Umbrella liability sits on top of your auto, home, boat, and landlord policies. When an underlying policy exhausts, umbrella takes over — usually in $1M layers.
A $1M umbrella typically costs $200–$500 per year. That's per million. Compared to what you pay for auto and home combined, it's the cheapest liability protection you can buy.
Rule of thumb: carry an umbrella equal to your net worth plus expected future earnings. A young household with a $300K house and two incomes probably wants $1M–$2M. Higher-net-worth households often carry $5M–$10M.
Umbrella has requirements: you'll need higher underlying limits on auto (usually 250/500/100) and home ($300K liability minimum). Your agent bumps those first, then adds the umbrella.
Umbrella does NOT extend to business exposures, intentional acts, or contractual liability. Business owners need a separate commercial umbrella.