Building Material Dealer Insurance

Umbrella & Excess Liability for building material dealers.

Umbrella and excess liability that sits over your general liability, commercial auto, and employers' liability — the catastrophic limits a lumber yard or building supply dealer needs when a forklift fatality or major loss claim breaks through primary limits.

Get a Quote 844-967-5247

What this coverage does

An umbrella (or excess liability) policy adds limits on top of your primary general liability, commercial auto liability, and employers' liability. For a building material dealer, the severity exposure is real: a forklift-pedestrian fatality, a loaded delivery truck in a multi-vehicle accident, a major product-liability claim on distributed goods, or a catastrophic fire that spreads to neighboring property. Any one of these can break through a $1 million primary GL limit before the claim is half-resolved.

We structure umbrella and excess liability in layers that sit cleanly over your primary program, with limits sized to the realistic severity of a dealer's worst-case claim. The umbrella also occasionally drops down to cover a loss that falls outside the underlying policy's scope — a valuable feature we negotiate where the market allows.

What's covered

The coverages that matter for a dealer.

Structured into one policy — not a list of disconnected line items.

Excess limits over GL

Additional indemnity, in $1M increments, sitting over your general liability primary — the layer that responds when a premises-liability or product-liability claim exhausts the underlying GL.

Excess limits over commercial auto

Additional limits over your business auto liability — critical for a dealer, because a loaded-truck accident is one of the highest-severity exposures in the operation.

Excess employers' liability

Additional limits over the employers' liability (Part Two) section of your workers' comp policy — protection against the catastrophic-consequence claim that falls outside the work comp exclusive remedy.

Drop-down coverage

When a loss falls outside the scope of an underlying policy (or the underlying carrier is insolvent), the umbrella can drop down to respond as primary — a feature that varies by carrier and that we negotiate where the market allows.

Worldwide coverage (often available)

Many umbrella forms extend coverage to suits brought outside the U.S. and Canada — relevant for dealers with international suppliers or customers.

Defense in excess of limits

Defense costs that do not erode the indemnity limit — a critical structure for high-severity claims where defense can run into seven figures.

Who it's for

Built for dealers, by a former contractor.

If you sell, store, or deliver building materials, this coverage line is part of your program. Common operations we insure:

Any dealer with a $1M primary GL limit and meaningful severity exposure
Operations running delivery trucks (loaded-truck fatality exposure)
Dealers distributing products with product-liability severity
Operations with contractor customers or public foot traffic on site
Operations at multi-location scale where a single loss can hit the brand
Any dealer whose customer contracts require higher limits

Why Contractors Choice Agency

The difference is in how it's built.

1
We size the umbrella to the realistic worst-case severity for a dealer, not the carrier's default minimum — a $1M umbrella is rarely enough for a loaded-truck or forklift-fatality exposure.
2
We coordinate the umbrella with the underlying GL, auto, and employers' liability so there are no gaps between the primary layer and the excess layer — the most common failure point in a broker-assembled program.
3
We negotiate the best terms available — drop-down, defense outside the limits, worldwide coverage — where the market and the account size allow.
4
20+ years, all 50 states, 15-minute quotes, 2-hour claims response.

Quote your umbrella & excess liability today.

15-minute quote. 2-hour claims response. Licensed all 50 states.

Get a Quote 844-967-5247

FAQ

Common questions about umbrella & excess liability.

How much umbrella coverage does a building material dealer need?

It depends on the severity exposure, but for most dealers we recommend at least $5M, and frequently $10M or more for operations with delivery fleets, significant foot traffic, or high-risk product lines. The math: a single loaded-truck fatality or forklift-pedestrian death routinely settles in the multi-millions, and a $1M primary GL will be exhausted quickly. We size the umbrella to the realistic worst case, not to a round number.

What's the difference between an umbrella and an excess liability policy?

An umbrella provides excess limits and may also broaden coverage (drop-down over gaps in the underlying, or cover a loss outside the underlying scope). An excess liability policy provides additional limits only, on a 'follow-form' basis that tracks the underlying coverage exactly. Umbrellas are more flexible and usually preferred; excess is used for higher layers where follow-form is sufficient. We use both as the layering requires.

Will my umbrella respond if my primary GL doesn't cover a claim?

Sometimes — if the umbrella includes drop-down coverage and the loss is of a type the umbrella itself covers. This is one of the most valuable features of a true umbrella (as opposed to a follow-form excess policy) and it varies significantly by carrier and form. We negotiate the broadest drop-down terms the market will offer on your account.