A judgment is a court's binding order that one party owes money to another, for example after a lawsuit over injuries or property damage from an accident. In insurance, liability coverage and an umbrella policy help pay a judgment against you, along with your legal defense costs, up to their limits.
If a judgment exceeds your coverage, you are personally responsible for the rest, which is why liability limits matter.
Example: a court enters a $400,000 judgment against a driver for injuries in a crash. Auto liability plus an umbrella policy pay it up to their combined limit; anything above that falls to the driver.
Related: liability coverage, excess liability, underlying policy.