Umbrella Insurance in Myrtle Beach, SC

What Is Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance is a personal liability policy that provides additional coverage beyond the limits of your homeowners, auto, and other underlying policies. When a claim exceeds what your standard insurance will pay, umbrella coverage kicks in to cover the rest—protecting your savings, investments, home equity, and future income from being seized to satisfy a judgment.

Think of umbrella insurance as a financial safety net. Your auto policy might cover $300,000 in liability. But if you cause an accident resulting in $800,000 in injuries and damages, you're personally responsible for the $500,000 gap. An umbrella policy covers that difference, keeping a single incident from devastating your family's financial future.

Why Myrtle Beach Residents Need Umbrella Insurance

Liability claims can escalate quickly—especially in situations involving serious injuries, multiple victims, or high-earning plaintiffs. Myrtle Beach's tourism traffic, coastal recreation, and active lifestyle create exposure most families don't fully consider. Here's why umbrella insurance deserves attention:

• Auto policy limits run out fast. A multi-vehicle accident with serious injuries can generate claims exceeding $1 million. South Carolina's minimum liability requirements ($25,000 per person) are dangerously inadequate, and even higher limits often fall short in catastrophic accidents.


• Homeowners liability has gaps. If someone is seriously injured at your property—a guest falls down stairs, a child is hurt on a trampoline, a visitor's dog bites another guest—your homeowners policy pays first, but may not cover the full claim.


• Watercraft and recreational vehicles add risk. Boats, jet skis, ATVs, and golf carts create liability exposure that umbrella policies can extend to cover.


• You can be sued for more than you're worth. Plaintiffs can pursue future wages, not just current assets. Young professionals and high earners face decades of potential garnishment if an uninsured judgment goes against them.


• Defense costs alone can be substantial. Even frivolous lawsuits cost money to fight. Umbrella policies cover legal defense, often from the first dollar, regardless of whether the claim has merit.


• Social media and online activity create new exposures. Personal injury claims for libel, slander, and defamation are increasingly common. Many umbrella policies cover these claims.

What Does Umbrella Insurance Cover?

Umbrella insurance extends liability protection across multiple areas of your life. Coverage activates when underlying policy limits are exhausted and can also cover certain claims your base policies exclude.

Bodily Injury Liability

If you're legally responsible for injuring someone—in a car accident, at your home, or through other negligence—umbrella coverage pays for medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost wages, and pain and suffering beyond your underlying policy limits. This applies whether the injury occurs in Myrtle Beach, on a family trip, or anywhere else.

Property Damage Liability

Damage you cause to others' property—totaling an expensive vehicle, crashing a boat into a dock, or your negligence causing damage to a neighbor's home—falls under umbrella coverage after your base policy pays its limit.

Personal Injury Liability

Umbrella policies typically cover personal injury claims that homeowners policies may exclude or limit: libel, slander, defamation, false arrest, invasion of privacy, and malicious prosecution. A social media post that damages someone's reputation could trigger a lawsuit your homeowners policy won't touch.

Legal Defense Costs

Lawsuits are expensive to defend even when you're not at fault. Umbrella insurance covers attorney fees, court costs, and other defense expenses. Many policies provide defense coverage in addition to liability limits, meaning legal costs don't reduce the amount available to pay claims.

Worldwide Coverage

Umbrella coverage typically follows you anywhere in the world. Whether you cause an accident while vacationing overseas or face a lawsuit from an incident in another state, your umbrella policy responds.

What Umbrella Insurance Doesn't Cover

Umbrella policies cover liability to others—not damage to your own property or your own injuries. They also exclude:

• Intentional acts or criminal behavior


• Business-related liability (covered by commercial policies)


• Contractual liability you voluntarily assumed


• Damage to property in your care, custody, or control


• Workers' compensation claims


• Liability arising from certain excluded activities (varies by policy)

Each carrier's umbrella policy has specific exclusions. Moore & Associates can review policy language and explain exactly what's covered before you buy.

How Umbrella Insurance Works With Your Other Policies

Umbrella coverage sits on top of your existing liability insurance. When a claim exceeds your underlying policy limits, the umbrella policy pays the excess up to its own limit.

For example: You cause a serious accident in Conway that results in $750,000 in injuries. Your auto policy has $250,000 in liability coverage. Your auto insurer pays its $250,000 limit, then your umbrella policy pays the remaining $500,000.

Most umbrella policies require minimum underlying coverage amounts—typically $250,000 to $500,000 on auto policies and $300,000 on homeowners. If your current limits are lower, you'll need to increase them before adding umbrella coverage. This actually benefits you: higher underlying limits cost relatively little and reduce the chance of ever needing your umbrella policy.

How Much Umbrella Coverage Do You Need?

The right amount depends on your assets, income, and exposure. Common starting points:

Calculate your net worth. Add up home equity, savings, investments, retirement accounts, and other assets. Your umbrella coverage should at least match this figure.

Consider future earnings. A lawsuit judgment can garnish wages for years. If you're mid-career with significant earning potential ahead, factor that into your coverage decision.

Assess your risk factors. Do you have a swimming pool? A teenage driver? A boat docked at Murrells Inlet? Rental property in North Myrtle Beach? A dog breed some insurers consider high-risk? More exposure suggests higher coverage.

Umbrella policies typically start at $1 million and increase in $1 million increments up to $5 million or more. Given how affordable coverage is, many families find that $1-2 million provides meaningful protection without significant cost.

How Much Does Umbrella Insurance Cost in South Carolina?

Umbrella insurance is remarkably affordable relative to the protection it provides. A $1 million policy typically costs between $150 and $300 per year for most Myrtle Beach households. Each additional million usually adds $50 to $100 annually.

Factors affecting your premium include:

• Number of homes, vehicles, and watercraft to cover


• Driving records of household members


• Whether you have rental properties


• Claims history on underlying policies


• Coverage amount selected

Many carriers offer discounts when you bundle umbrella coverage with your auto and homeowners policies. Moore & Associates can quote umbrella coverage alongside your other policies to find the most cost-effective package.

Who Should Consider Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance makes sense for more families than most people realize. You should strongly consider coverage if you:

• Own a home with equity to protect


• Have savings or investment accounts


• Earn a good income with future earning potential


• Have teenage drivers in the household


• Own a pool, trampoline, or other attractive nuisances


• Own boats, jet skis, or recreational vehicles


• Rent out property in Surfside Beach, Litchfield, Pawleys Island, or elsewhere


• Serve on nonprofit boards or volunteer in leadership roles


• Are active on social media with public-facing accounts

Even if your current net worth is modest, umbrella insurance protects future assets and earnings you haven't accumulated yet.

Why Choose Moore & Associates for Umbrella Insurance

Moore & Associates has served Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand since 1979. As an independent insurance agency, we represent multiple carriers offering umbrella coverage—giving you options instead of a single company's take-it-or-leave-it quote.

Our local agents can evaluate your existing policies, identify coverage gaps, recommend appropriate underlying limits, and find umbrella coverage that integrates smoothly with your current insurance. Whether you live in Georgetown, Atlantic Beach, or anywhere along the South Carolina coast, we'll help you protect what you've built.

Get an Umbrella Insurance Quote in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Our umbrella insurance agents serve Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and surrounding areas including North Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island, and Georgetown. Contact Moore & Associates today for a free quote.