Umbrella Coverage for Personal Needs and Business

Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc. provides two types of umbrella insurance to Iowa residents. These are commercial and personal umbrella insurance. Depending on your situation, you may need one or both types. This blog will help you understand these two types of insurance and determine which one or both you need.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Some businesses carry a higher liability risk than others. For instance, professionals like doctors, dentists, chiropractors, lawyers, and certain business consultants face potential lawsuits due to malpractice. These professionals often opt for maximum malpractice coverage. However, adding umbrella coverage can ensure the business doesn’t have to pay out of pocket if a lawsuit occurs. Commercial umbrella insurance protects all employees in the business, not just the owner.

Personal Umbrella Insurance

Consider a personal umbrella policy if you engage in high-risk liability personal activities. This could include coaching children or teens in sports or running a home-based hobby or business that involves other people, such as yoga classes or a consultancy where clients visit your home. Individuals who volunteer in community activities, like planning and executing community events, or those who volunteer for political campaigns also need umbrella coverage.

Contact Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Today

We live in a society where lawsuits are common. Your altruism or the nature of your service business in Iowa can increase the risk of being sued for malpractice. Let Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc. help you protect your financial assets with an umbrella policy.

Contact us today to find out whether you need commercial, personal, or both types of umbrella insurance. If you run a high-liability risk business, such as a law firm, and you volunteer in your community, you likely need both types of insurance.

What is umbrella insurance and who needs it?

Umbrella coverage is one of the least understood types of insurance. If you ask many people if they have umbrella insurance, they might look at you in confusion. We can tell you for sure that it is not insurance on your umbrella. In Iowa, you can count on the Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc. to provide you with the information you need to know the value of an umbrella policy. We are a trusted independent insurance agency, and we provide our customers with the most choices when it comes to all types of insurance. 

What is umbrella insurance?

In the simplest terms, umbrella insurance is excess liability coverage. It is an additional layer of liability coverage added to another policy you have. Umbrella is not a stand-alone insurance policy. You already need to have a policy with liability coverage. Liability coverage includes many types of insurance, including home, auto, RV, motorcycle, condo, renters, and boat, to name just a few. Once you have the umbrella policy, it works with all your other eligible policies. 

How does umbrella insurance work?

When you have a liability claim, your primary policy will pay up to its limit first. At that point, the umbrella policy will kick in and pay up to its limit. Most umbrella policies start at a million dollars and go up from there. 

Who can benefit from umbrella insurance? 

In the world that we all live in today, where being sued is all too common, it is safe to say that if you have assets, you can benefit from umbrella insurance. In spite of thoughts to the contrary, umbrella insurance is not just for the rich. It can protect almost everyone. 

Call us at Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc. in Iowa when you have questions or concerns about umbrella insurance. 

Umbrella Insurance When You Are Outside the USA

The Necessity of Umbrella Insurance for Wealthy Families

For Iowa’s affluent families, umbrella insurance provides additional much-needed liability protection. At Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc., we always remind our high-net-worth clients that they equally need this extra coverage when traveling outside the United States. With umbrella insurance, you’re covered for any incidents where you might be liable — even those occurring beyond American borders.

Examples of Incidents Covered by International Umbrella Insurance

Are you curious about what type of mishaps the international umbrella insurance covers? Here are a few examples:

  • Your pet accompanies you overseas and bites someone in a local market.
  • You rent a car and opt for the necessary liability insurance but end up in a collision that surpasses the rental car policy’s limits.
  • Following a bad service experience at a restaurant abroad, you publish a negative review online and face a defamation lawsuit.
  • You collide with another skier on the slopes or hit another boat while sailing, and you’re held accountable.

Umbrella insurance offers financial protection from such unforeseen issues when you’re overseas. It can assist in managing your liability and securing legal representation, handling your extended stay costs, and compensating for any lost income back home while dealing with a liability issue in a foreign country.

Protect Your International and Domestic Liability

It is crucial not to leave your international liability coverage to chance. Before your trip, knowing what measures you can take to handle a claim against you is important. We at Brown-Hurst Insurance Agency Inc. can review your home, auto, and commercial liability coverage to ensure you are protected whether at home in Iowa or abroad.