Legal Liabilities Most People Don’t Think About Until It’s Too Late And How Umbrella Insurance Protects You

When most people think about insurance, they focus on the basics: auto, home, and maybe health. But what many don’t realize is that life is full of unexpected legal liabilities that can quickly spiral out of control. At Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA, we’ve seen countless cases where a simple accident or oversight led to major financial consequences. That’s where umbrella insurance steps in to save the day.

Recognizing the Surprising Risks Hiding in Plain Sight

Imagine this: A guest slips and falls on the icy path leading to your front door. Or maybe your teenager causes a multi-car accident while driving to school. Even something as innocent as sharing an opinion online could lead to a defamation lawsuit. These scenarios may seem unlikely, but they happen more often than you’d think—and the legal costs can be staggering.

Standard insurance policies, like home or auto, typically have liability limits. Once those limits are exceeded, you’re left to cover the rest out of pocket. Without the proper protection, your savings, assets, and even future wages could be on the line.

How Umbrella Insurance Provides Protection

Umbrella insurance acts as an extra layer of protection, kicking in when your other policies max out. Whether it’s medical bills, legal fees, or settlement costs, umbrella coverage can help safeguard your finances. It’s surprisingly affordable for the peace of mind it provides, especially for those with significant assets or higher exposure to risk.

Contact Us Today for More Information

Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect yourself. Contact Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA, today to learn how umbrella insurance can help secure your future. Peace of mind is just a call away!

Does Umbrella Insurance Cover Everyone in My Household?

Umbrella insurance provides protection when we face liabilities exceeding the limits of our home, auto, or other insurance policies. Umbrella policies cover all members of the policyholder’s household, but there are exceptions policyholders should know and discuss with their agent. If you live in or near Boston, MA, and have questions about an umbrella or other insurance, consider contacting the Smoller Insurance Agency team.

Covering Household Members

Umbrella insurance sits in the background and activates when our liabilities exceed the limits of our underlying policies. Although they seldom come into use, they play a critical role in safeguarding us against the financial effects of significant injuries or damages.

Under normal circumstances, umbrella policies cover all household members. However, like your auto policy, the insurance company needs you to identify the household members so they can adjust the premiums based on the number of people in the household and their characteristics.

An important point is that your umbrella policy will not cover household members covered by separate policies. For example, your umbrella insurance will not cover your adult children or parents who live in the household if they have separate auto insurance policies. Likewise, a child with a renters’ policy covering their college apartment will not be covered.

These situations point out that those who have or are considering umbrella insurance should discuss the policy details and household members with their agent to ensure they clearly understand who the policy covers and who it doesn’t.

Working With Smoller Insurance Agency

Each situation is unique, so we recommend reviewing your circumstances with your agent. If you live in or near Boston, MA, stop by the office or call us today at 617-965-1830. Our Smoller Insurance Agency team wants to help with all your insurance needs.

How Does Umbrella Insurance Work?

Umbrella insurance is an important type of coverage that boosts the coverage that you get from other insurance policies. If you have both an auto policy and a home policy, you should think about getting an umbrella policy to boost them.

This is a less-expensive option than adding coverage directly to the home and auto policies. It can save you a lot of money and leave you much better protected by insurance. When you want an umbrella insurance policy, call us at Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA.

Getting Umbrella Insurance

When you get this type of insurance, it adds to the amount of coverage that you already have through your auto and home policies. The policy adds to the liability coverage that each of those policies has, raising it to a very high maximum payout. Umbrella insurance is known for being highly affordable and for having high payouts. 

Paying the Overages

When you have home and auto insurance without umbrella insurance, there are usually maximums on them that are so low that they don’t cover all of the expenses after an accident. A serious accident could have extremely high expenses for bodily injury liability and for property damage liability. If your home or auto insurance doesn’t have a lot of coverage, it will pay up to its maximum and then leave any overage for you to pay.

That’s why having umbrella insurance is so important. Once the first policy comes in and pays what it can toward the damages, the umbrella insurance policy comes in and pays for the rest. It’s a great way to be well-covered by insurance. 

Get Umbrella Insurance

When you want to be better covered for your liability at home and in your vehicle, you need umbrella insurance. Call us at Smoller Insurance Agency in Boston, MA.