The 8 domains of a seven-figure estate
Once wealth passes the million-dollar mark, protection stops being a policy and becomes an Architecture. Each domain has its own rules, its own hidden limits, and its own typical gaps. Open each one and find yours.
Your lifestyle: where standard policies fall short.
Standard policies are designed for standard lives. If any of these lines sounds like the conversations at your table, your lifestyle has probably outgrown your protection. Beneath each one, what few people tell you.
We split the year between Miami and Madrid. The grandchildren ski with us every winter.
What few tell you: policies carry territorial limits, and property abroad is rarely covered by a U.S. policy. An international medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more, and specific travel and worldwide liability coverage exists for families living across two countries.
Saturdays we take the boat out to Elliott Key. The boys bring the PWCs.
What few tell you: personal watercraft (PWCs) were 17% of Florida's registered vessels in 2025, but 23% of reportable accidents.4 Florida law generally places liability on whoever is operating, but the owner can still be liable if aboard or if they lent it to someone unprepared to handle it. Each vessel needs its own policy and its own line on the umbrella.
Our daughter trains in Wellington. This year she qualified for the winter circuit.
What few tell you: a competition horse can be a six-figure asset that a home policy typically does not cover. Equine mortality and surgical coverage exist, and the liability if the animal injures someone at the barn or in transport requires its own protection.
The collection began with my father's watch. Today it is fourteen pieces, and each one has its story.
What few tell you: a typical home policy caps jewelry theft at about $1,500 (generally $1,000 to $2,000).7 A serious collection is protected piece by piece, at agreed value, with appraisals updated every 3 to 5 years and coverage in transit, which is where most pieces are lost.
The Islamorada house rents out the weeks we are not using it. It practically maintains itself.
What few tell you: nightly rentals turn the home into a business, and many home policies exclude or void coverage during short-term rentals. Specific vacation-rental insurance exists. Without it, an injured guest files their claim directly against the family's estate.
More agreements have closed in our stadium suite than in any boardroom.
What few tell you: in Florida, serving alcohol to adult guests, in the suite, on the yacht, or at the year-end celebration at home, generally does not make you liable for what they do afterward. The exceptions matter: knowingly serving anyone under 21, or someone you know is addicted to alcohol, can make you liable if they later cause harm, and outside Florida the rules change. Even a baseless lawsuit costs money to defend, and an umbrella usually includes that defense.
