By Erin Thompson on July 16, 2020 in Insurance Basics
What is Umbrella Insurance?
Analogies help with understanding a new concept, right? Let’s try it! You grab your raincoat on the way out the door because it’s storming -- great planning. Halfway through the walk to your destination, your raincoat is soaked, your pants are dripping, and your shoes seem pointless right about now. Simply adding an umbrella to this equation would’ve given you additional coverage from the rain, and allowed you to reach your destination dry to the bone. #winning
Umbrella insurance is a metaphorical umbrella! This insurance helps give you extra protection in addition to your current limits and coverage included in your policy.
What Does Umbrella Insurance Cover for Auto?
You might be familiar with umbrella insurance in relation to your various coverages – home, auto, boat, etc. Today we’re focusing on auto insurance policies (for obvious reasons)! Investopedia gives us a pretty good example of when you might need this coverage – “You cause a 10-car accident which is covered under your auto policy, but auto insurance property damage coverage limit isn’t enough to replace all 10 vehicles. Nor is your personal liability coverage limit enough to pay for all those medical bills.” While we all hope that won’t happen to us, this is a SPOT-ON example of when you’d likely be grateful you have umbrella insurance.
Umbrella insurance can extend to your family/household (side note: this is another reason why you need to provide all members of your family/household when purchasing your coverage)! So, if your spouse tends to get in accidents, you can relax knowing that umbrella insurance may cover the vehicle damage even if they’re found liable.
What Does Umbrella Insurance Cost?
This is the big question – how much is umbrella insurance going to cost me? The Insurance Information Institute (III) estimates the cost for a $1 million personal liability policy at $150 - $300 per year. You can expect it to bump up about $75 for the next million dollars of coverage and $50 for every million in addition to that. This number will vary based on specific insurance companies and policies; we just want to give you a ballpark!
Do I Need Umbrella Insurance?
Okay, this might actually be your big question. Do I need umbrella insurance? Nobody wants to think they’re going to need the additional coverage, but that might be wishful thinking! The Zebra breaks down a few groups of people that might need umbrella insurance –
- Homeowners
- Volunteers
- Athletes
- Coaches
- Hunters and other sportsmen and women
- Business owners
- Owners of certain breeds of dogs
- Landlords
This list is not auto-specific. It includes people who might need umbrella insurance for their home too!
Ultimately, the decision is up to you; just make sure to take your coverage limits into consideration when deciding. Although we don't offer umbrella insurance with our auto policies, at Say, we have varying policy coverage based on each coverage option!
Conclusion
Let’s wrap up! Umbrella insurance is like an umbrella during a rainstorm, it can provide extra coverage limits on top of your existing policy (or raincoat). It’s not always necessary, but in some situations, it is a good idea.
Learn more about coverage and discount options from Say Insurance®!