ACE Private Risk Services offers a new umbrella policy targeting its high net worth clients. The new policy features liability limits up to $100 million.

ACE Private Risk Services has begun the national rollout of this product, which is currently available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, and Minnesota.

“In these difficult economic times, high net worth customers present especially attractive targets for liability lawsuits, which can result in jury awards and settlements in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Bob Courtemanche, CEO of Philadelphia-based ACE Private Risk Services. “Our new Umbrella policy helps high net worth individuals and families protect their hard-earned success in these cases.”

The ACE policy pays for legal costs in addition to rather than as part of the policy limit – a key benefit since legal costs are often significant, company officials said.

Along with the option of limits up to $100 million, additional features include reimbursement for private counsel expenses to shadow the primary legal defense team, reimbursement for the cost of engaging firms to protect a family’s reputation and generous credits for carrying underlying insurance with higher liability limits, the company said.

Optional endorsements can be added to the policy for employment practices liability for domestic staff, D&O coverage for volunteer board members of non-profit organizations, and uninsured/underinsured coverage up to $10 million. The uninsured/underinsured endorsement protects families if they suffer bodily injury or property loss at the hands of someone who has no or insufficient insurance. This endorsement is unusually broad because it is not limited to automobile accidents, according to the company, as it applies to other accidents such as swimming pool mishaps at a neighbor’s property.

The new umbrella policy is being offered through independent agents as a component of the ACE Platinum Portfolio insurance program. Designed specifically for affluent and high net worth customers, the ACE Platinum Portfolio policy can provide superior levels of coverage for homes, vacation properties, automobiles, jewelry and other valuables, as well as excess liability. In most instances, there is one package policy to track and one bill to pay.