Umbrella insurance policies and car surcharges

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JHZR2

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We thought it would be a good idea to have an umbrella insurance policy because it seemed like a low cost way to minimize our overall risk exposure. Pricing seemed good, until you're honest about what you own (this was with Geico, which I have a feeling is prone to bait and switch anyway). I was honest that I have a few vehicles that are on a separate classic policy. They are seldom/limited use vehicles, and the insurer sees the liability risk exposure at something like twenty bucks or so a year for very high coverage.

So they are seldom used, on a classic policy, and geico insures four regular use vehicles for us.

Added cost for these three classic vehicles? Around $85 each!

That is, more money than the actuary who does auto risk for a living, says they are.

The fact that I own three limited use vehicles on a classic policy effectively doubles the price of an umbrella policy. That's seriously insane. Doubly so since neither my wife nor I have ever had a claim (knock on wood we gave been quite fortunate/lucky in that regard, especially considering how many miles we drive per year).

I'm sure it varies from state to state, but does anyone know of an umbrella policy that doesn't add a surcharge for vehicles?

Anyone know of any good stand-alone umbrella policies?

Thanks
 
No an umbrella policy is for everything you own. That is the purpose and why they call it an umbrella. I have a small business 2 homes in 2 different states 4 cars and a motorcycle on my policy. Adding additional items to cover is not a surcharge. It is coverage based on risk. My umbrella takes over on top of the $1MM base coverage on each individual policy up to $3MM. I have had several boats on there which jacked it about $300 a year. But due to all of the Jet Ski accidents the rates for watercraft are crazy. I quit boating in 2011.

BTW, they don't calculate auto risk simply on your driving record. It is based on your driving record, the area where you live, the number of fatal traffic accidents in your home area, your age group, other drivers in your family...etc etc etc. Your highest chance of being sued is from a car accident where you are at fault. So the more vehicles you own the more you drive the higher the risk.
 
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in nj the best insurance company by far is NJM


Anytime an insurance salesman calls i tell them i have njm they say you are covered have a grat day
 
Geico gave me by far the best auto and umbrella pricing.

Just had renewal and for the first time in a long time, I saw no premium increases.

Doubly glad I moved from my old insurer as my home insurance also stayed level for the first time.
 
I have two homes, five cars, and my umbrella, in other words, all my personal insurance, with State Auto. They do not surcharge on the umbrella for anything, afaik. Your surcharge is more than the premium for my umbrella policy.

I spread my business insurance over two agents and several different carriers. Insurance is really becoming expensive.
 
Umbrella premiums will vary based on the exposures on the primary policies. So if you have more vehicles and more policies to cover, then your umbrella premium will adjust accordingly.

My guess is that Geico is not using the premium(s) from your classic car policy to rate for the umbrella premium. Instead, Geico is using the their rates for those vehicles - which is higher.

Also check with your workplace to see if they offer any umbrellas as an employment benefit. With my employer, I can get an umbrella through Chubb for a very attractive price.
 
We have a 5 million dollar umbrella policy that costs around $450/year. Our insurer also has the insurance on all 4 of our vehicles as well as both homes, property and businesses.

We've never been asked about vehicles, but we do fill out an annual questionnaire about other risks (dogs, pool, trampoline, boats, etc). In speaking with our agent a few years ago (making sure we were covered with our therapy dogs and the volunteer work we do) we discussed various dog breeds. Since we have beagles that are trained and certified our rates are low; but if we had an aggressive breed we'd be paying significantly more for our policy.
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
in nj the best insurance company by far is NJM


Anytime an insurance salesman calls i tell them i have njm they say you are covered have a grat day



I had NJM, still do for homeowners. Their policy pricing was constant for years, even our homeowners policy after sandy. I'm happy with them and may request them to re-price. Geico pricing is really aggressive so they beat Njm on auto. They did bait and switch on us once - gave us an ultra super preferred rate, then did checks and found that my wife had a three year old cellphone ticket. Took us up by a few hundred (!) per year, which they said would decrease as the ticket went further back in time. We're now at second renewal and no pricing change, but now apparently were still at the topmost preferred rating level (?). I'm going to go back through all my old quotes (kept the email) and will file a complaint if my full recollection is accurate.

But that's auto, this is umbrella. Looks like either the agent is pricing me wrong or their policies are stupid. We have zero rated risks other than the cars, which double the policy.
 
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