How To Determine The Right Umbrella Limit For Your Contracting Business

How much umbrella insurance does a contractor actually need? For many contractors, the answer isn't determined by revenue alone. Your contracts, vehicles, project size, job locations, completed operations exposure, and the potential severity of a single accident can all affect how much umbrella coverage makes sense. And sometimes you don't get to choose at all. A general contractor, building owner, municipality, or other customer may require you to carry a $5 million or $10 million umbrella before you're allowed to start a project. The worst time to discover that requirement is after you've already signed the contract. In this video, I explain: • How to think about umbrella limits for a contracting business • Why contract requirements often determine your limit • How fleet exposure can create catastrophic liability claims • Why the type and location of your projects matter • How completed operations can create large claims years later • Why insurance companies are becoming more cautious about high umbrella limits • How $5M, $10M, and larger limits may require multiple insurance companies • What information to have ready when requesting higher limits • Why a larger umbrella won't necessarily fix an underlying coverage gap The goal isn't simply to buy as much insurance as possible. It's to understand what one realistically bad accident could cost your company—and make sure your insurance program is built accordingly. If you're taking on larger projects, review the insurance requirements with your broker before you sign the contract. Finding out you need significantly higher limits after you've already committed to the work can create an expensive problem. 00:00 Understanding Umbrella Insurance Needs 02:30 When Your Contract Mandates Umbrella Higher Limits 04:02 Choosing the Correct Umbrella Limit 06:04 Evaluation the Riskiness of your Projects 07:59 Completed Operations and Less Obvious Factors 09:29 Why Insurance Companies Are Limiting Umbrella Limits 11:20 Information that Underwriters Want to See 13:35 Buying a Large Umbrella Doesn't Address Underlying Coverage Gaps WORK WITH ME https://bitnerhenry.com/daryl-henry/