John and Mary live in a nice five bedroom home located in California. They’ve lived in their three thousand square foot home for twenty five years and are retired. Their home is paid for and worth about $900,000. They live off their retirement and have hardly no bills to pay. John and Mary have always had a homeowners policy to cover their home in case of fire, theft or other potential losses involving their home. Mary is age 75 and John is age 72. They hope to someday leave their home to their adult children.
On a nice spring day, Mary went to run some errands in her vehicle around her neighborhood. She pulled into the parking lot of her local grocery store. For some reason, after Mary parked her car , her foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator instead. Mary’s car went through the wall of the grocery store. Her vehicle continued through the wall of the store and she collided into two pedestrians who were standing in line with their grocery carts.
Both of the pedestrians were rushed to the hospital due to the severity of the injuries they sustained from Mary’s car striking them. Mary was upset about the accident and did not know what she should do. She called her insurance agent the same day of the accident and her agent took her information to start processing her claim.
Months later after the accident, Mary and John found out that the damages filed by the two pedestrians injured from the accident, exceeded the auto insurance liability limits that they carried with their insurance company. John and Mary found out from their adjuster that they would be personally liable for any money damages which exceeded the liability limits that they carried.
The adjuster also told them that the pedestrians attorney did an asset check to see if Mary and John owned property. The attorney found out that they owned a home and would be expecting them to contribute additional monies towards the settlement of the pedestrians claims in addition to the auto insurance liability limits that they carried.
Mary and John were devastated and did not realize that their home the most valuable asset they owned was at stake! They worked all their lives for their home and could not believe that it may be at risk due to the accident. John and Mary did not know they may have avoided contributing monies towards the pedestrians injury claims if they had excess liability coverage or an umbrella policy!
What is excess liability coverage or an umbrella policy? This policy would be liability coverage which would exceed your homeowners or vehicle policy for damages you may be liable for.
The cost of excess liability coverage or an umbrella policy is very minimal for the amount of additional coverage you would receive. You can expect to pay somewhere between $150-$400 annually for this coverage. Consult your insurance company for details. Remember, excess coverage is important for you to consider if your assets are substantial, especially being a homeowner. This extra protection may give you better peace of mind in the long run and will be well worth it!
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