What does umbrella insurance cover?

What does umbrella insurance cover?

Sam Friedman (Editor-in-Chief, National Underwriter, Property & Casualty Edition) gives expert video advice on: Do I need umbrella insurance? and more...

Umbrella insurance will cover your legal costs and liabilities if anyone is suing you for damaging their property or injuring them, over and above your standard coverages like homeowner's, auto or, if you own a boat, watercraft insurance. Umbrella insurance is a very important additional layer to have in a very litigious society where people sue on the drop of a hat. Legal bills can mount in a hurry and juries can be very generous in granting damages. You may think that if you have $50,000 in liability coverage under your homeowner's insurance policy that sounds fine, but at a fairly reasonable rate you can get additional liability coverage under your umbrella insurance policy of anywhere from $1 to 5 million more. You are pretty much covered in case someone slips and falls on your sidewalk and they end up suing you for a million dollars. The umbrella insurance policy will kick in.