Protecting your family and possessions is a top priority and why people buy insurance.
What happens if you find yourself in a situation where your insurance isn’t enough? That’s where an Umbrella Insurance Policy can help cover you.
An umbrella policy is a type of insurance that provides additional liability coverage on top of your auto, home, or commercial insurance. It is triggered if you need more than your third-party coverage to cover damage from an accident or incident to your property or business.
What does “Umbrella” insurance cover and what are the exclusions?
The types of damage covered by an umbrella policy include the following:
- Bodily Injury – If you injure someone in a car accident and the medical bills exceed the limits on your auto insurance;
- Property damage – The policy also covers damage that is not included in car or property insurance.
- Legal Damages – An “Umbrella” insurance policy protects you if you are being sued for libel and/or written or spoken slurs, i.e. words that cause harm to another person. This policy can also protect you from legal action for malicious prosecution, violation of privacy, and a variety of other civil charges.
- Legal Fees – The final advantage of umbrella insurance is that it takes care of your legal fees and court costs in a lawsuit. As a rule, lawyers are expensive, and the cost of a major lawsuit may force you to settle the dispute out of court, even if you know you’re not in the wrong. With an umbrella policy, you know you can afford a good attorney to protect your assets.
Although many of the lawsuits are included in this insurance, there are exceptions such as:
- “Malpractice” – which are professional mistakes.
- Workers with compensation claims against employers
- Intentionally caused damage to any person or property
Also, it is important to note that umbrella insurance only protects you from being sued for damages to other people. If you’re the one who got hurt and need an expensive operation, it’s up to your health insurance company to pay for the procedure. That way, any cost not covered by health insurance will come out of your pocket. In such cases, an umbrella insurance policy will not be able to help you.
