personal umbrella policies will vary from one insurer to another. Also, the terms of umbrella policies vary among companies. An insurance agent can provide information on coverage options and prices.

Communicating online has become an ordinary part of life today. Web sites like Facebook offer new and exciting ways to meet new people and to stay in touch with people all over the globe. However, they bring with them their own unique risks. Anyone using sites like these should be careful with what they and their children are saying, and they should make sure they have proper insurance backing them up.

In recent years, our society has become what some people call “lawsuit happy.” In other words, an increasing number of people are filing lawsuits for everything from emotional injury to property damage-and they’re suing for larger amounts than ever before. If someone were to file a lawsuit against you, you could end up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, even if you won.

While you may have some personal liability coverage through your homeowner’s or auto insurance policy, it’s probably not nearly enough to cover a major lawsuit. Fortunately, you can further protect yourself with what’s known as an umbrella policy. This type of policy offers a higher level of liability coverage and ensures that you and your family will be protected if someone sues you for damages.

Read on to learn more about these valuable policies:

Umbrella policies: A liability coverage “extension”

When it comes to lawsuits, the more assets you own, the more you stand to lose. A personal umbrella liability policy can protect you from these potentially devastating losses. These policies act as an extension to the current liability protection you probably have through your homeowner’s or auto insurance policy.

Umbrella policies are typically sold in million dollar increments, and you can obtain a policy once your home and auto insurance policies meet a minimum “attachment point”-typically a liability limit of $250,000 or $500,000.

What does it cover?

Most umbrella policies covers the following:

• Personal injury, including false arrest, mental anguish, malicious prosecution, libel, slander, defamation of character, wrongful entry or eviction, negligent infliction of emotional distress or invasion of privacy.
• Bodily injury, such as physical injury or death. In some jurisdictions, this also includes emotional injury.
• Property damage, including destruction of the property of others, cost of recreation and loss of use. However, it does not cover damages done to your own property.
• Defense coverage, including groundless, false and fraudulent suits, bail bond costs, loss of earning and other “reasonable” expenses.

Of course, it’s probably easier to understand exactly what an umbrella policy covers by putting it into real-life terms. Here are a few examples of what this type of policy could cover:

• A deliveryman is hauling your new washing machine into your home when he trips on your door mat, falls and breaks his neck. Your umbrella policy would likely cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damages.
• You’re driving down the road when an important corporate CEO steps into the crosswalk in front of your car. He sues you for millions of dollars in medical costs, lost earning and damages. Your umbrella policy can cover you for these damages.
• Your daughter invites a friend over to play on her swing set. Her friend falls off the slide and suffers from serious injuries. When her parents sue you, your umbrella policy will cover the medical costs.

How much does is it cost?

The price of an umbrella policy depends on how much coverage you want, the number of properties you rent or own and the number of automobiles or watercraft you own. The cost associated with cars and watercraft are much higher than those associated with properties.

Let’s say you are single, you own one home and one car, and you want to purchase a $5 million umbrella policy. You’ll probably pay somewhere between $270 and $550 a year. On the other hand, if you are married with two children, you own two homes, a rental property and three cars, and you want a $10 million umbrella, you’ll probably pay a good deal more-anywhere between $970 or $1,750 a year.

Talk to your insurance agent to discuss whether or not an umbrella policy is right for you. In the long run, by paying a few hundred dollars per year, you could save millions.

Standard auto, homeowner’s and boat insurance policies cover liability a person may have for injuries or property damage suffered by someone else. Insurance companies design them to cover accidents for which the insured person may owe tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, sometimes the person may be responsible for an accident so catastrophic that the damages are $1,000,000 or more. To cover financially devastating events like these, insurance companies offer personal umbrella policies. These policies provide additional protection when an accident uses up the amounts of insurance provided by the other policies. They may also cover some types of losses these other policies do not cover.

There is not a “standard” umbrella policy; each company’s offering will be different. Therefore, it helps to have a checklist of considerations when evaluating a policy.

First, identify those things that could expose you to a catastrophic loss. How many cars do you own? Do you have inexperienced drivers in your household? Household attractions like swimming pools, trampolines, and swing-sets present an exposure to severe losses. Boats, like cars, can cause serious injuries and damage if the operators are inattentive, intoxicated, or inexperienced.

Next, identify other exposures you may have that do not involve potential physical injury or illness or property damage or that might require different coverage. Do you or any members of your family participate in social media Web sites or online discussion forums? Does anyone coach a youth sports team, belong to the governing board of a non-profit organization, write computer code as a hobby, or give music lessons? These activities present different exposures to legal liability.

