By Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
Published Thursday, April 22, 2010
Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan is suing his insurance broker, saying the company did not provide him an umbrella policy that
would have protected his net worth after the accident that injured his son's friend, John Graziano.
Hogan, who lives in Pinellas County, has filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Insurance Services.
Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, had third-party auto liability insurance with a $250,000 limit per person injured, but that
itself was not the problem, said his attorney Wil Florin. The problem was that Wells Fargo should have recommended the umbrella
policy, he said.
Florin said it's well-understood that a person with a high net worth should have an umbrella policy that provides liability insurance
above and beyond their other policies, such as auto insurance. Insurance brokers are required by law to advise their clients about
such issues, Florin said.
"The layman's way to put it is, this is broker malpractice," he said.
Although it's commonly known that wealthy people need to protect their assets, Hogan did not realize he needed an umbrella policy,
Florin said.
"He delegated all of that to the trust of his insurance broker."
Didn't Hogan have a personal responsibility to investigate on his own what he needed to do to protect his multimillion-dollar net
worth?
"Not if you put your trust in your broker," Florin said.
"This isn't a personal responsibility case," Florin said. "This is a professional responsibility case."
In a highly publicized 2007 accident, Hogan's son Nick Bollea crashed his Toyota Supra into a palm tree during a street race in
downtown Clearwater. Nick's friend and passenger, Graziano, suffered catastrophic injuries.
Hogan recently paid a confidential settlement in that case. He is seeking to recover the money he was "unnecessarily required to
pay as a result of the defendant's negligence," Florin's law firm said in a statement.
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For more information about personal umbrella policies, contact Tim Hamilton or Monica Landers at (859) 276-1234 or go online at www.timhamiltoninsurance.net or www.nationwide.com/timhamilton.
Hamilton Insurance Group, based in Lexington, KY, provides a full range of insurance products in Kentucky and Indiana, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, renters, life, & commercial insurance, as well as fixed and index annuities.