If you have a lot of assets then absolutely. The more you have to lose...the more you have to protect it...Umbrella covers a lot more than auto liability. If post man slips on your property, he/she can sue and you could be on the hook.

Just get it. $2m costs what, $600 / yr? No lawyer is going to sue you for more than that if you have that coverage so you have insulated yourself from the economic damage of a personal lawsuit.

I've got an umbrella. Spans all your liability, home and auto. But you'll have to increase you underlying limits, prob to $500k.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I have it as well. I think for the cost it is the best insurance I have. Doubles my coverage for something like 300 dollars a year and covers all sorts of stuff.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

But what if you cause and accident killing or maiming several people. They each can sue so 2M is not excessive.

I carry for a couple of reasons, the first of which is to protect myself from lawsuits, and the second but almost as important to me... maybe more so; If I cause an accident that requires someone needs 24/7 nursing care I want there to be enough money to take care of them for the rest of their life.

 
There are a couple things to consider. Yes, your underlying limits on auto and renters/home will need to be higher before they will offer the umbrella so you have a cost increase on the underlying policies then the cost of the umbrella. The coverage is generally cheap, depending on situation I can offer $1mil for around $200 per year to most people.

Do you need it? That is up to you. What is your net worth? What assets do you have to lose? If you rent a studio, drive a 1990 Civic and have $1,500 in the bank then no, you probably don't need it as most attorneys are going to know better than to try to squeeze anything out of you. Do you have significant liquid and non-liquid assets? Is your income level high enough that someone might try to garnish? If so it is cheap, may be worth it.

Another question to ask your agent is, is the umbrella an "excess liability" policy or a true "drop down" umbrella? The excess is just more money on top of what your renters or auto policy covers already and will state as such. A true umbrella covers situations that a renters or auto policy does not cover. For example, your renters might not cover you when you knock someone onto the train tracks in Denmark as you are out of the country. If your policy excludes that then your excess will not help you either. If you have a true umbrella it will likely not have an out of the country exclusion so while your renters would deny the claim the umbrella will cover it. So be sure to ask what type of umbrella it is and what exclusions it might include.

Your location can be a factor too. My practice is in Idaho, I don't see many claims that go over $100k. But we don't have Bentleys driving down the freeway and are not quite as litigious as some other states. Live in Cali or Seattle? May be a good idea as property values and incomes are higher there. You put a silicon valley tech out of work for 6 months, it is going to cost a lot more than if you put the $10hr employee out of work.

I have it and would not go without it. Two primary factors in my case. (1) In my job, I am a potential target. While many people think twice before suing a lawyer, as a management side labor lawyer, I attract my share of disgruntled individuals who may seem me as a target. (2) My net worth is not huge, but enough to be a target. I believe all the partners in my firm carry an umbrella policy for these same reasons. So, consider whether you fit in to this same category. If so, definitely do it. If not, consider the other factors mentioned in this thread. If nothing else, it is peace of mind for relatively little annual cost.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

What about potential for future earnings/net worth. If you just graduated and have good income potential, I was under the impression an umbrella policy is a good idea. if they sue you for a large event, can't they garnish all future earning up to the settlement amount? I.e. so you are working for bare minimum. Also is any future inheritance at risk of being taken?