Commercial Umbrella Insurance in New HampshireNH Commercial Umbrella Insurance

What is Commercial Umbrella Insurance?

Insurance can give businesses a robust array of protections, but there are limits to how much coverage these policies will pay. Sometimes, New Hampshire businesses want more protection than they can get through a general liability, commercial auto or other insurance policy. That’s why there’s commercial umbrella insurance.

Commercial umbrella insurance is a secondary form of liability insurance. As such, it can help increase the protections afforded by primary, underlying insurance policies.

What New Hampshire Businesses is Business Umbrella Insurance Right For?

Any business that wants more liability coverage than their primary insurance policies afford may be interested in business umbrella insurance. Both small and large businesses may benefit from this insurance, in just about any industry. Here are just a few examples of how a business umbrella policy might benefit different companies:

  • Professionals may not have the financial resources they need to fight a drawn-out lawsuit in court

  • Businesses that have lots of assets may get extra protection from opportunistic lawsuits

  • Companies in high-risk industries may receive extra protection from the risks they face

  • Businesses with commercial vehicles are at greater risk given the vehicles may be larger, with the potential of causing more damage

Moreover, for-profit businesses aren’t the only organizations that might benefit from a business umbrella policy. Municipal governments and nonprofit organizations likewise may benefit from having this extra layer of protection, since they also can be named in liability lawsuits.

How Does Business Umbrella Insurance Supplement Primary Insurance?

There are two main ways that business umbrella policies might supplement underlying, primary insurance policies. An excess liability policy may extend the limits of underlying policies, and the umbrella policy may fill in coverage gaps that the underlying policies do not cover.  These policies do differ and it is not always obvious to what type of umbrella you are purchasing, an true umbrella or an excess liability policy, so it is important to consult with an insurance professional.Commercial Umbrella NHHow Does Business Umbrella Insurance Differ from Excess Liability Insurance?

Excess liability insurance is another form of supplemental liability insurance that’s available to businesses, but it shouldn’t be confused with business umbrella insurance. There are important differences between the two types of supplemental coverages.

Business umbrella policies generally are able to serve multiple functions and can supplement multiple policies because umbrella policies come with their own terms, conditions and exclusions. They normally aren’t beholden to the underlying policies’ terms and conditions, and can, therefore, set their own coverages.

Excess liability policies typically adopt the terms, conditions and exclusions of the one underlying policy that they supplement. Because of this, they don’t normally fill in any coverage gaps. 

Although umbrella policies tend to offer more protections than excess liability policies do, there are some situations where an excess liability policy may be preferable to an umbrella policy. A knowledgeable insurance agent who’s familiar with the details of these two types of policies can help business owners select the one that’s best for their business.

Do Commercial Umbrella Policies Cost a Lot?

As is true with most insurance policies that are used to insure different types of businesses, the premiums associated with commercial umbrella policies vary. Generally speaking, however, these policies offer high limits at low rates. Insurers are often able to provide millions of dollars in coverage at affordable prices because these are secondary policies.

How Can Businesses in New Hampshire Get Commercial Umbrella Insurance?

Commercial umbrella policies should be selected with great care because they interact directly with underlying policies. Umbrella policies frequently have underlying coverage requirements that must be met, or else the supplemental coverage may be jeopardized. Additionally, umbrella policies’ coverages shouldn’t duplicate those provided by underlying policies, as this leads to businesses paying unnecessary premiums.

For help finding commercial umbrella insurance, New Hampshire businesses can talk to our independent agents who specializes in this form of insurance. The independent agents at HPM Insurance know the details of umbrella policies and will be able to not only help a business select a good policy, but they can also review the policy’s underlying coverage requirements and business’ primary policies to make sure everything matches up correctly.