Vehicle Insurance

[sufficientforme]

I could not imagine scrimping on coverage. The cost of a death or injury alone far outweighs the premiums we pay. My husbands aunt hit a guy, His wife sued her insurance company and her personally. They had to file bankruptcy over it. My sister has also been in a car accident, and the medical portion was outrageous.
We pay around 72.00 a month for full coverage on 2 cars, 1 liability, and our property insurance. (2 adults no teen drivers)

 

[enjoy the ride]

Two times in my life I have been rear ended- one time the guy acutally got out of his car and said that this couldn't be real- he had no insurance. The damage was minimal and I let him go (stupid because he could have gone straight to the police and I would have been in trouble,) the next guy I said I would let him fix the damage rather- and it took two months of constant nagging before he did it. Both times I was stopped at a stop light waiting. If there had been damage I neede fixed, I would have had to sue the @*%$s to recover my sizable deductible. They both should have had insurance.
Then there was my aunt- her "frugal" husband had let the insurance lapse and then he hit a motorcyclist at an intersection- she spent the rest of her working life taking every other paycheck to the court to pay the settlement.
Liablity is the minimal to carry.
What had really set me off is my house insurance- It is now $1478 a year- a raise of almost $300. Not a big, expensive house either- 1500 sq feet. I think maybe because we only have a volunteer fire department and not fire house within 7 miles. But I pay it because I could not afford to replace the house.
The earthquake coverage is and additional $637- and of dubious value.
Insurance is a large part of my expenses.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yeah, the earthquake insurance is really pricey . . . if you can get it!

If you were to drive without a license you would have to be really careful, not just to drive safe, but also that you don't have a tail or headlight out. I've been pulled over for that before. As if I have eyes on my rear bumper. LOL

Quail_Antwerp -- take your husband up on his offer. Even if you are a great driver, I don't think you will want to take the driver's test ever again!

 

[Beekissed]

Aly, you need your license, if for nothing else, to be able to present ID if needed. My mom found she had to go get a picture ID at the DMV for certain reasons. Might as well keep the license, your hubby, Heaven forbid, might be out of commission and not able to drive you somewhere.

My mother was not allowed to get her license because my Dad is a crazy, jealous, control-freak of a man. SHE GOT HER FIRST DRIVER'S LICENSE ON WEDNESDAY!!! AT THE AGE OF 74.

Do you know what finally convinced him to let her? He had an injury to his leg that prevented his driving.....if I had known that I'd have managed an injury to him way before this! I've been pressuring my mother to get her license for years but she was reluctant to "rock the boat" with Dad.

Now.....to work on getting her a car.....

 

[Big Daddy]

I've been without full coverage for years. Make sure you hold on to some kind of coverage for deer damage...this gets a little rough! Less money for parts and repairs than a deductible, though.

Most companies require you to carry collision if you have comprehensive. Comp covers deer hits, glass, vandalism, hail and any other act of nature or maliciousness Also covers basic stupidity like spilling paint in your car or driving through a flooded ditch and sucking water in your engine, or tearing your oil pan out on a rock and trying to drive home. If your car is financed you must have full coverage or your finance company will put their own insurance on your car which of course is way overpriced. Rule of thumb is if your car is worth less than 10 years of premiums you should drop collision and comp. If you drop those you should carry uninsured motorist. Uninsured covers you if you get run into by an uninsured motorist or your car is parked and gets hit by an unknown person.

Insurance rates are controlled by your state insurance commission. The insurance company must prove a need for a rate increase. Insurance rates are high because of how expensive cars are to fix and insurance fraud. I am an appraiser and last year the avg repair cost for the 1300 cars that I appraised when the shop was done was 3300 dollars. That includes everything from a scratch on the bumper to a major front end hit. Next time your insurance company pays 18k to fix your car, think how many years premiums that was. Just another case of everybody paying for the bad habits of a few.

 

[Big Daddy]

Want to hear something funny? If your dog is not restrained and runs in front of a car and you own a home, the insurance company can file against your homeowners policy for any damages to the car that hit your dead dog.

Deer hits are considered an unavoidable accident. Anything covered under comprehensive is not chargeable against your policy for a rate increase.

 

[Nifty]

Good discussion. With the increases in premiums with everything we're trying to do more "self insurance" and just have coverage for the really big stuff. We're getting plans with the highest deductibles (major medical) and really lowering our coverage on auto.

Our cars aren't fancy or expensive so I don't see any need to carry so much insurance. With that said, it is easy to get lured into the "well, for a 'lot' more coverage it is only $x more a month."

 

[Wifezilla]

I have older, payed off vehicles so I have liability. I do pay the extra for uninsured motorist coverage. It is worth it. Trust me. With money getting tight, odds are an uninsured person is going to be the one that plows in to you.

This has happened to me TWICE.

 

[Big Daddy]

If you have a policy with comp and collision you should be sure to get rental covg. It is only about 20 a year and if the accident is your fault and you don't have it you'll be without wheels. Even something as minor as replacing your bumper takes 3 days. It's one of the best values available on insurance.

Uninsured motorist is cheap and usually has a 100 or 200 deductible.
Your covered as long as it's not your fault or a comp claim.

 

[keljonma]

In Ohio, you are required to have auto insurance, even if all you have is basic liability.

Also, the state pulls a license plates lottery. If you are picked, you are required to show proof of insurance for an exact date they specify in the letter sent to you. If you don't have it, your license can be suspended.