How much liability coverage do you need?
Our guideline: carry liability at least equal to 2.5 times your household income or your net worth, whichever is greater. A serious lawsuit goes after both what you have and what you'll earn.
Everything you own minus everything you owe.
It's the first pair of numbers on your auto declarations page. 100/300 means $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.
State minimums are low. Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee all require 25/50/25: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage. One emergency room visit and a new pickup can use that up.
This is the guideline INS. uses when we review a policy. It isn't a legal standard, and it isn't legal or financial advice.
Umbrella policies
What an umbrella does
A personal umbrella adds liability coverage on top of your auto and home policies. When a claim uses up the limit on one of those, the umbrella picks up from there.
It's usually sold in $1 million amounts and often costs less than people expect. The catch is that umbrella carriers require minimum limits on the policies underneath, so we look at all three together.