San Leandro, CA Oakland, CA Doesn’t My Umbrella Insurance Cover Everything?

We talk to people about Insurance everyday.  Woot Woot!  It’s great to have when you need it and expensive when you don’t, but ask anyone who’s had an unexpected loss, and in nearly every situation they are happy to have been insured.

One question that comes up all the time is “Am I not covered for everything if I have an Umbrella?”

The concept of an Umbrella is extra liability protection, just like an umbrella adds protection in the rain.  An Umbrella in the insurance world is higher limits of liability insurance protection – over and above the liability insurance you have on your Auto Insurance liability policy, Homeowners or Renters Insurance liability policy, extra liability coverage “toys” such as motorcycles, ATV’s, RV’s, and the liability protection for your landlord policies.

An example may help clarify this concept.  So, let’s say you have a homeowners insurance policy with a $500,000 limit of liability, and you have a Car Insurance policy with $100,000/$300,000 limits of liability.  If you buy a $1,000,000 umbrella policy, you will now have $1,500,000 of liability insurance on your homeowners policy and $1,100,000/$1,300,000 limits of liability on your car insurance policy.

Umbrella’s do not cover are any damage to your own property, and this is often the most misunderstood concept of the coverage.  Many people believe that a $1,000,000 umbrella adds that amount to their dwelling limit on their homeowners policy.  The coverage does not work that way, so as you can see, the Umbrella is a great way to add more liability insurance, but it does increase your property insurance coverage whatsoever.

Next time you review your policies, we hope that you will call us and ask about Umbrella Insurance.  The premium is based on your number of vehicles, homes, toys, and rental properties.  It’s surprisingly affordable and the more you have, the more you need this coverage!