A commercial umbrella adds liability limit above the policies a business already has. Contracts for larger jobs ask for it. It is useful only when the policies underneath match what the umbrella company scheduled. A gap in the schedule is a gap in the claim.
What it covers
Liability for bodily injury and property damage above the underlying limits, up to the umbrella limit, for the exposures on the schedule. Defense costs, in the way the form describes, which is sometimes inside the limit and sometimes outside it. Read that sentence on the quote. A drop-down, or self-insured retention, can apply when the umbrella covers something the underlying policy does not. That retention is money the business pays first.
What it doesn't cover
The underlying deductible. Your own property. Professional liability, cyber, and employment practices, unless an endorsement says so. A vehicle or a location left off the application. Workers' compensation benefits themselves. The employer's liability limit is what an umbrella can sit above, not the statutory workers' compensation benefits. Flood. A personal car that never appears on the business auto policy.
Florida specifics
Job contracts in Duval and Clay counties often ask for a liability limit above what a small primary policy carries. The state minimum auto limit is not a commercial contract limit. We treat the contract as the assignment. If it asks for primary and noncontributory wording, or a waiver of subrogation, those are endorsements on the underlying policy. An umbrella does not silently add them.
How we help
Send the primary policies and the contract page that names the limit. We check the schedule before we bind an umbrella over a hole. Start a business quote and include umbrella, or call either office. If a certificate has to show the umbrella tomorrow, call with the contract in hand.