Commercial Umbrella Insurance for Florida Small Businesses

Commercial umbrella insurance provides business owners with an additional layer of liability insurance coverage.  This is very important in the event that the underlying insurance policies do not cover or insufficiently cover a liability claim.  This extra protection can help bridge the gap between a claim that is only partially covered by an existing liability policy.  Many business owners find that umbrella insurance provides peace of mind as a liability claim can often exceed the initial coverage provided by a business owner’s policy.  Imagine you were sued for a 5 million dollar claim and your liability insurance only covers 2 million dollars for a loss.  The umbrella or excess coverage can help to cover the difference in the loss of the claim and adds an extra layer of protection for the business owner.  While your insurance policy might cover particular aspects up to a limit, commercial umbrella insurance will extend that coverage to more things, and even increase the insurance limit. It can be such a valuable asset in various situations and for different types of businesses.

Commercial umbrella insurance covers excess claims when it comes to general liability insurance, directors and officers, auto insurance, and non-owned auto liability insurance. General liability insurance is probably one of the broadest terms and is almost always necessary and often mandatory for most businesses. The more people who walk into your business, the higher the risk that one of them, or their personal property, gets injured leading to a lawsuit. When and if that happens, your commercial umbrella insurance policy will be there in the event your primary insurance does not fully cover the loss.

GL or General Liability insurance is often your most expensive insurance policy and your primary policy may not be sufficient to cover all the costs if a large loss were to occur. In situations like these, having umbrella insurance to extend the limits of your original policy will save you from having to pay out of your own pocket to make up for the difference if there is a shortage of a covered claim. As for auto insurance, commercial umbrella insurance is useful for commercial cars as well as those that are rented or owned by employees but used for business.

Note, however, that umbrella insurance isn’t inclusive of everything and primarily covers the items discussed above. There are several things that don’t fall under commercial umbrella insurance like property damages, errors and omissions, employee discrimination lawsuits, and claims covered by your primary policies.

People often confuse commercial umbrella insurance with excess liability insurance when the truth is that there’s a significant difference between them. Excess liability insurance just extends the limits provided by primary policies. If a primary policy will cover costs up to 1 million dollars, then excess liability insurance will kick in if the costs are over that figure. Excess liability insurance, however, will never cover aspects that aren’t originally covered by your original insurance. On the other hand, commercial umbrella insurance can be expected to both extend limits, as well as cover more aspects hence the umbrella term.

If you’re worried that your insurance policies don’t have a high enough ceiling then excess liability insurance will suffice, but if you’re also worried that your policies aren’t inclusive of everything you might encounter then commercial umbrella insurance is the way to go.

Some businesses neglect to get anything other than the primary insurance policies they’re recommended to get. Commercial umbrella insurance might be seen as a safeguard in case things don’t go as expected, but that’s the entire point of insurance. So why not get it to guarantee your business is protected against almost everything it might encounter?