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Commercial umbrella insurance gives you extra coverage on aspects that are beyond the limits of your existing commercial insurance policies. Any commercial insurance broker will recommend commercial umbrella insurance if you have substantial assets that you can lose in a lawsuit. Without this specific kind of insurance coverage, you’re liable to pay for the liability claims that stand outside the purview of your coverage from your own pockets. We know it sounds scary, however, the fact of the matter is, every commercial insurance policy will have aspects that are beyond its coverage. Rather than taking a gamble, here is all you need to know about commercial umbrella insurance and why you require it.
Let’s begin with the basics.
How Does Commercial Umbrella Insurance Work?
Commercial umbrella insurance extends the limits of your other insurance policies, for example, commercial auto insurance or general liability insurance. It helps keep you covered about aspects that are beyond the scope of existing insurance policies. This way you don’t end up paying for something that might happen, all of a sudden, for instance.
If your employee has an accident while making a delivery for your company, your existing insurance policy might not cover damages or bodily injuries that were incurred by your employee. If you have commercial umbrella insurance, then you don’t have to worry about paying for the liabilities from your pocket. Umbrella insurance protects you from putting your business at a financial risk.
A lot of commercial umbrella insurance policies offer to extend liability coverages on policies that are not from their company. In case you have general liability insurance from another company, certain commercial umbrella insurance policies will have no issues extending to those liabilities.
What Does a Commercial Umbrella Policy Cover?
A commercial umbrella policy covers claims of
- Bodily injury to a customer or an employee
- Property damage that your business causes.
According to Benchmark Brokers, which is a Commercial Insurance Broker Based in Houston, “We recommend always figuring out if your umbrella insurance coverage is on top of the general liability policy. This means that if you do not have a general liability insurance policy, you won’t be able to get commercial umbrella insurance policy. “
It must also be said that there are limits to which commercial umbrella insurances offer coverages. These limits may range from a million dollars to up to fifteen million dollars or more, depending upon the size of your business. This means that the insurance company is only liable to cover claims up to the limits that are stipulated in the policy.
What is Not Covered Under Commercial Umbrella Insurance?
All kinds of claims are not covered under commercial umbrella policies. Also, commercial umbrella insurance does not extend to all types of policies, for instance, commercial property insurance.
If your commercial property experiences fire damage and the cost to replace and repair your property goes beyond the coverage of your commercial property insurance, then you’d have to cover the claim out of your pocket, as commercial umbrella insurance does not cover business property claims.
There are other things that your commercial umbrella insurance won’t cover like,
- Damage to your personal belongings
- Criminal acts
- Intentional acts of injury
- Business losses
- Written or oral contracts
- Damages caused due to national or international acts of aggression, like a war or terrorist attack.
Who Needs Commercial Umbrella Insurance?
If your business requires frequent customer interaction or your employees have to handle heavy machinery and equipment and there are high liability risks, then commercial umbrella insurance is something you should be looking at. If you feel that the cost of your claim can exceed your liability limits, then buying umbrella insurance is a good option.
If your business requires customers to visit during business hours, the risk of bodily injury is increased substantially. In certain situations, wholesalers work with machinery and equipment to stock shelves during working hours. If there is any injury or accident caused to a worker or customer, the owner is liable to pay for damages. Also, if your business requires your employees to be working offsite then the liability risk increases substantially. For example, if you run a repair business that needs your employees to do repair work in client homes, they may accidentally cause any kind of damage to the client’s property for which you will be held liable. With umbrella insurance, your business can,
- Interact with customers without liability risks.
- Work on someone else’s property
- Allow the public to visit when your unit is functioning and open.
How Much Does Commercial Umbrella Insurance Cost?
According to the ACE Private Risk Services Report, commercial umbrella insurance costs about an average of $400 for a 1 million dollar coverage. However, the worth of your commercial umbrella insurance will be determined by a bunch of factors like;
- Your net worth
- The size of your business
- Your credit history
- Amount of underlying coverage
- Business size
- Your risk of filing an umbrella insurance claim.
Conclusion
If you are looking to get commercial umbrella insurance in Houston, Benchmark Insurance Group of Texas is the right choice. All you have to do is log in to their website, fill in your details and compare different policies. It is your one-stop shop for buying any kind of insurance at the best prices. Buying commercial umbrella insurance has never been easier.
