Commercial Umbrella Insurance Policy in NJ
A commercial umbrella insurance policy is often viewed as a safety blanket for business owners who want more comprehensive coverage for their company.
Offering an extra level of protection that goes deeper than other general liability policies, umbrella insurance can help to plug gaps in your business coverage.
What is a Commercial Umbrella Policy?
Commercial umbrella insurance is a form of coverage that is designed to supplement other business insurance policies.
With a commercial umbrella policy, your coverage is activated if you have exceeded the benefits you have through another type of business policy. If your company is involved in a lawsuit and you have reached the financial limit of your insurance policy, you can use your commercial umbrella plan to bridge the gap.
Coverage is activated if you have exceeded the benefits you have through another type of business policy.
This means that you can complete the case and pay the fees without having to eat into your own profits or worry about how you’re going to find the money needed if you don’t have access to cash.
What Does it Cover?
In most cases, commercial umbrella policies can be used to supplement the following insurance types:
- General liability insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance (including employment practices liability insurance)
- Hired automobile liability insurance
If you reach the specified limit on your policy for one of these types of insurance and you need more money, your umbrella policy can help make up the difference.
Who Needs Coverage?
Some businesses will benefit from commercial umbrella insurance more than others.
You may wish to invest in this type of policy if you’re worried that your existing policies don’t offer enough in the way of cover, or if the following statements apply to your business:
- Your business premises are open to the public
- Your employees drive their own vehicles for work purposes
- The nature of the industry poses a greater risk of accidents (construction and agriculture)
- You work with clients that are worth a lot of money
- You visit clients’ homes and business premises to work
Umbrella Insurance vs. Excess Liability
When researching commercial umbrella policies, you may come across excess liability policies.
Excess liability policies are similar to umbrella insurance, but they are not the same. Umbrella insurance plans tend to be more comprehensive, and excess liability policies are more rigid and inflexible.
Both plans are designed to bolster existing insurance policies, but there are more rules and restrictions with an excess liability policy versus commercial umbrella insurance.
A commercial umbrella policy can protect your business when other policies reach their limits.
If you’re looking for ways to protect your business, and you don’t already have commercial umbrella coverage, contact us today to discuss it further.
