Are Your Business Liability Limits High Enough?

April 26, 2010

You’ve worked hard to build your business. With a commercial umbrella insurance policy, you add an extra layer of protection for your investment. Why add a commercial umbrella policy?

Many standard business insurance policies have limits on how much liability coverage an owner can purchase. Once this threshold is reached, a business owner can move up to the next level of coverage with an umbrella policy. In today’s litigious society, the need for higher limits is often driven by outside forces. For example, contracts with landlords, vendors and mortgage companies may require higher limits. The best reason to step up to a commercial umbrella policy is to insure coverage if primary limits are exceeded in a lawsuit. In the absence of a secondary policy once primary limits are exhausted, your company would have to pay the excess out of pocket. Such exposure on a high profile lawsuit could drive a small firm out of business.

Below are some highlights of a commercial umbrella policy, which may vary by insurance carrier. Some may represent expanded benefits over a primary policy:

A broadened definition of who is insured
Extended coverage for newly acquired organizations
Multiple limits of liability
Coverage for mental injury allegations
Worldwide coverage

Being an independent insurance agency, we can provide your firm with price and coverage proposals for a business umbrella policy from a large number of insurance carriers. Next, we would take the time together to identify from those proposals the insurance carrier offering the best combination of price and product. For most firms, such a policy addition is relatively inexpensive.

If you believe your underlying liability limits are inadequate, give us a call.