Coverage
Umbrella Insurance
Liability protection that goes beyond your standard policies. Especially important if you own a home, drive, or have a teen driver.
Umbrella insurance is the coverage most people don't think about until they need it — and by then it's too late to buy. I'm Baruch Clawson, an independent insurance advisor in Plano, and I help Collin County families put a layer of liability protection above their home and auto policies that guards everything they've worked to build. Here's what it is, who actually needs it, and why it costs far less than most people assume.
What umbrella insurance actually does
Your home and auto policies each include liability coverage — but only up to their limits. If you're responsible for an accident that causes damage beyond those limits, you're personally on the hook for the rest: your savings, your home equity, even your future income can be exposed to a judgment.
An umbrella policy sits on top of your existing home and auto liability and extends it, usually in million-dollar increments. If your auto liability tops out and a serious claim exceeds it, the umbrella picks up where your underlying policy stops. It's a wide safety net over everything you own.
Who needs it (probably more people than think they do)
Umbrella coverage isn't just for the wealthy. In an area like the Plano corridor, where home values and household assets are well above the national average, a lot of families have more to protect than they realize. You should seriously consider umbrella coverage if you own a home, have teen drivers on your auto policy, own a pool, have a dog, own a rental property, or simply have assets and future income worth shielding from a lawsuit.
Teen drivers are the one I flag most often. The years your kids are learning to drive are exactly when your household's liability exposure is highest — and exactly when an umbrella policy earns its keep.
Surprisingly affordable for what it covers
Here's what surprises most people: a million dollars of umbrella coverage typically costs only a few hundred dollars a year. Relative to the protection it provides, it's one of the best values in insurance — a small premium standing between you and a catastrophic out-of-pocket judgment. When I show clients the price next to the coverage, the reaction is almost always "that's it?"
It works best alongside your home and auto
Umbrella policies require certain underlying liability limits on your home and auto before they kick in, which is exactly why they're easiest to set up with an independent agent who's already looking at your whole picture. Because I shop 30+ carriers, I can line up your home, auto, and umbrella so the underlying limits are right and the whole structure fits together — the right coverage at the right price, not whatever one company happens to sell.
Let's see if umbrella coverage makes sense for you
Here's how simple this is. Pick whichever feels easiest:
— tell me a little about your situation and I'll look at whether umbrella coverage fits, then reach back out with real numbers. No spam, no obligation.
— grab a time and we'll talk through your exposure and your options, no pressure.
Or just call me — 214.315.2274. A real person in Plano, not a call center.
A few hundred dollars a year to protect everything you've built is a conversation worth ten minutes.