Commercial Umbrella / Excess Insurance
Excess liability limits stacked above your garage liability, auto, and workers' comp — protection against catastrophic, business-ending claims.
A commercial umbrella sits on top of your primary liability policies — garage liability, commercial auto, and employer's liability — and provides additional limits when a catastrophic claim exceeds them. In a business where customers and employees are constantly around moving vehicles, a single severe accident on a test drive or a serious lot injury can produce a judgment far larger than a standard $1,000,000 primary limit. The umbrella is what keeps that judgment from reaching the dealership's assets.
Umbrella coverage is also one of the most cost-efficient limits you can buy. Because it only pays after the underlying policy is exhausted, a few million dollars of excess protection typically costs a small fraction of the primary premium — making it the highest-leverage way to protect a dealership's balance sheet against a worst-case event.
What it covers
- Excess limits above garage liability
- Excess limits above commercial auto / dealer-plate liability
- Excess employer's liability above workers' comp
- Catastrophic bodily-injury judgments
- Large third-party property-damage claims
- Defense costs when primary limits are exhausted
How an umbrella stacks on your dealer program
The umbrella follows your underlying coverages. If your garage liability carries a $1,000,000 limit and a covered claim settles for $2,500,000, the garage policy pays its million and the umbrella responds for the excess up to its own limit. The same applies over your commercial auto and employer's liability. This 'stacking' is why the underlying limits and the umbrella have to be structured together — the umbrella requires specific minimum underlying limits to sit on top of.
We coordinate your primary and excess so the attachment points line up cleanly and there's no gap between where the garage policy stops and the umbrella begins.
- Umbrella pays after underlying limits are exhausted
- Requires minimum underlying limits to attach
- Follows garage, auto, and employer's liability
- Available in $1M increments, often to $10M+
Why dealerships face outsized liability verdicts
Auto dealerships combine two ingredients that produce large liability verdicts: vehicles and the public. A test-drive accident that injures a family, a lot incident involving a pedestrian, or a serious crash in a dealer-plated unit can generate medical, wage-loss, and pain-and-suffering damages that dwarf a $1,000,000 primary limit. 'Nuclear verdicts' in auto-related litigation have climbed sharply, and a dealership without excess limits can find its assets — including the real estate and the business itself — exposed to the shortfall.
Right-sizing your umbrella limit
The right umbrella limit is a function of your assets, your volume, and your risk tolerance. A single-rooftop independent lot might carry $1–2 million in excess; a multi-store franchise group with heavy traffic and a large loaner fleet may carry $10 million or more, sometimes layered across multiple excess carriers. Lenders and manufacturers sometimes dictate a floor. We help you weigh the cost — which is modest relative to primary premium — against the catastrophic downside it's protecting.
Who needs this coverage
- Dealers meeting franchise or lender limit requirements
- High-volume dealerships with heavy test-drive activity
- Dealer groups with multiple rooftops
- Dealers with significant assets to protect
- Any dealer wanting limits above $1M primary
What drives your cost
Commercial Umbrella questions, answered
It provides excess liability limits above your garage liability, commercial auto, and employer's liability policies. When a catastrophic claim — like a serious test-drive accident — exceeds your primary limit, the umbrella responds for the excess, protecting the dealership's assets from a large judgment.
It depends on your assets, volume, and risk tolerance. Single-location lots often carry $1–2 million in excess; larger franchise groups frequently carry $5–10 million or more. Lender or manufacturer requirements may set a minimum. We help you right-size it to your real exposure.
It's one of the most cost-efficient coverages you can buy. Because it only pays after your primary limits are exhausted, several million dollars of excess protection typically costs a small fraction of your primary premium — high leverage for protecting your balance sheet.
An umbrella provides excess over the employer's liability portion of workers' comp (lawsuits arising from workplace injury), not over the statutory medical and wage benefits themselves. We make sure the underlying employer's liability limits are set so the umbrella attaches correctly.
Related coverages
Placing commercial umbrella through a dealer specialist
Commercial Umbrella rarely sits in isolation — it works alongside the rest of your dealer program, and getting the coordination right is where a specialist matters. As a Contractors Choice Agency program focused entirely on auto dealers, we structure your commercial umbrella so it lines up cleanly with your garage liability, your inventory coverage, and any umbrella above it — no overlapping premium you pay twice for, and no gap where a loss could fall between policies.
We shop your risk to A-rated carriers that genuinely want dealer business, present your operation in the best possible light to earn better pricing, and stay in your corner at renewal and at claim time. Whether you run a single independent lot or a multi-rooftop franchise group, in any of the 50 states, we'll right-size this coverage to how you actually operate rather than handing you a generic quote.
Tell us about your lot
Dealer type, inventory, and the coverages you need — by form or a quick call.
We build the program
We structure commercial umbrella and the rest of your account with the right carriers.
Bind and get certs
Review, bind, and receive the certificates your board, lender, and manufacturer require.
Ready to quote commercial umbrella?
Tell us about your dealership and we'll build a program that fits how you actually operate — often with same-day turnaround.