When being sued for amounts in excess of insurance limits that are available is it good for the defendant to get personal representation too?

Yes it is good for the defendant to get representation separate and apart from the attorney provided by the insurance company when the defendant is sued for an amount in excess of the policy limits. The role of this attorney is to insure (if possible) that any settlement or judgment is within the policy limits or to limit the amount of money that the Defendant has to pay from personal assets.