Business Umbrella Insurance

A commercial umbrella policy acts as a safety net, extending primary liability limits to a higher amount should your claims or lawsuit exceed your existing policy limits. This valuable coverage can help protect your business from the unexpected.

In the next 10 years, four out of 10 small businesses are likely to experience a property or general liability claim, according to an analysis of The Hartford’s small business claims.  

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Go One Step Further with Umbrella Insurance

As a business owner you know there are always risks involved when running a business. No matter how much you prepare accidents can happen at any time. When the unexpected happens, it’s difficult to know how much coverage your business needs to handle the damages.

The small investment of purchasing a commercial umbrella policy can help you protect your assets and investments.  Commercial Umbrella Insurance is designed to complement or extend your other liability coverages by taking over when your other liability coverage limits have been reached. This gives your business an added layer of protection.

Other liability coverages include:

• Commercial General Liability
• Commercial Auto Liability
• Workers’ Compensation
• Liquor Liability

How an umbrella policy could help your business:

• More cost effective than raising limits on existing policies.
• Expands coverage on multiple policies under one umbrella policy.
• Provides extra protection a business needs for big, unexpected events that can quickly exceed its primary insurance limits.
• Once a policy’s limit is reached, commercial umbrella insurance provides additional limits for liability claims made on traditional policies – think of it as insurance on top of your insurance. 

What is commercial umbrella insurance and how does it work?

Commercial umbrella insurance protects your business from holes or limits in your existing coverage that could leave you open to a big loss. It gives you extra coverage to help pay for costs that exceed certain liability policy limits. Without it, you would have to pay out of pocket for liability claims that cost more than your coverage limits.

Who needs business umbrella insurance?

Any business that is potentially at risk of exceeding the limits of their existing liability policies should consider umbrella insurance. If your business interacts with clients and customers in person, then you’re at a higher risk. A business that uses heavy machinery or dangerous equipment are at an even higher risk.

The two main factors that drive the need for commercial umbrella insurance:

• Your industry
• Your company’s level of exposure to the public

How much does it cost?

The cost of an umbrella policy for your business varies depending on many factors but on average it costs anywhere between $500 to $1,500 a year for a $1 million policy. Factors that determine the cost include:

• Your industry
• Your exposure to risks
• Coverage limits
• Number of employees
• Number of vehicles

What is not covered by a business umbrella policy?

• Damages to your building, personal property, or anything else owned by your business
• Data breaches and hacking
• Pollution
• Aircraft and watercraft
• Product recalls

How a commercial umbrella policy can help your small business.

Here are some of the ways an umbrella policy can help if the liability limits of your General Liability, Commercial Auto Liability, or Commercial Employer’s Liability policies are exhausted before a claim or lawsuit against you is completely paid:

• Customer injured at your business. One of your customers injures themselves at your place of business. Your business is sued for $1.5 million but you only have $1 million in liability coverage. Your commercial umbrella policy could help pay for the additional $500,000 (subject to the policy’s coverage limits).
• Your delivery driver causes an auto accident. Your delivery driver causes an accident, and multiple people are injured and your driver caused extensive property damage. Your business has auto insurance coverage with a combined single limit of $1 million and umbrella coverage of $5 million. The sum of the damages and medical care for the injured total $1.4 million. The auto insurance covers the first $1 million of damages, and the Umbrella Insurance covers the remaining $400,000.

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