Umbrella Insurance

Umbrella policies are not just for the rich. Sure, they start out at 1 million dollars in coverage, but if you have a job, own a home, have a car, own some furniture, or have any other assets; you may well need and want an umbrella policy to protect those assets.

Some of the major aspects of an umbrella policy:

• Umbrella policies are liability insurance. They only apply if you are liable (responsible) for some loss.
• They work “in excess” of your current home or auto policy.
• May provide for personal injury liability (like slander, false arrest, etc.)

Call us at 702-547-1900 or read below for a more detailed description of coverage’s found in a typical Umbrella policy. You can also fill out our contact form and someone will contact you!

Umbrella Insurance Facts

You may have heard of umbrella liability insurance and wondered what it was. Well, an umbrella policy doesn't protect you from the rain, but it will protect your "rainy day" assets!! An umbrella policy is designed to provide at least $1,000,000 coverage ON TOP OF the coverage you already carry in your auto and home policies. (If you don't own a home, remember that you still need renters insurance to cover your belongings and provide your liability.)

It is often called "excess liability" because it provides the coverage in excess of the underlying coverage’s you already have. There are a few requirements for your underlying coverage - most insurance companies require that your auto liability be $250,000 bodily injury per person and $500,000 per occurrence and the property damage liability must be $100,000 - i.e., 250/500/100. Your personal liability found in your home or renters policy must be $300,000 or $500,000 depending on the company requirements. Once you have met these requirements, you can apply for limits in your umbrella of $1-5 million and often up to $10 million.

Examples: You have the required auto coverage, and own a $5,000,000 umbrella. You have a major auto accident and the party you injured is awarded $3,000,000. Your auto carrier will pay $250,000 and your umbrella will pay $2,500,000. You pay nothing!! Or your neighbor's child drowns in your pool; judgment against you is $2,000,000. Your homeowner's carrier pays $500,000; your umbrella pays $1,500,000. You pay nothing!!

Many people think umbrella policies are for the rich or the premiums are high - not true. Of course the rich may purchase an umbrella but it is also for the average person who wants to protect their current assets and future earnings. If you have worked for 20 years, worked hard to build your retirement funds and want to ensure that whatever liability situation should unfortunately happen in life that all that work and all those assets are protected. As for the cost of an umbrella, it can be amazing inexpensive. A typical couple with one home and two cars can usually purchase a $1,000,000 umbrella for about $200/year.

You can also provide the umbrella coverage over your "toys" - i.e., RV's, motorcycles, boats, etc. Pricing an umbrella is based purely on "count" - how many things do you own. If that same couple has 2 rental homes, a motorhome, and a classic auto, the premium will be a bit more because you have more properties it will cover but it is still inexpensive.

Finally, many umbrella policies provide coverage for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with your cars or homes. Most provide personal injury liability which includes false arrest, malicious prosecution, defamation, invasion of privacy, libel, slander, wrongful entry or eviction. Some provide coverage for you if you are sued in connection with any charitable or non-compensated positions, boards or organizations of which you are a member.

Flood Insurance

Flood Insurance!? In the desert? You better believe it, the Las Vegas Valley has many areas that are prone to floods during periods of heavy rain. It always pays to be informed about the possibility of natural disasters.

Here are some things you should be aware of:

• Flood policies are available here at Sage, but they are ALL underwritten by FEMA.
• You can find information about the national flood program on the FEMA website
• Flood policies may also cover mudslides and earth erosion if you live near a body of water.
• As of September 2007, there were 16,700 flood policies in force in Nevada.

Call us at 702-547-1900 or read below for a more detailed description of coverage’s found in a typical Umbrella policy. You can also fill out our contact form and someone will contact you!

Flood Insurance Facts

Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 to reduce future flood damage through floodplain management, and to provide people with flood insurance through individual agents and insurance companies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) manages the NFIP. You obtain your policies through us, your agent, but they are "underwritten" by the government and the rates are set by territory.

What is Flood? Flood insurance covers direct physical loss caused by "flood" which is basically an excess of water on land that is normally dry. Here is part of the official definition used by NFIP:

A Flood is "A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from: overflow of inland or tidal waters, unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, mudflow or collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water..."

A flood insurance policy covers only 1 thing - flood!! You can add contents coverage to your policy; it is NOT a guaranteed replacement policy and it has maximum limits your can purchase.

The NFIP offers coverage for (1) residential building property up to $250,000 and (2) personal property up to $100,000. If you own a home that would cost $400,000 to replace, the maximum you can purchase under the NFIP flood policy is $250,000. However, we can also provide a quote through other carriers for excess flood coverage. The residential flood policy will cover up to a 4-unit building and the General Property Form is used to insure 5 or more family residential buildings and commercial buildings.

Everyone is in a flood zone. In southern Nevada, most of us are in zone "X" which is a preferred zone. The government has a preferred flood policy for people who want flood insurance and you have 9 choices of coverage’s on your home from $20,000 to $250,000. If your zone is "A", "AO" or "AE", you are in a higher risk flood area and, if you have a mortgage, are probably required to have flood insurance.

Earthquake Insurance

Earthquakes! A natural disaster that is liable to hit anyplace, and not just in California. Although much of Nevada has been spared any really catastrophic seismic events in the recent past, there is no reason to believe we are not susceptible.

• Earthquakes are NOT covered on your standard homeowners policy.
• Earthquakes are NOT covered on your standard homeowners policy. (OH, did I say that already?)

Call us at 702-547-1900 or read below for a more detailed description of earthquake insurance. You can also fill out our contact form and someone will contact you!

Earthquake Insurance Facts

The 2 most important things to know about earthquake insurance are: (1) your homeowner's policy does not cover earthquake damage and (2) the deductible on earthquake works differently than any deductible you've had on any other policy.

Earthquakes have occurred in 39 states since 1990 and about 90% of the U.S. population live in areas considered seismically active. From the map below, you can see that Nevada is an earthquake-active state and if you have lived in Las Vegas for many years, you have felt them. Fortunately, in southern Nevada we have not had any damage of note but it is definitely a possibility.

Most insurance companies (but not all) will provide earthquake coverage to be endorsed to your homeowner's policy. Rates vary by company but you can count on the rates being at least $2-3/$1,000 coverage. For example, if your home is insured at $200,000, the earthquake premium will be at least $400-$600/year.

Deductibles for earthquake coverage are not the typical $500 or $1,000 you have on your home. They are, at a minimum, 10% of the value of your home applied separately to your home, other structures and contents. Another example: your home is insured at $200,000 which automatically gives you $20,000 coverage for other structures and normally $140,000 on your contents. In this case, your deductibles would be $20,000 for damage to the home; $2,000 for damage to any other structure (wall, fence, shed, etc) and $14,000 for damage to your contents. Unless the earthquake damage exceeds these limits, you would not have a claim. On the other hand, if you have major damage to your dwelling, it will be a lot easier to figure out how to come up with $20,000 on the home than $200,000!!