Do yourself a favor. Do a Google search for “snow umbrella” when you’ve got some time.
You’ll find that for years there has been a raging debate over whether it is necessary, or even socially acceptable to use an umbrella during the winter. The arguments, pro- and anti-snowbrella are all there to provide you with as many hours of entertainment as you’re willing to spend.
To summarize though, some point out that snow is precipitation, and as such, if you’re out in it, an umbrella is a perfectly sensible accessory to have on your person.
The counter argument comes down to how, in the winter, you’ve already got (or should have) layers of clothing protecting you from not just the cold, but also precipitation. And anyway, snow isn’t even as wet as rain, is it?
Whatever that means.
But not everybody has good layering available to them. And anyway, what about using an umbrella to limit exposure to UV rays and the risk of melanoma? The sun doesn’t feel as hot in the winter, but it is.
Whatever that means.
Either way, you really don’t see people running around holding umbrellas as much in the winter as you do in the spring or summer. Horihan Insurance is not going to issue an official stance on the matter. But we can’t help wondering, why is National Umbrella Month during what – for most of the country – is still the dead of winter? Is it because March is the month when department stores have their huge door-buster sales on umbrellas for the upcoming season?
That sounds highly unlikely.
We can only assume then, that March is National Umbrella Month because it gives society the chance to discuss the merits of umbrella insurance policies.
Alright, let’s discuss them.
Umbrella policies ARE NOT policies that protect you from the loss and/or trauma incurred when the wind picks up and the ribs of your umbrella give out and the canopy gets yanked upside-down and inside-out on you.
Umbrella policies ARE optional policies which extend liability coverage of, let’s say, a home or auto insurance policy. Imagine your regular policies as a poncho. The umbrella policy, then, would be, well, an umbrella. It’s extra coverage. Your poncho may keep $500,000 worth of yourself dry, but the umbrella coverage keeps another $500,000 worth – or however much umbrella coverage you buy – of the area around you dry. Just in case. The rain, just like life, can switch directions real quick and suddenly it’s raining horizontally in your face. If you have an umbrella, you can tilt it down and fend off the wet.
With umbrella policies, you’re thinking in extreme situations, but for good reason. You don’t buy insurance for the little things. You buy insurance for the catastrophic. Which will all too often exceed your regular policies. An umbrella policy is simple more. And, as is often the case with insurance, it is inexpensive considering the amount of extra security it provides you.
Call your local Horihan agent if you’d like to go over how much “more” your unique situation requires. And that’s 365 days a year, rain or snow or shine.