Commercial umbrella, usually because a contract says so
Most businesses buy this because a customer, a landlord or a municipality requires limits above what the underlying policies carry. It is also, per dollar, the cheapest protection on the schedule.
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- Excess limits above general liability, commercial auto and employers liability
- Defence costs, frequently outside the limit rather than eroding it
- Additional insured status extended to the umbrella where the contract requires it
- Some claims the underlying policies exclude, depending on the form
It follows the underlying policies, and inherits their holes
An umbrella sits above scheduled policies and generally follows their terms. What the general liability excludes, the umbrella usually excludes too. Buying an umbrella does not fix a gap in the policy beneath it, and a contract that demands five million of coverage for something the underlying form excludes is a contract that is not satisfied by adding limits. Read them together.
What moves the premium
- Your underlying limits, which have to meet the umbrella's required floor.
- Vehicle count and driver records, which usually drive commercial umbrella pricing more than anything else.
- Your industry and your loss history.
- The limit requested, where the second million is far cheaper than the first.
Bring the contract, not just the number
Contracts specify limits, wording, additional insured status and sometimes a waiver of subrogation. A quote that meets the number but not the wording gets the certificate rejected, and you find out the week you were meant to start.
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Is this the same as excess liability?
Close, and not identical. Excess follows the underlying form strictly; an umbrella can be slightly broader. We will tell you which one you are being quoted.
Work it out before anybody sells you anything
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