This isn't really the case, while traditionally one's personal liability coverage comes from a homeowners or renters policy, you can obtain a stand alone personal liability policy and then either an umbrella or personal excess liability...umbrella covering all of your exposures such as home, auto and watercraft; personal excess would just be additional personal liability. While you need a mailing address, it does not have to tie to a residence you actually reside, there are plenty of nomadic and expat folks out there using this, see my previous post on USLI. I can chime in more tomorrow.

East Dallas Ag said:

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Nope they aren't. But what do I know, I do it for a living.

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What's your differentiator?

I don't mean to denigrate you. Seriously. I'm all ears because I'm all about saving money here.

The answer to your question could take a day to write out, but at its core it's what's covered and what's not and how the losses are handled, it can vary dramatically from carrier and policy and the devil is most defintely in the details...but if it were a commodity, it would all be the same, no?

Not to offend but when someone says insurance is a commodity it's the most obvious sign they do not have a full understanding of insurance.

I think you're getting some bad advice, but it can depend on your specific situation.

I think the best comparison to insurance is car companies/brands. A Toyota Corolla and a MB S550 both have 4 doors, 4 wheels a steering wheel and can get you where you need to go, but are they the same?

Happy to discuss with you offline if you like.

I think we have differing definitions of "commodity" here, which probably causes people to view it differently. For example:

- Commodity Design: How the product works, including coverages, deductibles, etc. This is certainly commoditized (and heavily regulated) for a lot of insurance products.

- Commodity Pricing: Meaning little variability in cost for a given coverage. This one can be somewhat true for some products, but it generally is not accurate. Even a super-commoditized product design like term life has wildly varying rates depending on the company offering it. This has many causes, but can include the relative efficiency of a company's operations, the amount of commission paid, historical claims experience, and differing profit targets (i.e. some companies subsidize either home insurance or car insurance to obtain bundled pricing competitiveness, etc.).

- Commodity Service: This one is a gray area, as all companies have some regulation on how they pay claims and process premiums/refunds. The consumer may experience widely differing service levels, depending on the company they're dealing with.

Bottom line - it kind of depends what you as a consumer value, i.e. high touch service vs. absolute lowest price, but overall, I'd lean against calling insurance commoditized overall. My assessment says YES, NO, and MAYBE for the three items above.

I saw this article from A&M Real Estate Center email and thought others may find this helpful regarding the topic of liability and land. Its lengthy, but informative.

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Land-Occupier's-Liability-Guide-2380

Well of course it is not a commodity to you....

I think Insurance is largely a commodity, can it be tailored to a personal need, yes. But anything like Whole live or variable life is complete garbage for 99.9% of people.

ok.

Farmers just quoted me $965 for $1M. Nothing special being covered. I feel like I'm doing the insurance game wrong.

Kids? Pool? Watercraft? Vacation home?

380Ag said:

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Farmers just quoted me $965 for $1M. Nothing special being covered. I feel like I'm doing the insurance game wrong.

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Use a broker. Let them do that work.

Yes, yes, no and no

Kids and pool increase the premium as do auto accidents, especially if it's on the kids driving record. $250/500/100 auto liability limits make umbrella more costly than $500,000 CSL

so many variables.

I have an umbrella policy but this calculator says I actually don't need it.

I feel better having it, but wonder how accurate that crude calculator is. The bulk of my net worth is either 401K or equity in primary residence, and my auto and home insurance have decent liability coverage.

USAA charged me $494 on first million - teen drivers, at fault accident on wife's record, pool - seems high

I'm about $180 on 1M through State Farm. Sounds like I need to negotiate it down.

Just paid $327 for 1mm coverage. Maybe should have got more, idk. 2 cars, 2 rental homes 1 with a pool and a primary residence with a pool on a little land.

I'm at $188 at USAA for first million.

Complete Idiot said:

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I have an umbrella policy but this calculator says I actually don't need it.

I feel better having it, but wonder how accurate that crude calculator is. The bulk of my net worth is either 401K or equity in primary residence, and my auto and home insurance have decent liability coverage.

USAA charged me $494 on first million - teen drivers, at fault accident on wife's record, pool - seems high

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. ________________________________________________DISREGARD the calculator and answer this QUESTION. If one person's liquid net worth is $500,000 and another's is $5,000,000, which one needs the most an umbrella of $1,000,000 or more? (Assume that each has a policy limit of $300,000.) The obvious answer is the one whose net worth is $500,000. An $800,000 judgment would wipe out the $500,000 net worth and only put an ugly dent in the $5,000,000 net worth.

if no one can get their grubby hands on my retirement accounts or house...do I really need an umbrella policy?

hmmm

strbrst777 said:

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Complete Idiot said:

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I have an umbrella policy but this calculator says I actually don't need it.

I feel better having it, but wonder how accurate that crude calculator is. The bulk of my net worth is either 401K or equity in primary residence, and my auto and home insurance have decent liability coverage.

USAA charged me $494 on first million - teen drivers, at fault accident on wife's record, pool - seems high

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. ________________________________________________DISREGARD the calculator and answer this QUESTION. If one person's liquid net worth is $500,000 and another's is $5,000,000, which one needs the most an umbrella of $1,000,000 or more? (Assume that each has a policy limit of $300,000.) The obvious answer is the one whose net worth is $500,000. An $800,000 judgment would wipe out the $500,000 net worth and only put an ugly dent in the $5,000,000 net worth.

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$800k is not an ugly dent on $5MM net worth. $80k maybe.

I would cover your vulnerable assets up to the amount of a reasonable anticipated loss, which could easily stretch into $2MM to $3MM. Past that you probably did something illegal and your insurance will wish you luck.

GoAgs92 said:

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if no one can get their grubby hands on my retirement accounts or house...do I really need an umbrella policy?

hmmm

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Considering you will undoubted win the lottery the day after someone breaks their neck falling down your stairs, then I would rethink taking a "go naked" approach. They can still get a judgment against you even if you cannot pay it right away.