Commercial · Umbrella & Excess
Commercial umbrella when your limits aren't enough.
Extra liability limits — $1M to $10M — stacked over your general liability, commercial auto, and employer's liability. Cheap for what it does, and often required by the contracts you want to sign.
What it covers
More limit, right where you need it.
A commercial umbrella provides additional liability limits above your underlying policies. When a serious claim blows past your general liability, auto, or employer's liability limit, the umbrella picks up the next layer — inexpensively, because claims that large are rare but catastrophic.
Over general liability
Extends your GL limit for a large injury or property-damage claim.
Get a quoteOver commercial auto
Adds limit above your business auto liability after a serious accident.
Get a quoteOver employer's liability
Sits above the employer's-liability portion of workers' comp (in private-market states).
Get a quoteContract compliance
The higher limits leases, municipalities, and general contractors require before you can sign.
Get a quoteDefense costs
Continues your defense once underlying limits are exhausted.
Get a quoteDrop-down gap fill
Some umbrellas fill certain gaps in the underlying coverage as well as adding limit.
Get a quote· A market of A+ insurance companies
Who needs it
Contract-driven and higher-exposure businesses.
Any business whose contracts or leases demand limits above their base policies — contractors, businesses with fleets, and anyone with foot traffic or significant assets. If a single bad claim could exceed your GL or auto limit, the umbrella is the cheapest way to add protection.
What drives your price
- Your underlying policies and limits
- Industry risk profile
- Annual revenue
- Fleet size and driving exposure
- Loss history
- The umbrella limit you choose
Umbrella vs. Excess Liability
| Umbrella | Excess Liability | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Adds limit over several policies; may fill some gaps | Adds limit over one specific policy |
| Coverage terms | Its own (often broader) terms | Follows the underlying policy's terms |
| Typical use | Broad top-up across GL/auto/EL | Targeted extra limit on one line |
Common mistakes we fix
- Buying a limit too low for what the contract actually requires.
- Assuming the umbrella extends over professional liability or cyber (it usually doesn't).
- Carrying underlying limits too low to satisfy the umbrella's requirements.
- Failing to schedule every underlying policy the umbrella needs to sit over.
Go deeper
Related reading
Questions clients ask
Quick answers, no jargon.
Prefer to talk it through? A licensed advisor picks up: 206 · 363 · 1110.
- Extra liability coverage that sits above your underlying policies — general liability, commercial auto, and employer's liability. When a claim exceeds those limits, the umbrella adds the next $1M or more.
- Enough to satisfy your contracts and protect your assets. Many client and municipal contracts specify a required umbrella limit; beyond that, size it to what a worst-case claim could reach.
- Excess liability adds limit over one specific policy and follows its terms. An umbrella sits over several policies at once and often has its own, sometimes broader, terms — and may fill certain gaps.
- Usually not. Umbrellas typically extend over general liability, auto, and employer's liability — not professional liability or cyber, which need their own limits.
- Often surprisingly little relative to the protection, because large claims are rare. The exact cost depends on your underlying exposure, industry, and loss history — we'll quote it with your base policies.
- Umbrellas require minimum underlying limits on your GL, auto, and employer's liability before they'll sit on top. We make sure your base policies meet those requirements so there's no gap between layers.