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What is an Umbrella Policy, and Who Needs One?

November 14, 2016

maryland, insurance, umbrella policy

What Is It?

An umbrella insurance policy is a type of personal insurance that provides additional liability coverage on top of your basic home and automobile policies. The primary purpose of this policy is to protect your family and assets from any unforeseen circumstances in which your homeowners and auto insurance coverage are not enough.

Consider This:

If you are in a car accident and your basic automobile insurance only covers the damage to the other driver’s vehicle and not any of their resulting medical bills that you are responsible for paying, your bank account and personal property may be in great danger. An umbrella insurance policy picks up where your automobile insurance would cut off in this scenario and keep you from having to pay the remaining balance due to the other driver yourself.

What Do I Risk Without One?

Umbrella policies are a type of liability insurance that ensures you are kept financially safe in the event of any unforeseen situation where you might be liable for covering costs that your basic insurance does not cover. When you do not have liability insurance, you can be in danger of lawsuits and other suits or actions in the court of law. Your personal assets and finances may not be kept safe and could be taken from you in order to cover damages and legal fees if you are without an umbrella insurance policy.

Who Needs an Umbrella Policy?

There isn’t one specific type of person that an umbrella policy is right for – anyone can benefit from this type of policy! You don’t know when an accident will occur or how damaging to someone else it will be. In almost every case, it is better to be safe than sorry. An umbrella insurance policy provides coverage for: bodily injury liability, property damage liability, landlord protection, legal fees, false arrest, libel, and slander. Umbrella policies are sometimes referred to as “excess liability” policies because they cover much more than the few liabilities that basic homeowners and automobile insurance policies cover. It is ultimately up to you to decide whether or not to purchase an umbrella policy, but it is obvious that this type of insurance is highly beneficial to any persons with personal assets that need protecting.

What’s the Cost?

The cost of purchasing an umbrella policy can be anywhere from $100 to about $300 per year, depending on how much additional coverage you desire and what your current homeowners and auto insurance policies’ liability coverage limits are. You do not have to purchase your new umbrella policy from the providers you use for your home and auto insurance. This allows you to shop around and find the best prices available to you.

If you live in Maryland and are in need of an umbrella policy or further information on this type of insurance, American Heritage Insurance Agency is your best choice. Our expert insurance agents are here to answer any and all of your questions and are happy to set you up with the umbrella policy that suits your needs. To request a quote, contact us today!

What Our Clients Say...

Over and above the time, effort and saved dollars that you put into earning our business – your careful attention to detail in getting our coverage right is what mattered the most. Thank you for educating me about the differences in coverage and for reallocating our insurance dollars to minimize our exposure while maximizing our policies.

- Eric L, President of Jeffrey Press, Inc.

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Frederick County: Frederick (21701, 20702, 21703, 21709), New Market (21774) , Mount Airy (21771), Urbana (21704), Ijamsville (21754), Walkersville (21793), Libertytown (21762), Damascus (20872), and more.

Howard County: Clarksville (21029), Columbia (21044), Cooksville (21723), Dorsey (21075), Elkridge (21075), Ellicott City (21043), Fulton (20759), Glenelg (21737), Glenwood (21738), Granite (21163), Hanover (21076), Highland (20777), Jessup (20794), Lisbon (21765), Marriottsville (21104), North Laurel (20723), West Friendship (21794), Woodbine (21797), Woodstock (21163), and more.

Montgomery County: Olney (20832), Damascus (20872), Laytonsville (20882), Silver Spring (20910), Clarksburg (20871), Gaithersburg (20878), Germantown (20876), Bethesda (20816), Chevy Chase (20815), and more.

Baltimore County: Arbutus (21227), Catonsville (21228, 21250), Cockeysville (21030, 21031, 21065), Dundalk (21222), Edgemere (21219), Essex (21221), Garrison (21055), Lansdowne (21227), Lochearn (21207), Lutherville (21093), Middle River (21220), Milford Mill (21244), Overlea (21236), Owings Mills (21117), Parkville (21234), Park Heights (21215), Pikesville (21208), Randallstown (21133), Reisterstown (21136), Rosedale (21237), Timonium (21093), Towson (21204), White Marsh (21162), Woodlawn (21207), and more.

Carroll County: Eldersburg (21784), Finksburg (21048), Hampstead (21074), Manchester (21102), Marriottsville (21104), Taneytown (21787), Union Bridge (21791), Westminster (21157, 21158), Mount Airy (21771), New Windsor (21776), Sykesville (21784), Woodbine (21797), Taneytown (21787), and more.

We also serve the rest of Maryland and the United States.