Umbrella liability at meaningful limits
Personal umbrella stacked over the household's homeowners and auto policies, the coverage that does the actual work when a loss turns serious.
Review the lineCoverage / Homeowners
Homeowners, placed at the level of the house.
Homeowners insurance for historic Saratoga homes, second-home portfolios, and New York metro townhouses, placed with carriers built for the value.
The policy
Dwelling, contents, liability, written without shortcuts.
A homeowners policy on a historic Saratoga Victorian is not the same document as a policy on a tract-built ranch, and a Brooklyn brownstone is something different again. We write the policy against the actual house: its replacement cost at today's materials and labor, its architectural detail, its contents, the outbuildings, the liability exposure on the grounds, and the guest exposure if the property sees events or family gatherings.
Coverage starts with dwelling at real replacement cost. Not cash value, and not a depreciated number that turns into an argument after a loss. Extended replacement cost provisions are written in where the carrier supports them, because the loss on a 1890s Saratoga home is always worse than the loss on the generic house it is being compared to. Contents are scheduled where they deserve to be scheduled. Jewelry, fine art, wine, heirloom furniture, and collections are written on appraisal, not guessed at.
- Dwelling at real replacement cost, with extended replacement cost where the carrier supports it
- Contents written on schedule for jewelry, art, wine, and collections, on appraisal
- Liability written to meaningful limits, with umbrella reviewed at the same sitting
- Outbuildings, guest exposure, and pool or grounds exposure written into the policy rather than assumed
- Loss-of-use written at the level of the household, not the carrier minimum
Who this is for
Historic homes, second homes, and the corridor in between.
The households we write are in Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County, in Albany, Schenectady, and Glens Falls, and in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Many of them own property in more than one of those places. A primary home in Saratoga and a condo in Manhattan. A townhouse in Brooklyn and a weekend house upstate. Two houses, two policies, one advocate, one review every year.
The common thread across every household is that what they own cannot be adequately written on a standard-market policy. A 200-year-old home needs a carrier that will actually pay to rebuild it. A second home that sits empty half the week needs a policy written for how it is actually used. A household with scheduled jewelry needs a carrier that will not argue about the appraisal. That is the market we're built to place, shopping across the specialty insurers suited to homes like these.
Why carrier selection matters
The standard market is built for the standard house.
A standard-market homeowners policy, the kind a direct writer or a captive carrier sells, is written to a profile that assumes modern construction, a modest replacement cost, and a short list of scheduled items. For the house we are describing, that is the wrong document. Renovated Victorians underinsure at standard-market replacement-cost tables. Second homes sit outside the occupancy assumptions. High-value contents get dragged through appraisal disputes that a purpose-built high-net-worth carrier never opens.
The solution is not to add endorsements to the wrong policy. The solution is the right policy from the right carrier, written by an independent agency with the appointments to place it.
The household stack
A homeowners policy is the floor. The ceiling is umbrella liability at meaningful limits.
The liability limit on a homeowners policy caps out long before the actual exposure of the households we write. A Saratoga homeowner who hosts events, employs household staff, or owns animals on the property is sitting on liability that no underlying policy is sized for. The umbrella is where that exposure gets covered, and it should be reviewed at the same sitting as the underlying homeowners policy. Most households we write also carry auto coverage for the same household at the same address: one review, single advocate, coordinated limits.
The carriers
Placed where it belongs.
Armor Group places homeowners business across a diverse stable of carriers chosen for specific account types, from standard markets to the specialty and high-net-worth insurers suited to homes like these. Carrier selection is part of the advocacy: matching the house to the carrier that is actually built to underwrite it.
Related coverage
The lines that sit alongside this one.
Personal auto coverage
Primary, second, and collector vehicles for the same household, coordinated with the homeowners file and reviewed at the same sitting.
Review the lineNew to home insurance? Read the guide
What a homeowners policy covers, where people get caught, and how to start a quote.
Read the guideQuestions
What clients ask before they begin.
Written by
Armor Group Insurance Agency
New York licensed independent insurance agency
Armor Group Insurance is a New York-licensed independent insurance agency. Coverage availability, limits, endorsements, exclusions, and premiums vary by carrier, underwriting, property condition, and account-specific facts. Descriptions on this page are general summaries of the kinds of coverage the agency places and are not a contract, a binder, a quotation, or a guarantee of coverage. No coverage is bound until the carrier issues the policy. Contact the agency to review your specific situation and obtain a quotation.
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Begin a homeowners quote.
We will respond directly. If your account is complex, your dedicated agent will handle it from the first call, with the principal reviewing the file.