Umbrella Insurance For Homeowners In Massachusetts - What You Need To Know

Question:
What do I need to know about Umbrella Insurance? Should I add it to my coverage plans?

Answer:
An Umbrella policy is one that sits over one or more underlying policies and provides another layer of protection for you. If the limits available on your underlying policies aren’t high enough to protect you and your assets in the event of an accident with your car or at your home, then an Umbrella policy can be added for additional coverage. For example, if someone slips and falls at your home, gets injured and then sues you, your umbrella policy would cover the cost of that if your current homeowner’s policy in Massachusetts coverage doesn’t end up being enough. 
A common policy arrangement is to get an Umbrella policy that sits over both the Homeowner’s and Personal Auto Insurance Policies in MA. In the event of a covered loss that exceeds the limits of an underlying policy, the umbrella policy will kick in and pay up to its entire amount in addition to the underlying limit. A typical umbrella limit is $1,000,000 but they can also be purchased for much higher amounts. If an insured has a Homeowner’s policy with a $1,000,000 liability limit and also has an umbrella policy with a $1,000,000 limit, you could have up to $2,000,000 in coverage.
(Answer republished from:
https://mapfreinsuranceblog.com/2017/03/12/what-is-umbrella-insurance-and-why-should-i-buy-it/).

Umbrella Policies Protect From A Severe Loss Event

A severe loss event can impose a real financial hardship on you that you may never be able to recover from. If a major accident exhausts the limits of your home insurance liability coverage, you will find yourself in a tough spot because your assets and future earnings could be jeopardized by a lawsuit. Your Umbrella Insurance gives that extra layer of coverage, so that your spouse or your dependents living at home become responsible for damages that exceed the liability limits of your auto or homeowner policy.

A lawsuit puts all of your assets at risk including your home, auto, property and savings. Here are a few examples of situations that could expose you to a severe financial loss:

• A visitor slips and falls on your property
• Your dog bites a neighborhood child
• A social media post results in a defamation lawsuit against a member of your family
• You have a boating accident resulting in injury to another party
• You have an auto accident claim exceeding your liability coverage limits 

You should schedule an appointment with SeckyInsurance to help you determine how much coverage will be adequate to fully protect your assets. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a $1 million personal umbrella liability policy costs on average $150-300 annually.

An umbrella policy is a minor investment that will prevent a major catastrophic expense in the future. 

If you need Umbrella insurance in Attleboro, North Attleboro, Mansfield, Wrentham or Foxboro, stop by our local office in Plainville Massachusetts.