I’m looking at my net worth and realizing I need an umbrella insurance policy. I have State Farm for my house and auto insurance, should I shop them first or does somebody else offer attractive rates? How much should I get, 1x, 2x or more of my net worth? Should I compute my federal pension (retiring in several months) into my net worth number somehow?
We went with a $2 million umbrella, with a premium of about $270 this last year. Depending on your carrier, you may have to adjust (i.e., raise) the coverage levels on your underlying auto and homeowners policies because the umbrella covers risks above those policies. We went with Safeco because we have our autos and had a second house insured with them. From what I have read, the cost is in the ballpark of other insurers.
We really didn’t do an analysis but $1 million did not seem like enough. Some qualified retirement plans cannot be taken, but state laws vary.
Yes I think 2-3x your net worth is probably a good point. The problem is being a target because of your insurance coverage but you want adequate coverage in case you have a large judgment
There’s no guarantee that the amount will be sufficient
We have State Farm for auto and home, I think our $2 million umbrella is around $250 a year with them. You also need to carry the higher auto liability coverage. Give your agent a call, they’ll probably be the cheapest if you have your home and auto with them.
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I have Hanover for my home & auto. I was never a fan of StateFarm and I didn’t want to be with Travelers or Geico anymore
I had Allstate since I was a teen and they were great until the rates started going up every year even though we never made a claim. I shopped around and State Farm had the best rates plus I like the agent and his staff. I usually shop for better prices in February and State Farm is the best price for a reputable company. I could probably save with the General or other crappy company but IMO it’s not worth it.
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That was Geico for us
I’ve heard people either love or dislike StateFarm
My main concern is the claims experience not whether I’m assigned an agent. I had to buy Hanover from an independent agent and I spend as much for my combined coverage that Geico was charging for just the auto. Travelers didn’t provide adequate coverage for homeowners or auto
Switching to State Farm saved us over $1,200 a year.
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I went from $2,800 to $1,900/yr for home and auto for both my wife and me by going to Hanover.
We have a $500 auto deductible and $2,500 home deductible and $1M liability on each
Why would I need higher auto liability if I have an umbrella policy?
Guess I’ll get a quote from State Farm tomorrow.
bmw - Many umbrella policies require a higher liability on your auto policy to reduce the probability that you will need to use your umbrella policy
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Well that’s lame, they want me to pay the premium but not actually use the insurance. Guess I’ll need to go over that with my agent.
Exactly, that is what we ran into with Erie.
I think the highest auto liability coverage you can get is $500k, an umbrella policy would cover the amount you’re sued over that. Umbrella insurance is the last to payout after you max out your other insurance. IMO it’s pretty cheap for the coverage.
Go look at costco website. They have Connect insurance which is American Family. I have had them now for years and got hit by Irma and had to rebuild half the house. My premiums did not increase. I have home, auto and umbrella with them
Yes I think you need at least $500k or $1M to get the umbrella to pay depending on the terms and conditions. Travelers only allowed $500k. Hanover and Geico allowed $1M caps which for me negates the need for an umbrella policy
I had USAA for auto and State Farm for Homeowners.
State Farm would not take my Umbrella w/o the auto.
USA was OK with the HO elsewhere.
Now everything is with USAA.
Why state Farm lost my Homeowners is another story that I have told before…