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Home › Business Insurance in Hawaiʻi › Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance gives you extra protection to help pay for costs that exceed certain liability policy limits. Without this type of commercial insurance coverage, you would have to pay out of pocket for liability claims that exceed your existing coverage limits. This can include:

  • Legal costs
  • Medical bills
  • Damage to other people’s property
  • Judgments and settlements

How Does Commercial Umbrella Insurance Work?

An umbrella policy can protect your assets (current and future) from being pulled into a lawsuit as a result of a vehicle or property accident when the underlying policy liability limits are insufficient.

Let’s take a look at a quick example:

Let’s say that a visitor is seriously injured on your premises and their medical costs end up costing more than your general liability policy allows. In this case, an umbrella policy can help to pay off that remaining balance.

What Does A Commercial Umbrella Policy Cover?

A commercial umbrella policy can help cover the following claims :

  • Bodily injury from an injured third party
  • Damage to property owned by a third party
  • Product Liability
  • Libel, Advertising injury

Commercial umbrella insurance provides additional limits in excess of a primary policy, for example, a general liability, auto liability and/or a employers liability policy, etc. An umbrella policy cannot exist without an underlying policy. If you don’t have a primary liability policy, you won’t be able to get commercial umbrella insurance.

Do Commercial Umbrella Policies Have Limits?

Commercial umbrella policies do have limits. These limits typically range from $1 million to $10 million and up. This means the insurance company will only cover claims up to a certain amount. This amount is dependent on a variety of factors like the type of business you are in, what limits the carrier is willing to provide and how much you are willing to pay for the coverage.

Who Needs Commercial Umbrella Insurance?

It is a good rule of thumb to understand that the more your business interacts with clients and customers, the higher your liability risk. Your risks can be even greater if your business uses heavy machinery or dangerous equipment.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance coverage can help if your business:

  • Frequently interacts with customers and the public
  • Works on someone else’s property
  • Needs to satisfy a contract requirement

Get Commercial Umbrella Insurance From Atlas Insurance Agency, A Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC

If you are looking to add a safety net, the Atlas Insurance Agency, A Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC team is ready to help you navigate the right plan for you. Reach out to our team of specialists by calling (808) 400-6680 or requesting a quote online today!

Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Both extend the limits of an underlying liability policy, but they work slightly differently. Commercial umbrella insurance provides additional coverage above multiple underlying policies (such as general liability, commercial auto, and employer’s liability) and can sometimes fill coverage gaps that the underlying policies do not address. Excess liability insurance simply extends the limits of one specific underlying policy and follows that policy’s terms exactly. Umbrella coverage is generally broader and is the more common option for most Hawaiʻi businesses.

Coverage limits typically range from $1 million to $10 million or more. The right amount depends on your industry, revenue, customer interaction, contract requirements, and overall risk exposure. Businesses with significant public foot traffic, fleet operations, heavy equipment, or high-value contracts often need higher limits. A common starting point is $1 million in umbrella coverage stacked on top of $1 million general liability and $1 million commercial auto liability, with limits scaled up from there based on actual exposure.

No. Umbrella coverage is excess liability protection by design, meaning it cannot exist without an underlying primary policy in place. Most carriers require minimum underlying limits, typically $1 million per occurrence on general liability, $1 million on commercial auto, and $500,000 or $1 million on employer’s liability. If you do not currently carry these underlying coverages at the required limits, those need to be in place before an umbrella policy can be written.

Umbrella insurance does not cover damage to your own business property, employee injuries beyond what employer’s liability addresses, professional services claims, intentional acts, fines or penalties, contractual liability beyond what the underlying policy covers, or punitive damages in many states. Coverage gaps in the underlying policy generally remain gaps in the umbrella policy, since the umbrella typically follows the form of the underlying coverage. Atlas reviews each umbrella program to identify and address potential coverage gaps before issuance.

Hawaiʻi businesses face elevated liability exposure from year-round tourism, dense public foot traffic, fleet operations across the islands, and contract requirements from commercial landlords, government agencies, and project owners. Jury awards and settlement costs continue to rise, and a single serious injury claim can easily exceed standard $1 million general liability limits. Commercial umbrella insurance provides the financial cushion that protects current and future business assets from being pulled into a lawsuit, which is particularly important for businesses operating in high-traffic visitor areas.