Vehicle Insurance

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

My insurance renewal is coming up and I need to find a way to save a few dollars. What is your rule of thumb on things like when to drop full coverage and how high of liability limit to keep? I currently have full coverage on everything and have since come to find out that a couple of the cars on my insurance are worth less than $4,000 trade in value but cost almost $800/6 months to insure. That does not seem right to me. I will probably drop everything t liability but my newer truck that I still owe money on and the one that my youngest daughter drives. It's a new-ish Honda CRV with probably 70,000 miles. It should still be worth something.

The bigger question is liability limits. My state only requires $25,000 per individual and $50,000 per accident. That seems like very low coverage to me but if there is no benefit of increasing that then there is no sense in spending the extra money. Is there some sort of direction available, or do we just guess?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I run 100/300 liability ... You bump a new Mercedes you'll want more than 25K per person ...

I have "full coverage" on my 2018 pickup that I paid cash for 4.5 years ago ... Total is about $1200 per year, with $1K deductible ... I'll cancel the full coverage once I retire, but as of now as a long distance truck driver, I leave my pickup at my company's terminal, so out in the weather most all the time ... 2 years ago had $6K of hail damage!

It was little hail that just peppered it! Large hail can total out a vehicle!

Once I retire, my truck will be parked in the metal barn ...

 

[tradosaurus]

Car insurance needs to be regulated if we are required to have it.
Why is it so difficult to get quotes? I don't want to spend an hour on the phone with an agent to get a quote.

 

[Jstpssng]

I just upgraded to 500,000/1,000,000 as required by client.
No collision insurance on my 2018 Colorado, but still have full coverage on my Kubota.

 

[oldnslo]

Here in Illinois the state mandated uninsured and underinsured is approximately 70% of the premium on my insurance policy. This is in a state where insurance is also required by law.

Example: on my 2012 motorcycle cost of insurance was approx $170 and premium was $800 per year.

If you have decent agent they should be able to provide line item pricing for different deductibles, liability, collision, etc.

 

[RayIN]

Keep in mind, what auto insurance doesn't pay makes you liable for the difference. Even with full coverage, the limits you buy dictate the level at which you become liable.
Think about your old vehicle's worth today, then act as if you were shopping for a different vehicle; don't let the prices you see cause a heart attack.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Today I updated to $100,000/$300,000 liability, dropped my 2 older VW Jettas down to liability only, and increased the deductible on my Chevrolet 2500 to $2,000/$1,000. Saved about 20% on my policy cost. Insurance is INSANE! I kept uninsured and underinsured motorists. It was hardly any cost at all.

 

[not2old]

I put full coverage on my 2024 F350 and CTS-V because I can't afford to lose them I put it on my 1990 F250 because collision costs about $100.00. $200,000.00 public liability is compulsory here with government insurance. Private insurance has become more difficult to get here for optional coverage and no longer is way less expensive than the government coverage. I know I'm getting ripped off when it costs less to insure my CTS-V than my 1200 Sportster for similar coverage. It was also less expensive for comprehensive coverage when licensed for the road rather than when in storage.

 

[JTKub]

I would consider $100K/$300K the bare minimum for liability coverage today, with the cost of light trucks and SUVs where they are. I cover 4 vehicles and two of my sons, 20, 22. I pay ~$4500/6 months because of it.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

My State Farm agent told me that a third of the claims they deal with is uninsured, even though it's required by the state, and you need it to register your vehicle!

He said that people will get bare minimum insurance, pay for a month, to get the proof they need to get 2 year registration, then cancel it!

In Arizona, the state has connections with the insurance companies and if you cancel, they know pretty soon, and give you 30 days to prove you have new insurance, or they will cancel your registration, they do up to 5 year registration out there!

 

[JTKub]

In Arizona, the state has connections with the insurance companies and if you cancel, they know pretty soon, and give you 30 days to prove you have new insurance, or they will cancel your registration, they do up to 5 year registration out there!

In the PR of NY, if you let your auto insurance lapse, I believe you're put in a risk pool that is going to make your premium astronomically high, if you can even find someone to cover you at that point. Is a vicious cycle. People 'need' to drive and can't afford to, so they pull all sorts of scumbaggery unfortunately. That's why all of us here have to pay what we do.

 

[Jstpssng]

I kept uninsured and underinsured motorists. It was hardly any cost at all

That's mandatory in Maine. It doesn't cover your vehicle; but does give you medical coverage if you are hit by an uninsured motorist.

Back before we had mandatory insurance laws, my brother's college roommate didn't bother carrying insurance on his motorcycle. How much damage can you do with a bike, right?

He hit a Corvette, and had to drop out of school to pay for it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Some save by placing a deposit or bond in lieu of a commercial carrier…

But if there is a claim it’s on you to work it out and pay legal if you hire or lose.

