Personal Umbrella Policy

[Hazel Llanos Collado]

Hi everyone! Hope you're doing great! I'm Hazel and I'm helping my boss know more about PUP. My question is: How does a personal umbrella policy protect business assets like rental properties held in LLCs or land trust?

Also, I would like to ask for your thoughts on what's the best way to obtain or be covered by an umbrella policy even if you do not own personal property or personal automobiles.

As what I read and what the agents I spoke with said, this isn’t possible. Below are the points I gathered from reading online:

• "You must already carry auto or property insurance, usually homeowners, to qualify."
• "Depending on the terms of the insurance company, but generally, they require to buy a minimum amount of auto and/or "home insurance liability coverage before you can add umbrella coverage.

"The above reasons are also why the umbrella insurance is so cheap. You have to carry plenty of homeowners and auto liability insurance before an insurance company will issue you an umbrella policy. It is fairly common to receive the commercial umbrella policy proposal at the last minute—in part because the commercial umbrella policy’s pricing and terms are usually contingent on the terms, conditions, and pricing of the underlying insurance, which must first be established to finalize the umbrella proposal. So basically, this is also why most insurance companies don’t offer stand-alone umbrella policies. You’d have to have your auto/homeowners insurance with the same company."

But I have read that umbrella insurance covers not just the policyholder, but also other members of his/her family or household. So if one doesn't have a property/auto to their name, in which they can't be directly insured of, is it right that the only option to be covered by an insurance is to be listed as a family member who is insured by a PUP? 

Looking forward to know your thoughts. Thanks, everyone!

Hazel