Excess Liability Insurance

Excess liability insurance is often confused with umbrella insurance, but they function differently. An excess policy strictly follows the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the underlying policy it sits above. It provides additional limits only and does not expand coverage to include claims that the underlying policy excludes. If the underlying general liability policy excludes assault and battery, the excess policy also excludes it.

Excess policies are typically simpler and less expensive than true umbrella policies because they do not provide the gap-filling function that an umbrella offers. They are commonly used when additional limits are needed above an umbrella layer or when a follow-form structure is preferred for simplicity.

In apartment insurance programs, excess policies are often stacked in layers above the primary and umbrella to build up total limits. For example, a program might have $1,000,000 primary general liability, $5,000,000 umbrella, and $10,000,000 excess, creating a total tower of $16,000,000 in liability protection. Each layer is triggered only when the layer below it is exhausted.