Group Personal Excess Liability
Protecting Personal Wealth
With success comes rewards — and risk. That fact of life has many executives and their companies looking for greater protection through Group Personal Excess Liability (G-PEL) insurance. Even those with personal excess liability (commonly known as umbrella insurance) policies in place seek the greater security of G-PEL’s higher-limit coverage.
Defined Protection
Group Personal Excess Liability is generally defined as a “comprehensive benefit for key personnel.” This form of liability coverage protects the personal wealth of highly compensated and highly valued executives and staff in a “defined” group. When the group is defined and the members identified, individuals within the group will not be declined nor individually underwritten.
Available limits of coverage vary with carriers. Some offer up to $50 million for each participating member; others may cap the coverage at $1 million. Still others may customize for defined employees within a group at higher limits. In any case, the available protection through G-PEL is likely to offer higher limits, broader coverage, and lower costs than excess liability coverage available to individuals.
Group Personal Excess Liability is flexible in structure. A company opting for it may select one level of coverage for all employees or two or more levels for differently defined groups.
Policy Features
Group Personal Excess Liability typically features advantages that address the lifestyles of higher-earning employees. Such lifestyles include world travel; sitting on nonprofit boards; owning multiple homes; having luxury cars and large watercraft; and leading the affluent, higher-profile lives which may make them the targets for kidnappers and litigious opportunists.
Typical G-PEL policy features include:
- High coverage limits
- Worldwide liability protection
- Kidnap event expenses
- Legal defense costs
- Personal injury coverage
- Property damage protection
- Charitable pursuits coverage
- Employee allegation protection
- Identity fraud expenses
- “Family” member inclusion*
* Under certain policies, this may include same-household residents, such as spouse, domestic partner, relative, or person under 25 in the custody of the insured or relative.
These typical features merit additional detail. Be sure to discuss each of the listed features with your insurance broker or attorney, and also ask about exclusions. For instance, in some definitions and policies, “personal injury” covered claims may include the following alleged offenses:
- Bodily injury or sickness
- Mental anguish or injury
- Disease or death
- Invasion of privacy
- Character defamation
- Libel and slander
- Humiliation or malicious prosecution
- Wrongful eviction or entry
- False arrest or imprisonment injury
Additional Advantages
Lawsuits cause mental stress, financial concerns, and lost productivity. The ramifications can easily reach beyond the individual to impact the employer. Group Personal Excess Liability provides the extra protection above and beyond the limits of individual homeowner, auto, and personal liability coverage. Plus, G-PEL provides legal defense for covered claims.
There are significant advantages to Group Personal Excess Liability insurance. While it is suggested that members of a “group” also carry high-limit personal excess liability, their individual claims do not affect the G-PEL rate nor do individual claims affect eligibility for inclusion in Group Personal Excess Liability coverage.
New employees, newly promoted persons, partners, or key individuals can be added to G-PEL coverage without a waiting period and without meeting individual underwriting requirements. With notification, these additional members may be automatically covered from the date they were hired or promoted.
Individual policies usually require insurance carrier notification when a new home, car or boat is purchased by the insured. With some Group Personal Excess Liability policies, coverage is automatic for an unlimited number of vehicles and up to four homes. Under some G-PEL policies, excess liability coverage may be available for rental property leased for income if it meets certain definitions.
Mandatory or Voluntary
Group Personal Excess Liability coverage may be mandatory or voluntary. If it is mandatory, coverage is automatic at the limit level for those who fit the definition of the “group.” When a G-PEL program is voluntary, participants choose from a range of protection limits and are charged accordingly.
The higher limits of Group Personal Excess Liability coverage are usually needed because of two situations: 1) ownership of significant assets with sophisticated insurance needs; 2) inadequate limits of current personal liability policies, including individual personal excess coverage. G-PEL protects when an incident depletes primary policy limits. Without this extra protection, individuals are responsible for paying the difference.
The advantages of Group Personal Excess Liability are tangible and intangible — ranging from courtroom champions to nights of peaceful slumber.