If insurance is for a rainy day, umbrella insurance is for a storm.

Umbrella insurance protects you during those times when your regular home or auto policy’s liability limits are exhausted, and you are faced with a lawsuit and millions of dollars in liability coverage.

Millions of dollars? Is that realistic?
Unfortunately, it is.

It is a fact that in today’s world, the newspapers are filled with more and more articles about accidents, lawsuits, and liability questions. We are human, and our mistakes sometimes have severe consequences, consequences that can reach millions of dollars in liability.

A million dollars can add up easily, particularly if the injured person suffers injuries that keep him or her from working for weeks, months, or years. The victim of an accident could sue you for medical bills, lost income, even pain and suffering, not to mention damage to their vehicle, and cost for an attorney.

A typical auto insurance policy has limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, and $100,000 property damage. Depending on the extent of the damage and injury, you are responsible for paying the rest, if you are at fault in an accident, and that means you may have to hand over your home, stocks, retirement or college funds, or any other significant assets.

Umbrella Insurance CAN Protect You From Life’s Oncoming Storms…

It adds $1 million (or more) of liability protection on top of your auto, home, and boat liability coverages, and because it is designed for those really rainy days, umbrella insurance is cheap. You can usually buy umbrella policies with $1 million limits for $150 to $250 a year. If you need more than $1 million limits, you can buy each extra $1 million of coverage for $100 to $150.

How much insurance is enough? The answer is different for everybody. It depends on what you want to protect, and how much risk you are willing to assume. Your goal with an umbrella insurance policy is to put as much of an insurance “buffer” between a serious accident and your hard earned savings as possible.