Full coverage insurance vs Liability

[DavidC]

What are your thoughts on "How old does a vehicle need to be to drop the full coverage and move to Liability insurance?". I still have full coverage on my 99 and the rates keep climbing lately. If something would happen I imagine the insurance company would total the truck in certain circumstances as it may cost more to repair than total. I guess the upside could be that if the truck valued 10k that would be a better deal than walking away with nothing so maybe the full coverage vs Liability should be based on kelly blue book value instead of vehicle age.

Your thoughts on full coverage versus liability, pro's and con's.



Dave

 

[mweiman]

Insurance

I have thought the same thing before, depending on how much you can save you can probably save the value of your truck in 5-10 years. The bad part is most people on here have a truck that is not replaceable to them. A few thoughts that might help your decision:

1. Can you buy a replacement truck without breaking you bank if needed

2. Are you concerned with fixing small dings/dents

3. Can your truck be parted out if totaled to offset a good portion of the loss

4. How much will you save

5. How much do you drive your truck and in what type of situations



Just a few ideas, I wonder if an insurance agent can tell you what you would get if it was totaled.

Good Luck

 

[Bill Lins]

I carry liability (required), comprehensive, & uninsured motorists coverage.



Comp covers the truck if it's vandalized, stolen, catches fire, or I hit a bird, cow, horse, deer, etc. (all things I have little or no control over).



UM pays to fix damage if I'm hit by some turd who isn't covered. This coverage is fairly inexpensive.



Note that I do NOT carry collision coverage. It pays to fix the truck if I'm at fault in a wreck. By driving extremely defensively, I save a bunch of money.



You might check rates from different companies & see which way you would come out ahead. Premiums are cheaper if you take higher deductibles, too.



Carry just liability ONLY if you can afford to lose the truck without reimbursement.



Hope this helps.

 

[Bill Lins]

mweiman asked: "I wonder if an insurance agent can tell you what you would get if it was totaled. "



Look up the wholesale value of your rig on kbb.com or check with a dealer or banker who has a Blue Book. That's generally what you'll get paid on a total.

 

[Skydiver]

Do you drive this truck only part time? If no, keep full coverage.
Are you driving in heavy traffic? If yes, keep full coverage.
Are you in a high crime area? you know the answer.
To you guys with full coverage. Wife sold insurance for 17 years. Never go with the lowest coverages on liability. Buy you some GOOD insurance. I think we have 100/300/100 and to make sure we don't lose our house if we get sued we have a $1,000,000 umbrella that takes over if our liability limits get max out.
I know, I know, insurance is a rip off.

 

[DavidC]

The truck is a 99 with 74k miles, so it sits in the garage more than driven lately. Been using Zaino polish on the body for years and it honestly looks better than the day I bought it new. Driving around here is like Nascar. Yes I agree insurance is a ripoff. I do not know what is going on with State Farm but the rates are increasing on the last 2 statements, each statement is 6 months long. I'm sure if they keep going with the rates there will eventually be a cut off point for full coverage vs. Liability. I have had State Farm my whole life starting at 16 and now 56. Maybe they think I am to old to drive.



Dave

 

[AHarris]

Before I sold my 2003 Jeep GC, I faced the same dillemma. The SUV was only worth about 7K so I called USAA to see how much I'd save per year if I dropped collision and kept everything else. Turns out I was only saving $84 every six months so I decided to keep full coverage on until I sold the Jeep.

 

[Tractorat]

Make sure you consider what your deductible is. If it is high, it may not be worth full coverage for an older truck. Also, try Nationwide for coverage. I dont know if they can sell in your state. But, everytime I try to shop them, they are always much less expensive than any other company Ive checked (at least for me)

 

[jeepit]

I use a rule of thumb if vehicle is worth less than $3000 do not purchase comp and coll coverages.

 

[CAPTPHIL]

Dave,
Not trying to sell anything, I had the same problem last year at renewal time. I shopped on-line and Century 21 saved me around 50% over my local agent I had been with for 20yrs. As to dropping coll. I did because of high miles. Your truck is worth a lot more than mine for that reason alone.
Good Luck Capt Phil

 

[Missouri Mule]

I have full coverage on both trucks. I had to go with commercial insurance because they are used in my business. The insurance agent asked me how much I wanted them insured for I set it at the price I paid for them( I also have a high deductible). They are stilled are insured at that. I figure if they get into and accident my insurance co. will fix them instead of totaling them ( I'm very fond of my trucks). Also if they get stolen or totaled I'll have a nice down payment for another one(knock on wood). ( They fixed the Dodge twice both times they replaced the right side of the bed).

 

[Gene Arnold]

Can't really give an answer as each case is different. I tend to carry full coverage a lot longer than I probably should. I still have it on the '96 Dodge, mainly due to all the expensive stuff in front of the engine.



