By the way what exactly is umbrella insurance anyway?

UMBRELLA INSURANCE- A type of liability insurance available to individuals and companies protecting them against claims above and beyond the amount covered by their primary policies or for claims not currently covered.

Source: Investwords.com

So you just get home from work.  You are excited to tell your spouse that you have gotten a raise at your job, which will help to pay for your kids’ upcoming college tuitions.  Then all of the sudden, you get a phone call.

Your son got into a car accident.  People in both vehicles are injured.  Everyone, ends up recovering, but you are sued.  It all happens so fast that you don’t even think that your current auto insurance liability limits may not be sufficient enough.  You lose the case and need to fork over $750,000 in legal fees and damages. 

So, now comes the time to figure out how to pay for this.  Your auto insurance liability limits are $250,000/$500,000 which your direct writer, told you was “superior.”  Simply put, this “superior” coverage just is not going to cut it.  So not only are you devastated about your son’s car accident, you are also on the hook for $500,000 or more. 

How could this have been avoided? 

If you had purchased a $1MIL Umbrella Insurance policy (It only costs about $250 for the year), this would have been avoided.  When your underlying policy limits are exhausted, in this case, your auto insurance, the umbrella would have kicked in and paid the awarded suit plus legal fees. 

MYTH:  Only the rich need to buy umbrella insurance.

TRUTH: For a couple hundred dollars a year, an umbrella insurance policy makes sense for most families who own a home and have kids. 

At Duffy Insurance we strive to create life long relationships with each person that we work with.  For Massachusetts auto, home, and business insurance, find out why more North Shore residents continue to choose Duffy Insurance.