Clean record but all insurance is become astronomical…

Home tripled this year from $2200 to $6500 and I was told to be grateful.

Auto up 20%.

Many drive without and DMV will do nothing except revoke license so they drive without license on car or drivers license running the risk of car impoundment but on a cheap car the value is often much less than the cost of insurance and tags.

 

[anomad]

My insurance has gone up a lot too. I cut my wife off as a full second driver. She has her own policy for her car now since she uses it for work. That helped. I need to cut back more. I'll revisit that before my next renewal.

Even the 2007 minivan I bought from my neighbor and just put liability on was ridiculous. I did 100/300 and roadside assistance. Roadside assistance seemed cheap and a no-brainer for a 20 year old car I know almost nothing about. Despite its whopping 53k miles!

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I insure based on my ability to absorb the loss. Thusly, we have collision coverage on none of our autos. We drive 10-20 year old vehicles... We have a couple that are pushing 30 years. We just maintain them well.

Our three motorcycles have full coverage, but that is because it's stupid cheap at $120/year each.

We have never had a car loan, so we have never been required to have full coverage... We just assume if the car is a full loss, will it move the needle at all?

If we lose our most expensive vehicle, it's 1% of our net worth... So I'm not hyper concerned about the loss. Insurance coverage is in direct relationship to the value of the asset vs your total assets, IMHO

 

[Phil Timmons]

I break things into two general areas:

Mandated and Risk.

===================

Mandated:

I think all US states have some minimum general liability coverage?

And many lenders and lease-holders require some risk coverage for "their" asset -- it is not really "yours" until it is paid off (if there is a loan).

Finally, if used in a business, some sites may required additional minimum coverage for access to business sites.

===================

Risk:

So the risk analysis is next. One good argument for additional coverage is random "rents." If you have coverage on any one base vehicle, rents are covered as well. For years, I covered insurance month-to-month business rents under one car that spent most of the time in the driveway at home.

Now I have a rather old not worth-much daily driver (an Old EV, no less). Just checked, its replacement value is now less than $4000. I estimate the case of total loss is less than 10% any given year. Or about $400 per year, average. To get "Full Coverage" on it costs something like an additional $1000 per year (above General Liability). So from my Risk Numbers -- if it costs more than $400 per year, it is not worth full coverage. So just have General Liability, and some other minor features like medical, and uninsured (others) motorists (common condition here in Texas).

 

[mrmikey]

I just paid my insurance, $1M PL/PD, collision, uninsured motorist, loss of use and most of the other add ons on my '19 Ram, CAN$ 1,400 and my '15 Spyder CAN$ 1,200. I should add no claims ever in 54 years of driving that were my fault other than two windshields.

 

[Phil Timmons]

Since the topic is open -- and the site is really Tractors -- do you all bother to get any coverage on older equipment? I understand new, leased, or under loans may most likely be required.

We are doing some old custom rebuilds, and completely custom local hand-build equipment for most. Is there any point of Insurance for that? Does anyone even do such coverage?

Is ANY Insurance required for a Tractor or other equipment to use a public road? Talking about transit between work/field sites -- not like a daily driver. Although that (using a Tractor as a daily driver) would be rather fun and funny.

 

[mrmikey]

Is ANY Insurance required for a Tractor or other equipment to use a public road?

I know around here, Nova Scotia, it is. I had previously insured my Jinma with PL/PD only as I had to drive on the road an extremely short distance from one driveway to another as well as moving around on the road while plowing.
It was sort of a catch 22 situation. In order to be on the road I had to have it registered, in order to have it registered I had to show proof of insurance. I got a GT plate, General Tractor, and got it insured at the time I think it was around $250 a year.
I've since sold it and got a smaller machine that I can drive on the shoulder so I'm not concerned about it.

 

[JTKub]

I insure based on my ability to absorb the loss. Thusly, we have collision coverage on none of our autos. We drive 10-20 year old vehicles... We have a couple that are pushing 30 years. We just maintain them well.

Our three motorcycles have full coverage, but that is because it's stupid cheap at $120/year each.

We have never had a car loan, so we have never been required to have full coverage... We just assume if the car is a full loss, will it move the needle at all?

If we lose our most expensive vehicle, it's 1% of our net worth... So I'm not hyper concerned about the loss. Insurance coverage is in direct relationship to the value of the asset vs your total assets, IMHO

I hear you, but even those of us who gauge our coverage this way, have assets, zero traffic violations and never file claims are still paying the price.

Only one of my 4 vehicles has collision coverage on it. I don't carry anything on my SCUT. Not having collision doesn't reduce the cost hugely, but it is a savings. You really have to think wisely before filing any type of claim today with the volatility of the insurance industry in general.