By the way, one of the posts above says

UM pays to fix damage if I'm hit by some turd who isn't covered. This coverage is fairly inexpensive.

You probably are misinformed as my experience has been that both Uninsured Motorist and Under-insured Motorist cover only personal injuries - not vehicle damage.



Gene

 

[Bill Lins]

Don't know where you are located or who you have your insurance with, gene, but here's what my carrier, Germania, has to say about it:



"Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage

Pays: Your expenses from an accident caused by an uninsured motorist or a motorist who did not have enough insurance to cover your bills, up to your policy’s dollar limits. Also pays for accidents caused by a hit-and-run driver if you reported the accident promptly to police. Bodily injury UM/UIM pays without deductibles for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and permanent or partial disability. Property damage UM/UIM pays for auto repairs, a rental car, and damage to items in your car. There is an automatic $250 deductible. This means you must pay the first $250 of the repairs yourself. "



Maybe you are only carrying BI/UM.

 

[Buffalo]

Hi DavidC,



I've been with Farmer's Ins. for 25 or more years. About a year or two ago, I was listening to a radio talk show that deals with money questions & the auto ins. topic came up. The host mentioned that one of the best companies in the country is Amica Ins. Shortly after, my Mom called me complaining about how expensive her Traveler's Ins. had become on her house & car. I looked into Amica Ins. & found them to be quite a bit cheaper than the ins. she had & she changed to them. This past week, she called me to tell me that she had just gotten her new ins. bill & the premuim had gone down. This is what the radio host had mentioned. If you don't have any claims, each year, the ins. premiums drop a bit. Needless to say, my Mom is thrilled & I am now a "hero, bordering on a genius".



At the same time, I got a quote on my ins. from Amica. Farmer's found out & called me with a new, cheaper offer that was in line & competitave with Amica's offer. I asked him how he knew that I had been shopping & he said that they were all interconnected. I was surprised.



My understanding is that Amica is able to sell cheaper because they don't have so many agents with offices that have to be paid for (overhead). If you check the local Phoenix phone book, there are a huge number of Farmer's agents with offices. Probably close to a half of a page in the Yellow Pages. There is only ONE Amica office!!! And, they like to do business over the phone but, I have gone to their office. Nice folks & my Mom was very happy with them. If Farmer's ever gives me a hard time, I'll go over to them.



I don't know if you remember me but, I'm the guy that bought your electric trailer tongue jack, from you. It worked great til the neighbor had tree trimmers come out & they needed to get above my trailer. I hurried up trying to hook up the trailer so they could get to work. In the process, I forgot to raise the jack up all the way & when I pulled out, the jack hit the sidewalk & bent beyond repair. In fact, I had to cut it off. I'll bet those Hispanic guys were laughing at the dumb gringo!!! I had to get a new jack that is not nearly as good as the one I bought from you. Besides that, those guys were taking a break & didn't go to work right away so, I hurried for nothing. Not quite "NOTHING", as I had to buy the new jack!!!!!



Hope this info. helps.



Joe F.

 

[DavidC]

Thanks for the responses guy's. I paid State Farm to keep the full coverage for now. The thing with shopping other companies is that I am afraid of the initial low ball price to get you to switch then the next bill is significantly higher. All that after you have lost all your discounts from the previous insurer. I have another 6 months to figure out what I will do with State Farm but I will keep full coverage as long as the totaled price is greater than 3k, at least it would be a down payment on another vehicle.

Sorry to hear about your jack Joe. When I bought that one it was the best on the market as I intended for it to last a very long time. The warranty did not state anything about removing curbs with it tho.



Dave

 

[Crazy Horse]

Note that I do NOT carry collision coverage. It pays to fix the truck if I'm at fault in a wreck. By driving extremely defensively, I save a bunch of money.

I agree with Bill Lins. Just recently I dropped collision on my 2002. That's saving me almost 1/2 of the amount for full coverage. I've never been in an accident and been driving since 1969. I haven't had a ticket since 1985 (improper lane change; Lame). I'm with Allstate now and am going to check out Farmers, they are supposed to be less expensive for the same coverage. I had been with State Farm for almost 25 years and checked around and Allstate came in considerably cheaper at that time so we went with Allstate. I think it's a good idea to check around for coverage about every 10 years or so.

 

[jeepit]

State Farm is high priced in our area. We went with an Independent Insurance Agent.

 

[CAPTPHIL]

Try 21st Century on line. They saved me a bundle 6 mos. ago.
Good Luck Capt Phil

 

[Bill Lins]

Apropos of nothing whatever, remember that 21st Century is what used to be called AIG.

 

[CAPTPHIL]

Thanks,
I didn`t know about AIG, Looks like I might be getting some of our BAILOUT dollars back.
Since they had different ins. cos. around the world, do you know of any others that might be giving these kind of discounts.
Thanks again Capt Phil