Insurance Policy | Umbrella Insurance Policy May Help In A Storm ...

Chances are you won?t be sued for an automobile crash or an accident at your home that costs more than your liability insurance policy is willing to pay. But there is a type of insurance that can guarantee you won?t be wiped out financially if that should happen.

Umbrella insurance policies, which offer additional liability insurance for claims exceeding your existing automobile or homeowner?s insurance policies, are most commonly bought by wealthy individuals with substantial assets to protect.

But not-so-wealthy people also can benefit from the extra coverage if they own a home or condominium with a pool or trampoline, if they own a dog ? of any kind ? or if they have teenage drivers.

?If you own a home or condominium, it?s definitely worth the time to look into getting one of these policies,? said Nick McCummings, an insurance agent at Harrington Insurance Agency in Brockton, Mass. ?Most companies that offer homeowners and auto insurance offer umbrellas, and umbrellas are fairly inexpensive.?

Because a personal umbrella policy goes into effect after the underlying coverage is exhausted, there are certain limits that usually must be met in order to purchase the extra coverage. Most companies want policyholders to have at least $250,000 in liability insurance on an auto policy and $300,000 in liability insurance on a homeowners policy before authorizing an umbrella liability policy for $1 million in additional coverage.

The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance does not maintain statistics on the number of personal liability polices written in the state. Residents who carry umbrella insurance would be a subset of the auto and homeowners insurance market and the state has no data on those markets either.

Randy Rohrbaugh, deputy director of the insurance department, said residents need to analyze their personal assets to decide how much insurance they need and if an umbrella insurance policy could suit them.

?Umbrella insurance is usually bought by people who have significant wealth that needs to be protected,? Mr. Rohrbaugh said. ?If you don?t have significant wealth, the odds of you being sued for damages beyond your wealth is unlikely. Even in the case of having a judgment against you, it?s like squeezing blood out of a turnip.?

Umbrella insurance is sold in $1 million increments and costs on average between $150 to $300 a year for the first $1 million in additional coverage. The next million will typically cost about $75 annually and about $50 for every million after that.

brining a turkey brining a turkey who won dancing with the stars 2011 five iron frenzy wild horses lyrics green bean casserole recipe karina smirnoff