Umbrella Insurance in Massachusetts
coverage you already paid for, you might find yourself in a tough spot.
Life happens in a blink of an eye. A multi-million dollar lawsuit can put your financial stability at risk. Luckily in Massachusetts, you can get umbrella insurance coverage.
Umbrella insurance gives you an extra layer of coverage when you are responsible for damages that exceed the liability limits on your auto or homeowner policy.
What is Umbrella Insurance?
Umbrella insurance, or excess insurance, offers an extra layer of protection for major accidents that exhaust existing liability coverage.
When damages from an accident or lawsuit exceed the liability limits on your auto or home insurance in Massachusetts, umbrella insurance can offer added protection from $1 million up to $5 million. If you have boat insurance, umbrella insurance could cover damages in excess of your watercraft coverage.
If a lawsuit is brought against you for personal injury or property damage covered by the umbrella policy, the insurance company can take care of defense costs as well.
What Does Umbrella Insurance Cover in Massachusetts?
As a Massachusetts resident with MAPFRE Insurance, umbrella insurance covers you for:
- Bodily Injury
Medical costs and loss of income. - Property Damage
Damage, destruction or loss of use of tangible property.
- Automobile liability
Automobile liability coverage is limited to bodily injury and property damage arising out of occurrences within the US, Canada or Puerto Rico. - Personal Injury
Offenses which take place anywhere in the world.
Umbrella coverage typically can assist with a wide range of occurrences that could otherwise leave you in a difficult financial situation. Some examples of situations where umbrella insurance may be able to help mitigate exposure to a huge financial loss are:
- A visitor slips and falls at your home and sues you to help pay for their medical expenses
- Your dog bites your child’s friend causing injury
- You cause a major car accident causing serious injury to multiple other drivers
- A family member’s social media post results in a defamation suit
There are optional umbrella coverages available as well but coverage must be present on the underlying policy:
- Excess Permitted Incidental Occupancies Liability Coverage Added Coverage — Examples of such occupancies are offices, schools or studios meaning offices for business or professional purposes and private schools or studios for music, dance and other instructional purposes.
- Assisted Living Care Liability Coverage Added Coverage — Provides excess personal liability coverage to a designated person other than the named insured or a resident relative who is related to another insured by blood, marriage or adoption, not a member of the named insured’s household and regularly residing in a designated assisted living care facility.
- Trust Added Coverage — Extend liability coverage to a trust or trustee if title to vehicles, premises or other property is transferred to a trust and to the extent that coverage is provided to the trust or trustee by underlying insurance.
Not sure how much umbrella insurance you need as Massachusetts resident? Your independent agent can help you determine that by asking you questions like:
- What is the value of your total assets?
- Do you have any special risks at home like a trampoline, pool or large animal (like a horse)?
- What other risks do you think you may face? Do you volunteer, coach athletics or lead a youth group?
Find a Massachusetts Insurance Agent Near You
MAPFRE Insurance partners with local Independent Agents throughout the Bay State. To get a quote on umbrella insurance to see how much you could save, search our Agent Locator.
Common Questions about Umbrella Insurance in Massachusetts
What is umbrella insurance?
Umbrella insurance, or excess insurance, is an extra layer of protection on your auto or home insurance to cover you for major accidents that exhaust existing liability coverage.
What does umbrella insurance cover?
Umbrella insurance covers you for major accidents that exhaust existing liability coverage. When damages from an accident or lawsuit exceed the liability limits on your auto or home insurance, umbrella insurance can offer added protection up to $1 million to $5 million.
What is umbrella liability insurance?
Umbrella insurance provides you additional liability coverage on your auto, home or other policies beyond the standard coverage.
What is umbrella insurance for business?
When you take umbrella insurance for your business, you are extending your business’ liability coverage. The added layer of protection will help in the event of large unexpected incidents where your primary business insurance limits may be exceeded – things like multi-million dollar lawsuits or employee auto accidents.
Who needs umbrella insurance?
Anyone who drives a car, owns a home, or rents a home or condo, should obtain umbrella insurance to protect themselves against multi-million dollar lawsuits that could put their financial stability at risk.
When should you consider getting umbrella insurance?
You should consider getting umbrella insurance when you have a vehicle or home insured or even if you rent a home or condo. The added protection will cover you when you have exceeded the limits on your auto or homeowners policies.
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An Umbrella for a Rainy Day
Let’s face it. Most of us are not wealthy. A severe loss event could put a real hardship on us that we might struggle to ever recover from. If a major accident exhausts the liability coverage you have already paid for, you might find yourself in a tough spot—and your assets and future earnings could be vulnerable to a lawsuit.
Why Do I Need a Personal Umbrella/Excess Insurance Policy?
A Personal/Umbrella Excess Liability policy provides protection against the catastrophic liability claims-coverage that goes beyond what auto, homeowners or renters might offer. This type of policy acts as excess coverage over your primary policy, often with added protection from $1 million to $5 million depending on your need.
Please Note: This is meant only to provide general information about commonly available insurance coverages. Except as expressly noted, this content is not intended to describe any specific coverage offered by MAPFRE Insurance. No coverage is provided, bound or guaranteed by this article. Available coverages, credits and discounts vary from state to state and are subject to eligibility criteria and policy terms/conditions, which will control in the event of conflict between this article and your insurance policy. For information about your policy, please review your individual policy contract and speak with your insurance representative.
MAPFRE Insurance® is a brand and service mark of MAPFRE U.S.A. Corp. and its affiliates, American Commerce Insurance CompanySM (Cal. COA 4928-8); Citation Insurance CompanySM; The Commerce Insurance CompanySM; Commerce West Insurance CompanySM (Cal. COA 1372-2); and MAPFRE Insurance CompanySM (Cal. COA 3039-5). Not all products available in all states.