Coverage above everything else you carry.

A personal umbrella policy covers liability claims that exceed the limits of your home and auto insurance. If you are sued for 1.5 million dollars after an at-fault auto accident and your auto policy caps at 500,000 dollars, the umbrella picks up the gap. Coverage extends to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury (libel, slander, false arrest), and legal defense costs. It does not cover your own property, your business operations, or intentional acts.

Most Houston homeowners with 500,000 dollars or more in assets carry 1 million dollars to 5 million dollars in umbrella coverage. The right number depends on net worth, future earnings, real estate holdings, swimming pool exposure, teenage drivers in the household, rental properties, and recreational assets like boats or ATVs. McDade sizes the limit to the actual exposure, not a default 1 million dollar number that does not match the household.

Standard home and auto liability limits in Texas top out around 500,000 dollars to 1 million dollars per occurrence. Texas jury awards regularly exceed 1 million dollars on serious auto accidents and dog bite claims. An umbrella adds 1 million dollars to 10 million dollars on top for roughly 300 dollars to 700 dollars per year for the first 1 million dollar layer. The math favors umbrella for any household with assets to lose.

Yes. Pool accidents are one of the most common umbrella claim triggers in Houston. Drowning deaths, slip and fall injuries on wet decks, and diving board accidents regularly produce settlements above standard homeowners liability limits. Houston's pool density makes this exposure higher than the national average. Carriers may require fence height, gate locks, or alarms to write the umbrella, especially with children in the household.

A 1 million dollar umbrella policy in Houston typically costs 250 dollars to 500 dollars per year for a standard household. Each additional million costs 75 dollars to 200 dollars on top. Pricing depends on number of vehicles, drivers under 25, swimming pools, rental properties, prior claims, and credit history in Texas-rated carriers. McDade shops 50+ top Texas carriers we know well because umbrella pricing varies more between carriers than home or auto pricing does.

No. Umbrella policies require underlying home and auto liability minimums (typically 300,000 dollars home, 250,000 and 500,000 dollars auto), but those policies can stay with your current carriers. The cleanest setup keeps everything under one broker for renewal alignment and claim coordination, but it is not required to start an umbrella with McDade.

Texas jury awards on liability claims have grown faster than the national average over the past decade. Several factors stack together. Medical cost inflation has driven up bodily injury claim values. Litigation climate in certain Texas counties produces higher verdicts. Social inflation, where juries increasingly view larger awards as appropriate, also lifts settlements. The math behind the 1 million dollar umbrella as a default is dated. Many Houston households now need 2 million dollars to 5 million dollars to match real exposure.