Palm Beach County | Umbrella Policy |Car accident Lawyer

How is an umbrella policy treated when you have been involved in a Palm Beach County car accident?

First, if you have been injured in a Palm Beach County car accident because of the negligence of another driver, your first line of defense after calling the police should be to contact a knowledgeable Palm Beach County accident attorney. In the context of automobile policies, an umbrella policy can be seen as an extra layer of coverage that kicks in when your primary limits have been exhausted. The umbrella policy will usually have an explanation when you purchase that it is excess over other valid and collectible insurance. Generally, to be effective, the policy will state that the insured must maintain underlying or primary insurance. These policies are usually much cheaper to obtain because they don’t kick in until the other required insurance has been exhausted. Now that there is a fundamental understanding on umbrella policies, let us discuss how they have been treated in accident cases. In a landmark Florida case that saw five insurance carriers that insured either the owner or negligent driver of the vehicle, the court found that the lessor’s insurer was responsible for the first $10,000 because it failed to comply with the requirements to shift liability. However, the umbrella policy wouldn’t kick in until the two other primary policies had been exhausted. The Florida courts have tended to give favorable treatment to umbrella policies in most situations, but there are instances that umbrella policy carriers have been placed as primary carriers over policies designed to provide primary coverage. In National Indemnity Co. v. Home Insurance Co., 345 So.2d 1077 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), the court placed the driver’s umbrella policy over the owner’s primary policy. The National Indemnity court seemed to hold fast that the excess insurer (umbrella policy) for the negligent driver should be liable after payment from the lessor’s insurer. Also, that court departed from the norm of looking at insurance policies and practices for liabilities to the dangerous instrumentality doctrine and rental agreements. Sometimes, it is not predictable to assess how a particular court will rule but it is always best to be prepared with plausible arguments for the court to consider. Only by consulting and retaining a knowledgeable Palm Beach County accident attorney will you ensure that your side of the story is well represented!