New Hampshire / Maine Personal Umbrella Insurance

Today, lawsuits are a matter of fact and are virtually everywhere. Judges are awarding larger and larger settlements while lawyers are continually asking for substantial increases in the amounts of money being sued for. Homeowners, auto, and watercraft policies have a limit on the amount of liability insurance to be paid. If an unfortunate accident should happen that is your fault, do you have enough liability insurance from your current policies to cover your costs for negligence (Both legal fees and settlement monies awarded)? Since no one can predict how much a judge may award the injured person, umbrella insurance is not just for the wealthy anymore, but a needed protection for every policy holder.

Umbrella insurance is designed to give added liability protection above and beyond the limits on homeowners, auto, and watercraft personal insurance policies. With an umbrella policy, depending on the insurance company, one can add an additional 1-5 million in liability protection. This protection is designed to “kick-in” when the liability on other current policies has been exhausted.

Liability insurance is the portion of a homeowners or auto policy that pays for expenses such as the injured persons medical bills, rehabilitative therapy, and lost wages due to the negligence of the at fault person. The liability portion of an insurance policy also covers a legal defense representative if the negligence would happen to land the at fault person in the court room. After adding up all of the medical expenses for the injured and the legal fees of the negligent person, the standard liability in ones homeowners or auto policy is often not enough. The states of Maine and New Hampshire have financial responsibility laws that will hold drivers accountable for bodily injury and property damage resulting from at-fault car accidents.. Personal assets of the at-fault driver are not protected and could easily be seized to satisfy the settlement of a lawsuit. Similar laws are also in force for home and watercraft owners.

Umbrella insurance provides broad insurance beyond traditional home and auto. It provides additional liability coverage above the limits of your homeowners, auto, and boat insurance policies. It can also provide coverage for claims that may be excluded by the primary policies often including, but not limited to:

• False arrest is a common law tort, where a plaintiff alleges he or she was held in custody without probable cause or without an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Although it is possible to sue law enforcement officials for false arrest, the usual defendants in such cases are private security firms.
• Defamation (also called calumny, libel (for written words), slander (for spoken words), and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. It is usually, but not always, a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person that defamed (the claimant).

For an inexpensive solution to this problem a personal liability umbrella insurance policy could be added to your current insurance program. This added layer of liability protection can be added without a large added cost. Additional liability insurance is often inexpensive, especially compared to the added coverage one gains. Furthermore, liability insurance covers ones non-business activities anywhere in the world. Having the added protection of a liability umbrella policy is coverage no one should go without. Please note that there are two kinds of umbrella policies. For your personal and commercial liability needs, you will need to purchase one for each of your insurance programs. A personal insurance umbrella has no coverage for any commercial claim and a commercial umbrella will no pay any claim of a personal nature. For any questions or for quotes, please do not hesitate to call or email our office for service.

This material is for informational purposes only. All statements herein are subject to the provisions, exclusions and conditions of the applicable policy. For an actual description of all coverages, terms and conditions, refer to the insurance policy. Coverages are subject to individual insureds meeting underwriting qualifications.