888-900-0205Excess Liability Insurance / Umbrella
Business insurance is meant to give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing you will be financially protected in nearly any situation. Essentially, it’s there just in case the unimaginable occurs and you suddenly need enough money to pay for anything from property damage and medical bills to lost wages and legal fees. So it makes sense to ensure that your policy has enough coverage to pay for the worst case scenario, and that’s where excess liability insurance comes in. Also known as umbrella insurance, excess liability insurance provides you with more coverage than average. Whether you own a restaurant that needs higher insurance limits after adding alcohol to the menu, or you run a business that needs more coverage to go with its new delivery services, you should look into excess liability insurance.
How Umbrella Insurance Works
Additional Coverage – The reason for adding an umbrella policy to your business insurance is to extend your coverage. For instance, if your general liability insurance limit is $300,000 for each claim, adding excess liability insurance can bring that to $1.3 million. You can choose how much to add, keeping in mind that this type of coverage usually comes in increments of $1 million. In most cases, adding $1 million or even $2 million to your business insurance policy will cost merely hundreds of dollars.
Broader Protection – You can look forward to more extensive coverage when you add excess liability insurance to your current business insurance policy. For instance, if you or your employees travel by car for business and you have commercial auto insurance, your new excess liability policy can expand the area of service. This means you can travel farther and still be covered in case of a car accident.
Umbrella Extends
One of the best reasons to get umbrella insurance is to extend the protection you need for your business. General liability insurance is among the most important parts of any business insurance policy, so it makes sense to extend its reach.
Bodily Injury – If you are responsible for causing injuries to anyone else, and the medical bills cost more than your claim limits, you need excess liability insurance to cover the rest of the costs.
Property Damage – If your business is held responsible for personal property damage and the bill is more than your general liability policy will cover, your umbrella coverage will pay the remaining amount.
Products and Completed Operations – If any services you rendered or products you sold have landed you in a lawsuit, you need to make sure you can pay the amount you will owe if you lose in court. If the total you owe is more than your general liability coverage, your excess liability insurance will pay for the remaining legal costs.
Personal or Advertising Injuries – If your business has been sued for libel, slander, or copyright infringement, the amount you have to pay after court may go beyond your claim limits. That’s when you will be glad to have excess liability insurance to pay the rest.
Commercial Auto – If you or your employees ever drive for business and get into an accident on the road, your business insurance claim limits may be reached rather fast after paying the medical bills of the injured parties. But excess liability insurance will cover the remaining expenses.