Personal Liability Umbrella Insurance
You don’t have to be worth a million dollars to be sued for a million dollars.
Imagine for a moment…
You are involved in a nasty car accident that deemed to be your fault. You strike another vehicle and the driver sustains serious injuries. As terrible as it all sounds, you realize that you have insurance for this type of thing and that while the accident will leave a lasting mental impact, at least financially you are going to be fine. I mean, you have “full coverage” so everything should take care of itself right?
Maybe not…..and here’s why. Maybe you have limits of $100,000 (per-person) in liability coverage on your auto insurance policy (very common coverage limits). Well, let’s now say that the person you hit spent a few weeks in the hospital and is still recovering from her injuries and has no timetable to return to work and may not ever be able to work again. She has gotten an attorney and now you and your insurance carrier is being sued for $500,000 to compensate the injured party for Hospital / Medical bills, pain and suffering, current and future lost wages, punitive damages, attorney fees, loss of consortium and a whole host of other things.
The reality is…..if you have $100,000 in coverage and you are found liable for $500,000 in damages, you now have to fill that $400,000 gap. And most of us don’t have $400,000 lying around which means wage garnishment and in Illinois that can be nearly half of what you make. Scary stuff.
Asset Protection is the name of the game
Think of umbrella insurance as a fail-safe for your savings and other assets. If you’re sued by someone and damages exceed the liability limits of your car insurance, homeowners insurance, boat insurance or some other policies, an umbrella policy helps bridge the gap on what you owe.
Personal Umbrella policies start out at $1,000,000 in coverage and go up as high as $10,000,000 in some cases depending on the net-worth of the individual.
For as little as $15 per month, you can ensure you are protected against a whole host of claims that can be made against you, not only on the auto insurance side of things, but on your property and worldwide as well.