Recently my friend Sarah Lampard of A Value Insurance, an excellent insurance broker, brought up something that shocked me.
Most umbrella policies don’t cover you for an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver.
To go back, an Umbrella Policy is a property and casualty insurance product that covers you for expenses above and beyond your home and car insurance. It’s very good to have to help cover you if you ever accidentally cause someone major harm and get sued by your victim.
You can pick your amount of Umbrella coverage. Many people have $1million – $3million, depending on the assets they are trying to protect. The coverage is really affordable, ranging from $175 on up, depending on the amount of coverage you request.
In Colorado, we have a higher than average number of uninsured and underinsured drivers.
Maybe it’s that Western independent, can-do, don’t-make-me-follow- the-rules spirit.
Anyway, if you get badly injured by an uninsured motorist (or one with very low insurance) after their sorry insurance is exhausted and then yours, what’s left to pay those monstrous medical bills? It should be your umbrella policy, but most policies don’t cover accidents with underinsured or uninsured drivers.
So, if you have an umbrella policy or are thinking of getting one, be sure to ask your agent about patching this potential hole in your coverage.
If you don’t have an umbrella policy, you should get one!
