An Umbrella policy, also called an excess Liability policy, is designed to protect you if you are held personally responsible to another person for injury or property damage. In other words, an umbrella policy will cover you if you are sued and have to pay more than the coverage limits under your Homeowner’s or Auto policies.

The minimum limits you would need to have on your auto insurance, homeowners insurance, etc to obtain an Umbrella policy varies by company. For example with The Hartford to obtain a million dollar (or more) personal liability umbrella policy you would need at least the following limits with your primary insurance policies:

Auto insurance -

• Bodily Injury $250,000/$500,000
• Property Damage $50,000
• And in some states (including Louisiana):
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists $250,000/$500,000

Homeowners -

• Comprehensive Personal $300,000

If you have a motorcycle, watercraft or recreational vehicle there may also be primary insurance limits that the insurer for the umbrella policy will require, such as Comprehensive Personal Liability of a minimum of $500,000 on a RV.

If you have a policy with Safeco Insurance, the following Underlying Insurance is required in Louisiana:

For a $1,000,000 umbrella limit and underlying preferred auto policies, Split Limits of at least $100,000/$300,000/$100,000 or $300,000 Combined Single Limit
Motorcycle Split Limits of $500,000/$500,000/$100,000 or $500,000 Combined Single Limit.

The cost of an umbrella policy depends on how much underlying insurance you have and the kind of risk you represent. The higher the underlying/primary liability coverage, the cheaper the Umbrella policy normally. This is because you would be the less likely to need the additional insurance if your primary insurance is high enough. You can expect to pay between $118 to $638 more a year.

Most companies will require a minimum of $300,000 of Liability insurance on your home and your car before selling you an Umbrella policy for 1 million dollars but as we noted earlier the actual amount an insurance company will require you to carry in primary insurance differs from one insurer to the next. Many insurance companies that offer umbrella policies will want you to have your auto insurance policy with them already and possibly also your homeowner's policies through them as well.

When shopping for Umbrella insurance an insurer should inform you of the amount of auto insurance liability you must have. If you have insurance related questions specifically based on Louisiana laws contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 1-800-259-5300 or 225-342-5900. This LA state agency is the insurance regulator and can give you information on umbrella policies, auto insurance, homeowner's insurance with relation to the laws of Louisiana.