Private Client
Personal Umbrella Liability — how to size and structure it.
Excess limits over home, auto, watercraft, and rental property — sized to net worth, not to standard minimums.
How to size the limit
Standard markets default to $1M. For founder households, that is almost always too low. We benchmark against household net worth, the public profile of the family, the presence of teen drivers, rental property exposure, watercraft, aviation, and any concentrated wealth post-liquidity-event. Most founder households start at $5M–$10M and scale toward $25M+ as those exposures grow.
Excess uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage
If a family member is hit by a driver with no insurance or low limits, excess UM/UIM is the only line that responds for damages above the underlying auto policy's UM/UIM limit. It is a separate, optional add-on to the umbrella in most states — and one of the highest-value endorsements in the program. Carriers in some states (NY in particular) require an explicit acceptance or rejection.
Coordinating with the business and D&O programs
Personal umbrella is personal — it does not respond to claims arising from the business, board service, or professional capacity. Those exposures sit on the commercial side under D&O, EPLI, professional liability, or executive-protection coverage. The advisor's job is to make sure no exposure is orphaned between the personal and commercial programs.
Frequently asked questions
How do underwriters set umbrella eligibility?
Underwriters look at driving records, household composition, watercraft and aviation exposure, rental property, and any prior litigation. The underlying home and auto policies need to meet minimum underlying limits and be in good standing.
Does the umbrella respond to defamation, libel, or social-media claims?
Personal injury coverage on most umbrellas responds to libel, slander, defamation, false arrest, and similar — but the language is not uniform. We confirm personal injury coverage is included (not excluded) at every renewal.
Does it cover board service for a charity or non-profit?
Some umbrellas extend to non-profit board service; many do not. Where the founder serves on outside boards, we look at the non-profit's own D&O policy first and add personal not-for-profit director coverage where the umbrella is silent.
What about the founder's spouse who serves on a private company board?
Private-company board service typically requires the company's D&O policy to respond, with personal lines limited to charity / non-profit board service. We map every board seat to a specific policy at the household review.