Review your insurance policies. How much will your auto insurance pay for injuries to one other person? How much will it pay collectively for injuries to more than one? How much will it pay for property damage? How much will your homeowners policy pay for your personal liability for an accident? Does it cover any business activities? Does it cover family members accused of slander, libel, or defamation of character in online postings? Does it cover you for allegedly causing mental anguish to a kid who didn’t get much playing time on a team you coached, or trouble caused by a computer program you wrote? How much will your boat-owners policy pay for your liability for boating accidents? The answers to these questions will tell you where an umbrella policy can help.

For example, if your auto policy will pay up to $250,000 for injuries to one person and $500,000 for injuries to multiple people, an umbrella with a $1,000,000 limit will give you insurance equaling $1,500,000 for injuries to two or more people. If your homeowners policy will pay up to $300,000 for your liability, the same umbrella will afford $1,300,000 if someone gets seriously hurt at your home. The umbrella limit of insurance also applies on top of the limit on the boat policy.

In addition, the umbrella may cover things like volunteer activities, statements made online, and certain business activities that a homeowner’s or auto policy might not cover. Normally, the insurance company will require you to pay a deductible amount (such as $250 or $500) before it will pay for a loss that one of these other policies does not cover.

A professional insurance agent can help you sort out what your current insurance does and does not cover and what additional coverages an umbrella will provide. It is important to compare all the coverages the policies provide and not just their prices. Fortunately, catastrophic accidents are extremely rare, but having an umbrella policy when they happen can make it easier to get through them.

Every spring brings with it the prom and graduation party seasons. Unfortunately, these events often become occasions for teens to drink alcohol. Teens at unsupervised parties risk harming themselves and others when they drink. Parents who host these parties may bear responsibility for what happens there and for injuries or damages occurring after the guests leave. While their liability insurance may cover any financial damages, the circumstances of the accident determine which policy will respond, and this will affect how much coverage the parents have.

Assume that a guest consumes several beers at the party, drives off in his car, and gets into an accident, injuring himself and a passenger. The parents of both injured teens sue the parents who hosted the party, who in turn notify their homeowner’s insurance company. However, the policy’s personal liability coverage does not apply to an insured person’s legal liability for:

• The occupancy, operation, or use of a motor vehicle by any person
• The entrustment of a motor vehicle by the insured person to anyone else
• The insured person’s failure to supervise or negligent supervision of any person using a motor vehicle
• The actions of a minor involving a motor vehicle.

Because of this, the homeowner’s policy will not cover the parents’ liability or defense costs. Their personal auto insurance policy may cover them, however. The policy’s liability insurance covers the individuals named on the policy and household residents who are their relatives for their liability for bodily injury from an accident arising out of the use of any auto. Therefore, even though the parents were not actually operating the vehicle involved in the accident, their policy will cover their liability. In addition, the auto policy that applies to the car involved in the accident (the guest’s insurance, or, more likely, his parents’) will also cover the hosts’ liability for the passenger’s injuries. The hosts’ policy will step in if the owners’ policy either does not apply or pays out its maximum limit of insurance.

Now assume that the guest consumes the beer, but a sober guest gives him a ride home. Rather than go straight to bed, the young man goes for a swim in his parents’ pool and drowns. His parents sue the hosts, alleging that his judgement was impaired because the hosts allowed him to drink. In this situation, the homeowner’s policy should pay for the the hosts’ liability and legal defense. Because this accident did not involve a motor vehicle, and no other policy provisions that would remove coverage apply, the policy will cover this claim.

While one policy or the other may apply to a liquor liability claim, there could be significant differences between the amounts of coverage the two policies provide. Most homeowner’s policies provide personal liability coverage of at least $100,000 for each occurrence; many provide limits of $300,000 or $500,000. Auto policies may provide much less coverage. Most states have laws setting the minimum amounts of liability coverage that an auto policy may provide, but those limits are relatively small. For example, New York law requires minimum limits of $25,000 for injuries to one person and $50,000 for injuries to two or more people (higher amounts apply for death claims.) Should a young person become seriously injured or killed, the damages claimed could well exceed these amounts. Parents should consider buying as much liability insurance as they can afford; they should also think about buying an umbrella policy, which pays for damages that surpass the amounts payable under homeowner’s and auto policies.

Of course, the best course of action is to properly supervise parties, so that everyone has a good time and lives to have another one someday.