Umbrella Liability Insurance - How to Protect Yourself?

Can you be prosecuted? If you think, that you can, then umbrella liability insurance is a must have for you.
I know, that when you have heard the words “to be prosecuted”, you thought, that it was not about you. Really, who can be prosecuted, if he is not a star politician or a rich landlord, which have a lot of enemies and who is not a criminal that has problems with law? There are a lot of misconceptions that are connected with umbrella liability insurance. Let’s consider them all.

Misconceptions, Connected with Umbrella Liability Insurance

1. I don’t need umbrella liability insurance, because I am not rich
Many people think, that umbrella liability insurance (ULI) is a must have for rich people, who own really big expensive houses and cars and that’s why they need really a solid amount of money in case if insured event takes place. It is a misconception. If you have any assets like a car and a house, then you need ULI. The more assets you have, the more necessary ULI is for you. But even if you are not so rich, you own a house, a car, a boat etc. So you should get ULI to provide you with an extra compensation.

2. I don’t need umbrella liability insurance, because I am honest
Umbrella liability insurance is supposed for catastrophic damage or loss, caused by court process. Most of people think that if they are honest and careful they will never be involved in a court process. Again, it is a misconception. Even if you are extremely careful and never break the rules (but as usual, any of us breaks them sometimes), still you can get into car accident and hurt another driver. Or some of your guests can fall from the stairs in your house. Or your son teenager can injure a classmate. The coverage, provided by homeowner policy is not usually enough. ULI will help you to avoid financial loss, if you become prosecuted. Remember, that even the most responsible and careful people become sued sometimes.

3. I don’t need umbrella liability insurance, because I have already got a homeowner policy.
We have told above, that the coverage of homeowner’s policy may not be enough in some situations. But there are situations that are not covered with homeowner policy at all.

Examples of liability that an umbrella policy may cover that a homeowner’s policy often excludes include: false arrest, libel, slander, invasion of privacy.

I know that you are a responsible person and now it seems to you, that you will never take part in a court process. But still these situations are possible.

For example, you son teenager has written in Facebook, that his classmate was cheating during the exam. It was an innocent joke or your son might really believe it was true. But the classmate is offended and his parents start a court process. It is called libel. This situation is not covered with your homeowner policy. And court process may cost you thousands of dollars.

Or imagine, that you have told to your friend, that your neighbor had cancer. It was wrong, but at that moment, you thought it was true. Your neighbor is offended and besides he lost some of his clients because of his imaginary illness. He has some financial loss. Your innocent chat with your friend can be called slander and you can be sued for it. Umbrella liability insurance can cover this court process.

The other situation, when even an honest person can be prosecuted is the following. You are a policeman. You believe that you have found a guilty person and have arrested him. Later you understand that you were wrong. You can apologies million times and tell, that you have done your job. The person is offended and starts a court process. Umbrella liability insurance can cover your expanses for false arrest.

Sometimes children can play in the garden of your neighbor. If one of your children did it and broke some trees or ruined the fence, he can be prosecuted for invasion of privacy. In this case umbrella insurance will be on purpose too.

All the acts, mentioned above, are innocent and can happen to any person, even faithful and responsible. But it is possible to be prosecuted for these actions. Court process will cost you a pretty penny. ULI coverage is the modern and adequate way out of any from these unpleasant situations. If you or your children have cause social offence to the third party, it is a good idea to compensate their loss. With ULI policy this compensation won’t ruin your budget.

Cost of Umbrella Liability Insurance

The coverage of ULI is impressive – you can get from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000. Standard ULI policy presumes the coverage of $1,000,000. Its cost is averagely low – $200-$300 per year. In this case you will get the coverage of $1.000, 000 if the insured event takes place. Thus you can protect yourself from being prosecuted for less than $1 per day. Does it make sense?

For Whom Is Umbrella Liability Insurance a Must Have?

It is desirable for anyone to get ULI. You have learnt from the samples above that every unconscious word can offend somebody and he will start the court process. Sometimes you can be prosecuted simply because you have fulfilled your professional duties and it has offended someone. Nobody is guaranteed from these situations and it can cause solid financial loss.

But still there are people, who need ULI more desperately, than others. ULI is a must have for you, if you are a policeman. Your profession is risky and needs some extra protection. You need ULI if you express your opinion in the Internet. Do you have your own blog? Do you write some personal thoughts in Facebook? If you have written some wrong facts, that offended the third party, you can be prosecuted and need ULI. Besides, ULI protection is necessary for people, who are socially active and take part in the political and religious life of their community. People, who have an active social position, can be prosecuted more often than others.

To conclude, ULI is necessary for most of people as potentially any of us can be prosecuted. Even if you are honest and obey the rules, you are not guaranteed from the damage – moral or physical- that you can cause to the third party. To keep your funds from catastrophic loss, umbrella liability insurance is the best way out!