Whats everyone paying for Car Insurance?

[supersnoop]

I don’t know what owning a home has to do with your auto limits or the advice to buy an unbrella policy. in Texas, your entire house is protected regardless of value or equity. Buy insurance to cover your assets and potential liability. You need to understand what that means where you live.

 

[NinaBella]

I pay somewhere between $1200 and $1400/year, for a 2017 Toyota Camry

50K/100K/300K, full coverage + rental coverage
1 adult (between 35 and 45)
$100 deductible

Did you bump up your Property Damage Liability to $300,000 because it was inexpensive to bump up? It is usually an inexpensive item to increase. Or do you plan on causing more property damage than bodily injury? Perhaps you know someone who has driven into a building causing property damage? I am not saying it's not good to have higher property damage liability, but a typical accident you might hit one (possibly) two cars, maybe three cars. So you have awesome property damage coverage if you cause a pile-up accident, drive into a building, knock out a power pole and electricity to a business, etc. Odds are you will cause more than 50k/100k in bodily injury than 300k in property damage.

Full Coverage is not a real thing. I wouldn't trust any agent who uses this terminology.

 

[NinaBella]

I don’t know what owning a home has to do with your auto limits or the advice to buy an unbrella policy. in Texas, your entire house is protected regardless of value or equity. Buy insurance to cover your assets and potential liability. You need to understand what that means where you live.

You are correct that in some states the laws protect you from losing your home in the actual lawsuit; however, if you are court ordered to pay out $3M, but get to keep your home, how long do you think you would be able to financially afford to keep making your mortgage payments?

$3M to extreme? What about if you were court ordered to pay out $500,000? For some families that live paycheck to paycheck that would cause them to have to file bankruptcy or foreclose on a home.

Food for thought... The laws the states have implemented to prevent a home from being taken in a lawsuit doesn't help you pay your monthly bills if you are swimming in debt after a lawsuit. The question everyone needs to ask themselves is "how much can I afford to lose in a lawsuit? How much do I want the insurance to absorb/payout to financially protect me?"

 

[DisneyHardin]

We pay about $1400/ year and have full coverage in a 2006 GMC Sierra and a 2008 Honda Odyssey.

 

[trenty]

Geico -

decent coverage - more than state requires

two adults and two college kids - all took defensive driving

3 cars 2015 or newer

under $320 month

before that with a different company it was around $520 month with less coverage

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Did you bump up your Property Damage Liability to $300,000 because it was inexpensive to bump up? It is usually an inexpensive item to increase. Or do you plan on causing more property damage than bodily injury? Perhaps you know someone who has driven into a building causing property damage? I am not saying it's not good to have higher property damage liability, but a typical accident you might hit one (possibly) two cars, maybe three cars. So you have awesome property damage coverage if you cause a pile-up accident, drive into a building, knock out a power pole and electricity to a business, etc. Odds are you will cause more than 50k/100k in bodily injury than 300k in property damage.

Full Coverage is not a real thing. I wouldn't trust any agent who uses this terminology.

I'm laughing over here on the full coverage part. It's an industry standard terminology.

If you are however speaking with your agent on what coverages you personally want for your auto policy then you should be going over what the coverages entail that you want or currently have including all the optional coverages beyond average comp/coll/rental car, etc

 

[NinaBella]

I'm laughing over here on the full coverage part. It's an industry standard terminology.

If you are however speaking with your agent on what coverages you personally want for your auto policy then you should be going over what the coverages entail that you want or currently have including all the optional coverages beyond average comp/coll/rental car, etc

No it is an industry standard to try to get people to STOP using this terminology. Car salesmen may use this, insurance agents should not. If I am an agent and you tell me you want full coverage, I am writing a policy for the absolute highest of every item. Why? After an accident with medical injuries and the person has NO medical payments on their policy and then they say "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" People in the insurance industry are trying to stop this terminology because it leads people to believe they are "fully covered for just about anything" which is far from the truth.

 

[Judique]

These posts have me terrified of when my teen starts driving in 1.5 yrs. Right now we pay $1060/year for 2 40 yr old drivers, an 07 Honda Accord, 14 Toyota Venza and a 15 Toyota Sienna. Guess I should start saving...

I really need to know where you live so I can move there. Those seem like really low rates. Can you break it out with coverage levels?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No it is an industry standard to try to get people to STOP using this terminology. Car salesmen may use this, insurance agents should not. If you tell me you want full coverage, I am writing a policy for the absolute highest of every item. Why? Because I have seen people have accidents and suffer medical injuries and they have NO medical payments on their policy and then they say "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" People in the insurance industry are trying to get rid of people using this term.

Yeah ok..perhaps your experience.

I assure you full coverage is standard and normal and doesn't mean you shouldn't trust an agent who uses it. Full coverage is used to differentiate from Liability Only coverage. Full coverage is not an exhaustive term used though.

When you say "don't trust an agent who uses full coverage" you are giving your opinion. What every agent should be doing is going over the coverages with their client. Their client in turn should familiarize themselves with the coverages they have. The mere usage of "full coverage" does not mean "don't trust". You must have had bad agents in the past or known people who have had bad agents in the past in order or have had bad insureds.

