R&R Insurance Blog

Real-World Case Study: The Risk of Teen Driving
Provided by PersonalUmbrella.com

Emily, a 17-year-old, decided to treat her best friend, Taylor, to a movie to celebrate finishing their finals. They were running late and didn't want to miss the show, so Emily sped down the highway.

She lost control going around a notorious turn and crashed into a car with a family heading to dinner.

Sadly, Taylor passed away at the hospital months later due to serious complications. The family suffered loss of wages, emotional distress and lengthy hospitalization - and one child had a permanent disability and needed ongoing physical therapy.

Emily's parents' standalone personal umbrella policy covered the exorbitant medical bills of all the victims.

Claim: $3MM

Here are 3 reasons why you need an umbrella policy:

1. A standalone personal umbrella policy adds a critical layer of protection for liability loss exposure.

2. You don't need to be a millionaire to be sued like one. You could be liable for any injuries resulting from an at-fault, covered auto claim.

3. All licensed drivers in the household or regular use operators must be listed on all policies, including youthful/inexperienced operators. Contact your carrier for requirements.

Contact a Knowledge Broker in our Personal Insurance Department to learn more.

More often than not, people are sued and have no extra protection to block the plaintiff from going after their personal assets in the lawsuit. To protect yourself from such a quandary, you need to have an umbrella policy. Every day ordinary citizens are served with a lawsuit, with the reasons ranging from justified to frivolous. A Personal Umbrella policy will help protect your assets from this lawsuit.

An umbrella policy is designed to protect you from almost everything that your home and auto insurance does not, as well as fill in gaps in coverage when the limits of your regular policy are exhausted. An umbrella policy is often referred to as excess liability. This excess liability coverage kicks in when the underlying limits on your home or auto policy have been exhausted. Depending on the company, you can purchase anywhere from 1 to 5 million dollars worth of excess coverage, sometimes as high as 25 million.

Most insurance companies will not offer you the coverage unless you have both your home and auto already insured with them. Also, the insurer will require that you maintain a certain level of liability on the home and auto policies in order to qualify for the umbrella policy.

The coverage is inexpensive. It is possible to obtain $1 million worth of excess liability for as little as $15/month. The more cars and homes you have, the higher the price for the insurance, but the cost is still low. In addition to your home and cars, liability associated with any other conveyances you may have, such as boats, motorcycles, and other recreational vehicles, may also qualify for coverage under the umbrella, depending on the insurance company.

Umbrellas often times pick-up miscellaneous coverages such as Personal Injury. This includes false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, invasion of privacy, wrongful entry, or eviction.

Please feel free to contact a knowledge broker for more information on umbrella policies.