Umbrella Insurance Policy

[kcinnick]

Well, when looking for a product liability insurance policy, it was recommended that I could get a Umbrella Insurance Policy much cheaper, but the person helping me out is from out of state and not as familiar with our ass backwards Napoleonic Code.

Any way, does anybody have a recommendation for a good independent insurance agent or know of a good company to deal with for an Personal Umbrella Policy. My main concern is to protect my assets.

Thanks

 

[BOSS302]

I have an umbrella policy through state farm. The policy itself is not expensive, but the fact that you have to carry at least a certain amount of coverage across your vehicles and such can make it seem like more than it really is.

 

[Cochise]

State farm really is the way to go. I'm the only one of my friends that has state farm, and after seeing people I know get screwed around by just about every insurance company I can think of, and comparing that to the incredible ways state farm has taken care of me after wrecks(even when my not-on-policy girlfriend wrecked my camaro),and took care of my grandma when her house caught fire, I'd never even consider going to another insurer.

 

[Storm52]

+1 with State Farm. They do require increased liability amounts for your vehicles. But in this state, it makes sense.

 

[Paladin]

You said

Well, when looking for a product liability insurance policy

, then later you said...

Personal Umbrella Policy

...

I think you will find that State Farm will not cover "Product Liability" on it's personal umbrella policy. If you have some business activity you are trying to get coverage for, you will need a CGL policy (commercial general liability) with a CUP (commercial umbrella policy) on top.

If you are doing something business related out of your home, you will likely find that your home owners policy will exclude coverage for "business pursuits".

What "product" are you trying to get liability insurance for?

 

[kcinnick]

Belts, Holsters, mag pouches, assorted leather goods.

 

[leVieux]

QUOTE: "our ass backwards Napoleonic Code"....................beltman

IANAL, but,

1) Our laws seem some better, some worse, today.

2) LA has a sota blended legal system, anyway.

3) The problem is not Napoleon's Code; it is our allowing our laws to be written by attorneys, for their own benefit.

leVieux

 

[RyanW]

Check out Chubb, they have a lot of options. If you qualify, check out USAA

Sent from my Cyberdyne Deadhand via Skynet

 

[cvinson]

http://www.henryinsuranceservice.com/staff.html

Al Scallan is a friend of ours.

 

[03protege]

How did you set up your business? I did LLC, it wouldn't take much of a lawsuit to clean out my business' property and reserve funds but I know my person would be protected.

On the flip side it wouldn't take much for me to restart which I would imagine be the same for you.

 

[kcinnick]

Corp S. I am considering not putting my equipment in the name of the corporation and just losing out on the tax break benefit. Machines I have cost anywhere from $300-$2500. I have a industrial foot press, strap cutter, industrial leather sewing machine, and pull through belt edger.

Ashley is actually the one with the corporation, she really is the boss...

 

[03protege]

Corp S. I am considering not putting my equipment in the name of the corporation and just losing out on the tax break benefit. Machines I have cost anywhere from $300-$2500. I have a industrial foot press, strap cutter, industrial leather sewing machine, and pull through belt edger.

Ashley is actually the one with the corporation, she really is the boss...

Gotcha I didn't realize you went all in on the equipment. I was really interested in doing leather holsters awhile back but once I looked up how much a sewing machine to handle leather was I lost interest fast!

 

[whitsend]

Corp S. I am considering not putting my equipment in the name of the corporation and just losing out on the tax break benefit. Machines I have cost anywhere from $300-$2500. I have a industrial foot press, strap cutter, industrial leather sewing machine, and pull through belt edger.

Ashley is actually the one with the corporation, she really is the boss...

Can the Corp buy the equipment from you?

 

[kcinnick]

Can the Corp buy the equipment from you?

I am going to discuss everything with my CPA as soon as tax season is over. I intended this just to be a hobby when I had a couple months off work. I went all in, but my day job pays decent and I had a nest egg saved up. My initial investment in equipment was round 3k, but I have much more now. It was hobby for my hobby, just like my reloading room, at this point I am much closer to the break even point on my Leather room than my reloading room!

Right now I am just keeping records of everything I buy.

 

[03protege]

Can the Corp buy the equipment from you?[/QUOTE

Then he could potentially lose it if he is sued. The downside would be not being able to claim it as a business expense.

 

[Praesul Presul]

+1 with State Farm. They do require increased liability amounts for your vehicles. But in this state, it makes sense.

As a transplant to here, many would be surprised this is one of the reasons insurance is so high here. Kind of no everyone paying their fair share thing so lawyers always get involved and they want their piece of the pie.

 

[LACamper]

A personal liability umbrella is a good idea for everyone, but it isn't going to help your business situation. All umbrella policies require a fairly high minimum amount of underlying coverage. If you're worried about your liability situation then carrying the minimum underlying 250/500/100 shouldn't be a big deal. You should be close to there already.

For your business: your business policy should have 1,000,000 in liability coverage. Its not usually that much more than the lower limits. If you did a LLC then you are probably only risking the assets of the business (IANAL!) which shouldn't be all that great in your case.
If the million in coverage isn't enough, or if some of your jobs require it, a CLUP (commercial umbrella) is another option. Same idea as the PLUP, it gives you an additional million (or multiples of) in coverage.

PS Thanks for the props for State Farm guys. If you need anything PM me...

 

[kcinnick]

I have state farm car insurance already, homeowners is through an independent agent. I have pretty substantial coverage on my vehicles, way more than the state minimums.

The issue with my business is it is not my main source of income, we incorporated to separate business assets from our personal as one level of protection if for some reason a catastrophic belt failure is determined to be the cause of something a lawyer wants to sue us for. I talked to other leather workers and they had 1 million dollar policies for $3-500 a year, but the companies that offer that kind of small business craftsmen insurance sound like a broken record "We don't offer any policies in Louisiana"