Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.
Umbrella and excess liability stack extra limit on top of your general liability, commercial auto and employers liability. It pays once the policy underneath runs out.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What umbrella and excess liability businesses actually need.
Excess limit
Additional cover above the underlying policies, in increments of a million.
Without it — A serious injury claim runs past a $1M primary limit and the balance is the business’s to find.
Contract compliance
The limit a customer, landlord or general contractor requires before they will sign.
Without it — The contract is not signed and the work does not start.
Where umbrella and excess liability shows up.
- Contractor
A single serious injury exhausts a $1M limit and the balance comes from the company.
- Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance
One serious auto or injury claim exhausts a $1M primary limit, and municipal and HOA contracts often require more than that before you start.
- Tree Service & Arborist
A tree through an occupied structure exhausts a primary limit before the repair is even scoped.
- Snow & Ice Management
Commercial lots and property management contracts routinely require limits above primary, and a bad ice event produces several claims at once.
- Irrigation & Sprinkler Contractors
Water damage inside a finished building escalates past a primary limit faster than almost any other landscape loss.
- Trucking
A serious highway accident runs past primary limits quickly, and trucking verdicts are among the largest there are.
- Janitorial & Cleaning
Larger property management contracts routinely require limits above the primary policy.
- Film & Entertainment
Studios and networks routinely require limits well above a primary policy before they will contract.
- Directional Boring
Utility strike claims and the outages behind them exhaust primary limits quickly.
- Tow Truck & Recovery
Rotation contracts and municipal work routinely require limits above primary before you can be on the list.
- Tanker & Hazmat
Tanker losses combine bodily injury, property damage and remediation in a single event, which is how primary limits disappear.
- Refrigerated Freight
Highway severity in refrigerated lanes is the same as any other long-haul operation.
- Livestock Hauling
An overturned livestock load closes a highway and produces claims from well beyond the vehicles involved.
- Auto Transport
Highway severity plus a high-value load is the combination that exhausts primary limits.
- Hot Shot Trucking
Severity does not scale down with the truck — a highway accident is a highway accident.
- Box Truck & Straight Truck
A straight truck in city traffic still produces serious injury claims.
- Last Mile & Delivery Contractors
Delivery contracts commonly require limits well above primary before you can start.
- Dump Truck & Aggregate Hauling
Construction contracts require limits above primary, and a raised bed into a power line is a catastrophic loss.
- Local & Short-Haul Trucking
Municipal and commercial delivery contracts frequently require limits above primary.
- Regional & Intermediate Radius
Shippers and brokers at this level begin requiring limits above primary as a condition of the contract.
- Long Haul Trucking
Trucking verdicts are among the largest there are, and a primary limit rarely survives a serious highway accident.
- Public Auto & Passenger Transport
One incident produces as many claimants as there are seats, which is how a primary limit disappears in a single event.
- Bus, Limo & Charter
A full vehicle produces many claimants from one event, which is how limits are exhausted.
- Non-Emergency Medical Transport
Broker and authority contracts routinely require limits above primary before you can be credentialed.
- Taxi & Rideshare Fleets
City authority requirements and a serious passenger injury both push past primary limits.
- Allied Health & Therapy Practices
Vendor contracts and hospital affiliations routinely require limits above primary.
- Regional Center Vendors
Larger vendorizations and school or facility affiliations push required limits above primary.
- Glass Contractors & Glaziers
Commercial contracts require limits above primary, and a fall from height exhausts them.
- Carpentry & Framing Contractors
Residential developers and general contractors require limits above primary before a crew starts.
- Hardscape & Retaining Walls
Structural failure claims and the earth movement behind them exhaust primary limits quickly.
- Pressure & Soft Washing
Commercial and property management contracts require limits above primary.
- Mobile Mechanics & Heavy Truck Repair
Fleet accounts and roadside contracts require limits above primary, and a highway incident exhausts them.
- Roofing Contractors
General contractors and property managers require limits above primary, and a fall claim exhausts them.
What umbrella and excess liability operators ask us.
Umbrella or excess — is there a difference?
Technically yes. A true umbrella can be slightly broader than the policies beneath it and may drop down to cover some claims the underlying policy excludes. Excess liability simply follows the underlying form exactly. In practice the words are used interchangeably in the market, so the thing to check is whether the form is "following form" or not.
Why is it so cheap relative to the limit?
Because it only pays after the primary limit is gone, and most claims never get there. You are buying the tail of the distribution — infrequent, severe events. That is also why raising a $1M primary to $2M usually costs more than adding a $1M umbrella on top, and why the umbrella is the better buy.