Harvey Wexelman: Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut Private Client Home, Collector Auto, and Umbrella Insurance Broker
When a family moves from Manhattan to Scarsdale, Rye, Bedford, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Short Hills, Alpine, or Rumson, the insurance footprint multiplies overnight. Suddenly there is a stone or clapboard estate with custom outbuildings, three daily drivers, a teen with a brand-new license, a collector car in the garage, a housekeeper or nanny on payroll, and a Florida or Hamptons second home with a different renewal date. Keeping those pieces split across three or four disconnected mass-market policies is how gaps open right beneath your personal umbrella, leaving you to pay out of pocket before the umbrella ever responds. For families with significant assets, umbrella limits often go well past the basic $1 million, and the right number depends on what you own, what you earn and how you live.
Why work with Harvey
For 30+ years I have helped Tri-State families, corporate executives, founders, and their wealth advisors consolidate scattered policies into one coherent program. Across Westchester County, Fairfield County in Connecticut, and northern and coastal New Jersey, the biggest risk usually sits in the gap between your car, home and boat policies and your umbrella. We read every declarations page across your homes, cars, valuables, and entities so your umbrella actually sits flush on top of your underlying schedule. Whether your family splits time between a primary home in Westchester, a weekend property on the Jersey Shore or in Litchfield County, and a winter home in South Florida, we verify every carrier, entity, and driver on one simple page.
What a full review covers
Our Tri-State portfolio audit examines four structural intersections. First, we check umbrella attachment consistency: if your personal umbrella requires a set amount of liability on every auto and watercraft policy underneath it ($250,000 to $500,000, varies by carrier), but a college student's car or an older policy sits at $100,000, you can end up paying the difference yourself before the umbrella responds. Second, we review uninsured and underinsured driver coverage, which typically protects your own household if a driver with state-minimum limits causes a serious accident, subject to carrier policy type and state rules. Third, we compare private client package features across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut admitted carriers such as Chubb, PURE, Berkley One, Cincinnati Private Client, and Private Client Select (formerly AIG Private Client Group), checking extended replacement cost, water backup, jewelry and art listed item by item on a valuables policy, and agreed-value collector car terms (including specialist markets like Hagerty and Grundy). Fourth, we check domestic worker rules and optional coverage if a household employee sues you, for full-time or part-time household staff, plus making sure each LLC or trust is listed by name on the policies for every family residence.
A typical review
Made-up example, not a real client: A Tri-State household in Westchester and New Jersey held four separate policies across three carriers (primary home, four family autos including a youthful driver, a collector Porsche on a stated-value policy type, and a $10 million umbrella) plus a winter condo in Florida. Our declarations-page audit found an auto liability limit too low for the umbrella, moved the collector car to an agreed-value policy type, and lined up all residences and drivers under one coordinated private client program.
Common questions
How do families in Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut choose a personal umbrella limit?
A: Sizing typically starts with visible net worth, future earnings, number of properties, youthful drivers, watercraft, domestic staff, and board seats. Just as important as the top limit is verifying that every underlying auto, homeowners, secondary residence, and LLC or trust entity meets the umbrella policy's required underlying schedule.
What is the difference between agreed value and stated value for a collector car in a Tri-State portfolio?
A: On an agreed-value policy (offered by private client carriers and specialists such as Chubb, PURE, Berkley One, Hagerty, and Grundy, subject to underwriting), the insurer and owner agree on the car's insured value up front, and a covered total loss typically pays that agreed amount without depreciation. Stated-value policies usually pay the lesser of the stated amount or actual cash value at the time of loss (and repair cost where the policy type includes it).
When do households with domestic staff in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut need workers' compensation and employment practices coverage?
A: State laws govern mandatory workers' compensation thresholds for domestic employees (for example, New York generally requires workers' compensation for a domestic worker employed 40 or more hours a week by one employer). Separate employment practices coverage is often reviewed.
Talk to Harvey
Connect with Harvey for a quick declarations-page review
Want a plain-English read on how your policies actually fit together?
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- Email Your Question or Dec Pages: harvey@harveytheinsurancebroker.com
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