[Insurance] When is enough ... enough?

[supomglol]

Like most American families, My wife and I have an interesting Matrix of Insurance coverage further complicated by each of our businesses. 

I'm still worried we have some gaps worth filling, but I can't shake the feeling that every insurance agent is a salesman.  They ALWAYS have something else you should consider.

So, I thought it might be worthwile to post here to see if I could get some advice. 
We are still very much in our "earning" years.

My main questions revolve around:

• Business Insurance for Consulting Business.  Due to the kind of work we do, we've been denied by our normal carrier and were quoted ~$1500/year through for the standard $1M policy through another carrier, which roughly matched a similar quote I recieved online.
• Our rental properties each have their own policy, would it be more efficient to lower coverage on these and get a larger 'umbrella' type policy to cover any one-off large-value claim?>

I welcome your suggestions.

[patchyfacialhair]

I don't see a question to be answered in your first bullet. Are you asking if you should insure your consulting business? $1500 seems kind of high but depending on the work you do it could be competitive.

Regarding the rental properties, you'll have a hard time finding a competitive product that covers both properties with one policy (for physical losses to the property itself).

Also, when you use the word umbrella, keep in mind that an "Umbrella" is the actual name for an actual insurance produce that provides excess liability coverage (personal or business depending on the type of policy) if your underlying limits are exhausted following a loss. A personal umbrella, for example, provides excess liability coverage in case your personal auto or personal home liability coverage provided by those policies are not enough. Personal umbrellas can be had for very cheap for many millions in coverage. We have one.

Keep in mind that any insurance product is just a transfer of risk (you lose a small amount each month to avoid the risk of losing a ton of money very quickly). How much do you have in savings? How likely are you to find yourself in an extreme situation where millions of dollars are at stake? Probably slim, but only you can decide if you have enough. In your case, you may benefit from finding an independent broker that can look at your big picture (in fact, show them your diagram), and see what they suggest. If you're sticking to only quotes from big companies you may find that the call center person's knowledge may be limited to personal only or business only and that's it.

[Lulee]

Do you have a local SBA office around or something similar?  You could get a consult from someone familiar with the local insurance rules and their impact on businesses and, unlike a broker or agent, you won't be worried that they're selling you something.  Though, a good broker should be interested in selling you just what you need, it's hard not to be a bit skeptical of their advice knowing they profit from the policy sale.

It's not just that every state has their own insurance rules, but each type of business faces it own challenges/risks that you need to consider.  Would your wife be well served to have a professional liability policy for her consulting business?  Do you have enough liability insurance on each rental property?  Is there a type of policy or rider to replace income from the rentals if the buildings are damaged or destroyed and you have no tenants for a long period of time?

Personally, I'd be inclined to chat with a few independent agents as well as a business consultant.  It's not like you're obligated to buy anything and they may point out some holes that you otherwise wouldn't have considered filling.  They may also find you some discounts to help cut back on costs.