Was told too many speeding tickets.

You also might ask if someone will give you an Umbrella policy with an exclusion for auto accidents.

- John...

Jen are you trying to get an umbrella for your rentals?

Stats show, the most probable way a LL is going to get sued is when driving.

I think Ray makes a very good point.

I just rented a 16 foot moving truck to transport some materials to my personal home. I found out that my auto insurance would not cover liability for the truck if there was an accident, so I shelled out $24 for Penske's liability coverage, even though I considered just taking a chance and going without since I was only using the truck for half a day.

Agreed

We need to do things differently then we did when starting.

Agreed

We need to do things differently then we did when starting.

That might be the best option then, just to wait a couple months if you think you can get it through them.

Ray-N-Pa: What stats show that exactly? You have a source or is that just off the top of your head?

A quick search shows that the top 6 things a LL is likely to get sued for are:

1. Security Deposit Violations

2. Discrimination

3. Lead Poisoning

4. Abandoned Property

5. Unsafe Conditions

6. Pest infestation

That was from a Rental Property Owners Association. I also found this one from an attorney group:

1. Security deposit violations

2. Having illegal clauses in the lease

3. Entering a tenant’s unit illegally

4. Renting an uninhabitable unit

I found very little indication that a landlord is likely to get sued while driving (for anything LL specific). The average person might be most likely to be sued while driving, but the insurance involved there would be your normal car insurance in 99% of the cases -- not any umbrella policy. Plus, most umbrella policies require you to up your car insurance to the same amount so that they are specifically NOT involved.

- John...

I actually took rays comment as fact as I’ve already heard from an attorney who handled Asset protection that a car accident can take away everything.

The average driver is involved in 3 to 4 accidents over a life time. Your probability of being involved in an automobile accident doubles with each 5 miles per hour over the speed limit.

If someone has had multiple speeding tickets you have to ask yourself, how fast were they going, and how often do the odds the odds double on having an accident.

Compare that to the number of times you are sued as a landlord. In my 29 years, I have been sued only once.

Where I don't doubt at all the methods you listed on getting sued are valid, does your state require you carry an umbrella policy to landlord? Does your state require you to carry liability insurance to drive?

Liability insurance on a standard fire policy is a wise add on surcharge.

As J mentioned you also have to factor in the severity of the mishap into the equation. Any mishap is bad news, but some are much worse than others.

I think some of you are missing my point. In THIS situation, we have a person that can't get an umbrella policy to cover the much-more-likely things to get sued over as a landlord (as listed above by REAL stats) because of car tickets.

Therefore, my advice FOR THAT PERSON ONLY, as to consider getting an umbrella policy with an auto-accident exception. They would still need to pay for (probably expensive, due to multiple tickets) a normal high-dollar car insurance policy to protect themselves. (Again, normally umbrella insurance requires that your auto policy liability be just as high as the umbrella anyhow!)

This wasn't about how likely anything is to happen. It is about the fact that she cannot currently get an umbrella policy at all because of car tickets!

If her option is NO POLICY AT ALL or one with an auto exception, then I still stand by my advice to at least CONSIDER one with the exception. So that the vast majority of things that she is much more likely to be sued over as a landlord (again, based on real stats) would still be covered.

Several of you are talking like I suggested not having auto insurance at all. That isn't at all what I said nor even implied.

- John...

"They would still need to pay for (probably expensive, due to multiple tickets) a normal high-dollar car insurance policy to protect themselves. (Again, normally umbrella insurance requires that your auto policy liability be just as high as the umbrella anyhow!)"

The auto insurance carrier will surcharge the driver for the speeding tickets, but then a company like RLI that does umbrellas for "high risk" individuals will likely also make the driver increase the bodily injury limits way up so that will jack up the auto insurance even more.

I've been through what Jen is going through except mine wasn't speeding tickets, it was something different.

It looks like I was wrong about the bodily injury limits for simple moving violations. Here's what RLI has on their website for traffic tickets:

"Under age 22 / 80+ – 1

All others – 3

Max of 6 per household"

It doesn't say anything about increasing limits.

Jen didn't mention if it was only one person in her household who has all these tickets. If the tickets are spread among different different people this might work for her.