An umbrella is thought of as cover for physical accidents. It also responds to claims that involve no physical injury at all, and those are the ones a modern household is most likely to generate without noticing.
Personal injury cover includes libel, slander and invasion of privacy. A review or a post can become a claim.
Three things about liability that does not involve anybody being hurt.
In an umbrella, personal injury generally means libel, slander, defamation, false arrest, malicious prosecution and invasion of privacy. It is a separate grant of cover from bodily injury. A strongly worded review of a contractor, or a post about a neighbor, can produce a claim in this category from a household that has never had an accident.
Some policies include personal injury automatically, some offer it as an option and some exclude it. It is one of the real differences between umbrellas that otherwise look identical on price, and it is rarely what gets compared.
Most defamation claims are defended rather than paid, and defending one is expensive. An umbrella that pays defense costs, often outside the limit, is doing the useful work long before any judgment exists.
The clauses that distinguish one umbrella from another.
Included, optional or excluded. It varies and it is worth asking about by name.
When they sit inside it, a long defense erodes the cover you are paying for.
Business pursuits are excluded, and the line matters for anyone posting in a professional capacity.
Send your current limits and tell us whether your umbrella includes personal injury.
