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Umbrella Insurance

An umbrella policy is an excess policy that supplements some of your other policies, including general liability, auto, employers liability, and liquor liability. These policies are referred to as “underlying” insurance. An umbrella can cover one policy or several, it’s completely up to you.

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Who is Umbrella Insurance for?

The best part about umbrella insurance is that it’s one of the most customizable policies available. Companies facing specific needs with complementing insurance policies can add umbrella coverage to extend the reach of that “underlying” policy. If the limits of the underlying policy are exhausted, an umbrella policy kicks in to cover outstanding costs. Plus, this policy covers a wide range of risks.

Customer interaction

Businesses that interact with customers regularly face more liability risks than others.

Open to public

If your company welcomes the public and has high foot traffic, you are more vulnerable to legal liabilities.

Works on another's property

Working on someone else’s property opens the door for businesses to experience more legal liability lawsuits.

Why you need Umbrella Insurance

Summary

Most companies purchase coverage, such as general liability, employer’s liability, and auto insurance, to name a few. However, sometimes these policy limits are enough to cover the risk a company might face in a specific timeframe. As a result, out-of-pocket expenses could become astronomical in many situations. Umbrella insurance was designed to work as overarching coverage, supplementing other essential policies to provide more protection.

Reasons for getting Umbrella Insurance
file copyright tm Extends limits of liability, creating overarching coverage
shield check Customizable according to your business needs
legal Supplements other vital coverages to offer more protection
Defense costs

Even though you might win your case, defense costs add up quickly. Umbrella coverage is an affordable way to protect your finances.

Increased limits

Umbrella insurance is a customizable policy that can cover injuries, property damage, personal liability, and other various lawsuits.

Inexpensive option

Increasing the limits of your other insurance policies could significantly ding your finances. An umbrella policy is by far the cheaper option.

What Does Umbrella Insurance Cover

You will have to consult your policy documents to confirm exactly what coverage your insurance provides but here are  some examples of what is covered by umbrella insurance:

Bodily Injury or Property Damage

Physical injury or illness to a person, caused by your business activities. The damage, destruction, or theft of property belonging to a third party.

Personal and Advertising Injury

False arrest, detention, or imprisonment, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, slander, libel, and invasion of privacy. When in connection with advertising material, copyright infringement and misappropriation of advertising ideas.

Contractual Liability

Only as respects “insured contracts” like leases and easements, legal expense arising out of you taking on the tort liability of another party who may be required to pay damages from bodily injury or property damage to a third party. When companies sign office leases, they often assume the landlord’s tort liability if someone, for instance, slips on a wet floor within the office space.

Umbrella Insurance Claim Examples

Here are some claim examples that illustrate what Umbrella Insurance covers

An company indemnifies their landlord in the lease agreement. The company modifies the space and installs new water piping. During a cold winter night, the pipes rupture and fill the common areas of the building, shorting out the elevator and causing $1.4 million in damage. The landlord demands compensation from the company under the indemnity agreement in their lease re quiring the company to fix any damages caused by its improvement of the space. The $1 million GL limits are quickly exhausted and the umbrella policy pays the remainder of the settlement.

A renovation and interior design startup is offering high-end services to a wealthy client base. A electrical contractor inadvertently starts a fire during one renovation which leads to the destruction of a multi-million dollar apartment. The interior design startup tried to do everything right by getting added as an “additional insured” to the electrician’s insurance policy but unfortunately his limits weren’t high enough and the startup’s own GL policy excludes claims caused by contractors. Fortunately, they have an umbrella policy which does offer coverage for contractor claims. The umbrella carrier drops down to pay the remaining $350,000 that a judge has determined the startup owes to the apartment owner.

A cosmetics company is is sued by both employees and customers who allege long lasting skin problems caused by exposure to chemicals in the product. The medical and legal costs exceed the per-claim limits of the cosmetics company’s employers liability and products liability policies. As such, the umbrella carrier steps in to continue defending the company in a suit that ended with a $1.5 million settlement in favor of the group of employees.

Umbrella Insurance FAQs

Limits typically range from $1 to $15 million. Each business has its unique needs that dictate liability limits.

Like other insurance policies, several factors drive the price of umbrella policies, including location, industry, size, etc.

An umbrella insurance policy doesn’t cover any exclusions in the underlying policies. Plus, it doesn’t extend the limits of specific policies, such as property insurance.

How it works

Finding insurance coverage doesn’t have to be painful. We aim to make the purchasing experience as streamlined & intuitive as possible.

1
Get a quote

Use our custom built online portal to get quotes fast. We automate clerical tasks that plague the traditional insurance brokerages, giving us more time to be responsive and alert to your company’s needs.

1
Get a quote

Use our custom built online portal to get quotes fast. We automate clerical tasks that plague the traditional insurance brokerages, giving us more time to be responsive and alert to your company’s needs.

2
Pair with a specialist

No two organizations are the same. Our team of coverage experts partners with your team to engineer your risk management strategy, together. We take the time to understand the intricacies of your company to get you the best possible coverage.

2
Pair with a specialist

No two organizations are the same. Our team of coverage experts partners with your team to engineer your risk management strategy, together. We take the time to understand the intricacies of your company to get you the best possible coverage.

3
Stay one step ahead

To do better, you need to know better. With changing political, technological, legal and economic landscapes, staying ahead of the curve is critical.

Our in-house team is tapped into the latest developments of your industry, proactively ensuring you’re covered.

3
Stay one step ahead

To do better, you need to know better. With changing political, technological, legal and economic landscapes, staying ahead of the curve is critical.

Our in-house team is tapped into the latest developments of your industry, proactively ensuring you’re covered.

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