Ohio Commercial Umbrella Insurance

In Ohio, Commercial Umbrella Insurance can extend the coverage of several of your primary liability coverages:

  • General Liability Insurance
  • Employer’s Liability Insurance
  • Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial Umbrella Insurance provides additional protection when you’ve reached the liability limit of the underlying policy. It also fills in coverage gaps and sometimes increases your coverage, such as extending your coverage territory. Most policies have a type of deductible, called a self-insured retention (SIR), that you pay for each occurrence, a mechanism that makes the coverage more affordable. Costs and coverage for an Ohio Commercial Umbrella Insurance policy vary significantly depending on the insurer, the limits, and the specific coverages you purchase. It’s important to review all exclusions carefully.

We can help you assess whether an Ohio Commercial Umbrella Insurance policy makes sense for your business. If so, we will find the best coverage to meet your unique situation and needs. While you don’t want to pay for coverage that you don’t need, you also don’t want to be exposed to risk that can be affordably addressed. That’s where our experienced team at Hitchings Insurance can help. We evaluate your coverage, help you assess your risk, and determine the best coverage plan for umbrella excess liability to fit your unique circumstances.

We invite you to learn why so many of your neighboring businesses trust Hitchings Insurance Agency to protect their operations. Discover the difference yourself – fill out a free quote form or call us at 419-423-9145 so we can help with your excess liability insurance.

ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is commercial umbrella insurance?

This is an insurance plan that provides extra layers of liability coverage over a commercial insurance plan. It varies by need, but most of the time these commercial umbrella insurance plans add a layer of liability over the General Liability, Auto Liability, Employers Liability, Directors and Officers Liability, Products Liability, and other coverage forms based on individual needs. These policies can be purchased in million-dollar increments, and we’ve seen them as high as $25 million.

Our answer is always yes! You don’t need to be a millionaire to be sued by one is a common statement in our business. If you are working with any type of commercial operation, you will likely be required by contract to carry some sort of umbrella excess liability.

It depends on what you do for a living. Contractors umbrella plans cost between $500-1000 per $1mm of coverage per year. Medical malpractice umbrella insurance can be significantly more, whereas retail operations and nonprofits commercial umbrella insurance could be significantly less. The first million of coverage is always the most expensive, and each additional million of coverage costs less.

The quick answer is no. They are not the same, although they are similar. An excess liability insurance policy is used to provide coverage over one liability policy. A commercial umbrella is used to provide coverage over multiple liability policies.

Damage to personal property and personal belongings are not covered. Other things that are not covered include intentional criminal acts, injuries to yourself, uncovered exposures such as recreational vehicle liability, and dog bite liability from uncovered dog breeds.

Any business! Especially those businesses that have an auto exposure, a product being sold or manufactured, or any business who offers a service. As you can see, it is pretty much every business.

An umbrella policy intended to cover a high-net-worth customer or business. A high value umbrella plan would be in excess of $10mm in coverage.

The answer is straightforward.  We define a small business as any organization that has less than $10 million in annual sales. However, you could argue a small business is anything under $100 million in annual sales. Ask yourself…can your business sustain a large loss without carrying a small business umbrella insurance policy? You don’t have to be a millionaire to be sued like one! This is a common statement we use because it’s true.

Consider this example. Let’s say you own a construction company with 20 vehicles. One of your employees falls asleep at the wheel on his way to a job site early in the morning and causes a fatal accident. This is going to be a messy situation. Not only are you responsible for the property damages that are caused, but you are also going to be responsible for all subsequent medical bills, emergency transport, and loss of potential earnings of the victim. If a judge awards a settlement to the victim’s estate for millions of dollars, how are you going to pay for it? Without an umbrella policy, you would need cash reserves or assets to sell off. It could even mean it’s the moment you go out of business. If these do not sound like viable options, an umbrella policy is needed for you and your small business.

Classes of business:

  • Apartments
  • Condo Associations
  • Strip Malls
  • Warehousing Operations
  • Co-Ops
  • Senior Housing
  • Independent Housing
  • Townhouse associations
  • Single Family Rentals
  • Multi Family Rentals
  • Any general commercial real estate

Why is it important?

You have an asset that is worth protecting. There are 100s of claims scenarios that can cause a financial loss to your business. Common lawsuits we see against property owners are from slip and fall claims on ice, snow, or wet sidewalks or parking lots, dog bites from tenants’ dogs, professional errors and omissions for associations, and general injuries to patrons for properties with safety hazards. Real Estate umbrella insurance is affordable and can protect your investment from being lost in litigation.

The only commonality between the two coverage forms is in relation to the dwelling coverage. This would be for the insurance coverage on the home itself. An active farm cannot be endorsed correctly on a homeowner’s policy coverage form and leaves far too many gaps in coverage. If you have livestock, plant row crops or vegetables, manufacture a food product or grow anything else with the intent to sell the commodity, you likely need a farm insurance policy.

Standalone commercial umbrellas are called upon in various situations. A majority of regional and state-specific insurance carriers are limited by their reinsurance treaties, which restricts what these carriers can offer. They often have a cap set on liability limits for various classes of business. It is very common for the cap to be set at $5 million, which in a lot of cases is insufficient for business clients. A standalone umbrella may be the only recourse for a client and can be referred to as an excess umbrella. This is essentially a secondary standalone commercial umbrella policy to the original underlying umbrella.

How much insurance can be purchased with a standalone option? We have issued secondary standalone commercial umbrellas for up to $17 million for small business clients in the past 3 years. These standalone commercial umbrellas are fully underwritten. Pricing is factored by class of business, sales, payroll, and other items. Higher limits would be available should the coverage limit have merit.

What is the cost? Pricing is similar to primary umbrellas, but it can fluctuate up or down based on the risk profile of the business.

Small business umbrella insurance is a standard business expense and can generally be deducted. We are not CPAs though, so we would advise that you reach out directly to your company’s CPA firm to confirm.