The pristine serenity of the lake was shattered by the speedboat that whistled past. What started out as a beautiful day on the water was about to irrevocably change.
Suzie had spent nearly every other weekend at her favorite adventure spot. As the wind and spray cascaded across the boat, the smile seemed permanently etched across her face.
Unfortunately, the bright midday sun shielded her view of the debris floating on the water until she was nearly upon it. Swerving to avoid it, she crashed into the broadside of a nearby boat.
Thankfully nobody was critically injured, but the resulting stay at the hospital for the four friends from the boat that was struck, added on to the property damage, quickly exceeded the coverage on her insurance policy.
Unable to fully come up with the funds after expending her savings, she agreed to forfeit a portion of her income over the next four years to make up the difference.
Accidents are just that…accidents, but the financial fallout from them can be minimized.
How is this possible? We’ll show you how…
Personal Umbrella Policy Definition
A personal umbrella policy is defined as additional liability coverage that goes beyond the limits of your RV, watercraft, and motorcycle insurance. In the case of an accident, this extra layer of protection can cover such things as medical costs or legal fees.
This should not be confused with excess liability insurance. Whereas this type of insurance simply covers the same risks as your underlying policy, umbrella policies protect you from additional risks such as injuries sustained in a collision.
Although not true in every case, the best personal umbrella insurance policy is one that extends to members of your household. If Suzie had been uninsured and borrowing her husband’s boat, additional coverage on his policy would have covered her in the crash.
Now that we’ve defined it, let’s continue our study of why this type of policy is important.
Is a Personal Umbrella Policy Necessary?
It’s rare that you’ll find a driver who’s not so much as had a fender bender during their time behind the wheel. If you are that one person in the world, congratulations on your safe driver discount!
But for the rest of us, planning for eventualities is normally a wise course to take. As displayed by Suzie’s story, there are some unpreventable events which can end up being extremely costly without the right “security blanket.”
What is typically covered?
- Landlord liability
- Property damage
- Bodily injury to others
- Lost wages for the insured
- Attorney fees
- Legal defense fees
- International Coverage
What’s typically not covered:
- Bodily injury to the insured
- Oral or written contracts
- Omissions or intentional criminal acts
- Damage you intended to cause
- Business losses
- Damage to business property or that which is related to operations
- Personal belongings
- Damage you cause to your own property
We’ve shown what’s covered by an umbrella policy, now let’s address everyone’s favorite subject…cost.
Personal Umbrella Policy Cost
According to the Insurance Information Institute, a $1 million personal umbrella policy will cost the owner between $150 and $300 annually. Factoring that some accidents can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs, this expense is well worth it.
Besides protecting assets such as investments, savings, and property, it also covers future earnings. Personal umbrella policy coverage broadens the “cushion” that allows for life’s eventualities. Most policies are available in million-dollar increments, going all the way up from $1 million to $5 million.
Going back to the accident Suzie was responsible for, if any of the four people had sued her for lost time at their employment, she’d have benefited from this expanded financial backing.
As you’ve now seen, affordable plans are available. Next we’ll address what’s called a stand-alone policy.
Stand-Alone Personal Umbrella Policy
When a supporting underlying policy isn’t required for purchasing a personal umbrella policy, we say it is a “stand-alone.” This tends to be the exception to the rule however, as most companies will require that a foundational policy for your RV, motorcycle, or watercraft already be in place. If so, this extra coverage will be unlocked as another line of defense.
ACE Private Risk Services’ 22-part personal liability risk scorecard was created to help you assess your need for umbrella coverage.
Risk factors:
- Vacant land
- Pools, trampolines
- Home renovation
- Client visits at home
- Cars and trucks
- Number of drivers and automobiles owned, plus any high performance cars
- Board of directors participation
- Tenants
- Recreational vehicles
- Recreational and transportation vehicles, such as boats, personal watercraft, ATVs, and golf carts
- Social media
- Prominence
- Entertaining/parties
Two of the identified risk factors stand out as exactly what we’ve been discussing. Recreational vehicles and cars and trucks are both areas of concern that would benefit from additional coverage.
RVInsurances.com and Personal Umbrella Policy
We’ve now laid out the case for why an umbrella policy should be considered when owning a vehicle of any sort. Now if only there was an expert around who knew how to get you the best policy at the best price. Hmm…
RVInsurances.com founder, Marty Adair, has been a licensed Property and Casualty Broker since 1997. He started his insurance career working in his family’s insurance business where they specialize in Mexico tourist Auto Insurance. While assisting customers with their Mexico Insurance policies he realized there were large groups that travel to Mexico in their high valued RVs to vacation. It soon became apparent that there was a need for specialty RV insurance that would extend coverage across the US and Mexico border that could save his RV clients thousands of dollars per year.
Today RVInsurances.com provides the best possible service to the RVING community. We are a full service insurance agency specializing in full-time and part-time RV enthusiasts. We represent the top rated RV specialty insurance companies in the nation to provide the best possible policy for the right price. We are licensed in many states to help with your RV insurance needs.
Get a personal umbrella policy quote today that is customer-tailored and fits your budget!