Umbrella Insurance & Builders Risk
Personal Excess, or umbrella, policies are considered by most insurance professionals as your catastrophic insurance coverage. These policies provide an additional layer of coverage, over and above your underlying policy limits in your auto, home and/or recreational vehicle programs.
Large injury awards are the leading reason most people choose an umbrella policy. But choosing the right limit can be a bit of a science.
There are many important factors to consider:
- Do you have enough coverage to protect your assets and your future income stream?
- What you do for a living and where you live does matter. Injured parties and jurors often award decisions based on perception. Whether you are a business owner, doctor, attorney, or a high net worth individual, you should always consider what others might assess as your financial means or value. There are also certain areas of the country where injury awards are much higher than others. For example, the five boroughs of New York commonly have some of the highest injury awards in the U.S.
- Excess coverage can also help you defray legal expenses. However, knowing how the policy accounts for the cost of legal expenses is important. Some excess policies account for legal expenses outside of the policy limits, while others account for the expense within the policy limits.
Don’t let one costly auto accident change your way of life or future.
Nicholas / Tobin can design umbrella programs to extend coverage for:
- Your home and any second or vacation homes
- Autos, boats, motorcycles, RVs, aircraft
- International Expenses
- Building Risk and Renovation Risk
Did you know?
Umbrella coverage protects an individual against libel, slander and invasion of privacy lawsuits.
Some excess policies cover the defense reimbursement funds for you to hire your own personal counsel in the event of a lawsuit. More commonly, excess policies will pay for the costs associated with your defense attorney’s services.
If you do not have enough coverage or funds to pay an injury award, the court could garnish your future wages!
If you are brought to court, the jury is not allowed to hear how much insurance coverage you have. The award is simply based on damages to the injured party and not what someone can afford.