Your example of "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" is a failure to discuss the coverages or understand the coverages one has and could be on the agent or the insureds fault or both. But I could give you a gadzillion examples why your "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" misses the mark when correlating it to an agent using the term Full coverage. Heck I couldn't tell you how many times an insured signed a legally binding document rejecting UM/UIM coverage and then got into an accident where they needed the coverage and then cried foul. Or the insureds who sign a legally binding driver exclusion document advising that if Person A drives there is no insurance coverage and then they get into an accident when Person A drives and they cry foul. Or the insured decided to have comprehensive coverage without collision coverage and then got into an accident and cried foul. Or the insured who thought they have rental car coverage/loss of use coverage but they didn't. Much of that is not fully understanding the coverages and when you go to an insurance company especially for the first time with that company you should be reviewing the coverages that work best for you anyways. You should be having that discussion with the agent and then periodically and especially for life changing events like adding a driver, moving, even getting a new car would be a good opportunity to brush up on what coverages you have and discuss them. In other words saying if an agent uses the term Full coverage don't trust them presents it as a simpllistic cause and effect situation and it's a lot more complicated than that.

 

[NinaBella]

Yeah ok..perhaps your experience.

I assure you full coverage is standard and normal and doesn't mean you shouldn't trust an agent who uses it. Full coverage is used to differentiate from Liability Only coverage. Full coverage is not an exhaustive term used though.

When you say "don't trust an agent who uses full coverage" you are giving your opinion. What every agent should be doing is going over the coverages with their client. Their client in turn should familiarize themselves with the coverages they have. The mere usage of "full coverage" does not mean "don't trust". You must have had bad agents in the past or known people who have had bad agents in the past in order

Your example of "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" is a failure to discuss the coverages or understand the coverages one has and could be on the agent or the insureds fault or both. But I could give you a gadzillion examples why your "but I thought I had full coverage, why won't my insurance pay the medical?" misses the mark when correlating it to an agent using the term Full coverage. Heck I couldn't tell you how many times an insured signed a legally binding document rejecting UM/UIM coverage and then got into an accident where they needed the coverage and then cried foul. Or the insureds who sign a legally binding driver exclusion document advising that if Person A drives there is no insurance coverage and then they get into an accident when Person A drives and they cry foul. Or the insured decided to have comprehensive coverage without collision coverage and then got into an accident and cried foul. Or the insured who thought they have rental car coverage/loss of use coverage but they didn't. Much of that is not fully understanding the coverages and when you go to an insurance company especially for the first time with that company you should be reviewing the coverages that work best for you anyways. You should be having that discussion with the agent and then periodically and especially for life changing events like adding a driver, moving, even getting a new car would be a good opportunity to brush up on what coverages you have and discuss them.

You should google "Full Coverage Myth." I don't trust you. I think I may add my first block to my list (just kidding). LOL. Too many people do not understand insurance and simply thinks full coverage means they are covered for everything, which is not true. I am about education, not spewing nonsense terminology.

ETA: You will not find the terminology "full coverage" on any declarations page, or any policy contracts, or any insurance glossary.

Have a great day!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You should google "Full Coverage Myth." I don't trust you. I think I may add my first block to my list (just kidding). LOL. Too many people do not understand insurance and simply thinks full coverage means they are covered for everything, which is not true. I am about education, not spewing nonsense terminology.

I understand that it can be people not fully understanding but that's not because of an agent using the term Full coverage. That's because there's a breakdown between the agent and their insured. Either the agent didn't take the time to discuss the coverages with the insured, especially when they were new business, or the insured blindly went with what their parents had, their significant other had, what they had on their prior policy, etc. It's not a direct cause of saying full coverage.

I wouldn't trust an agent who doesn't take the time to discuss with me my options. Who doesn't help me understand what coverages are best for my personal situation. The mere usage of full coverage ain't going to cut it on not trusting. YMMV.

 

[Jaime4004]

Well if they don't have a "need" to drive, then don't get them their regular license. FYI- Most carriers do not charge for a learner permit. Of course check with your carrier to be sure. Also, BEFORE getting the permit and/or regular license QUOTE with your insurance company so you know the premium in advance. Don't wait until after they get their actual license and then are required to be added to the policy.

Having her drive will actually be a great help to me, we live in the middle of nowhere, no public transportation and nothing within walking/biking distance except school. But I will definitely be shopping around for insurance before that time comes, I shop every couple years now just for the two of us.

 

[NinaBella]

Having her drive will actually be a great help to me, we live in the middle of nowhere, no public transportation and nothing within walking/biking distance except school. But I will definitely be shopping around for insurance before that time comes, I shop every couple years now just for the two of us.

I am getting lucky with my third son. He just turned 16 and has no interest in upgrading his learner permit to a drivers license (says he’ll just Uber if he has to get somewhere and can’t find a ride). Not to mention the rates for youthful operators with the inexperienced operator surcharge on a Florida policy is a pretty significant rate increase. My daughter is a different story. She says instead of a quince or sweet 16, she wants a car. Oh my.


ETA: Before someone brings it up: I am aware that Uber has a minimum age of 18 to ride in an Uber alone. He has never used Uber alone. Many kids in this area do use Uber. My boss was busy at work the other day and called an Uber to pick up her kid from his sports practice!

 

[Darcy03231]

New Hampshire

$300.000/$100,000/$300,000
$500 deductible - full coverage
2 adult drivers
2 cars (2007 & 2009)
$560/year

 

[Denise W]

It is because you added a third car to a 3 driver household, and the third driver is a 19 year old male. Make sure he is assigned to the car he will actually drive, not the highest rated car which he was assigned to previously. That might help your rates a bit. But until he is either out of the household or ages out of the youthful rates, you will pay more than most people.
Denise

 

[DLgal]

OP, seems like you are getting completely hosed. You are paying WAY too much unless you have some things on your records that you didn't disclose here (prior claims, tickets, points on your license, a criminal history, poor credit scores, etc).

We are in CA. We pay $1870/Year for 2 cars, one 2007 CRV (5,000 miles per year) and a 2017 Civic (25,000 miles per year). We are both 39 years old. No tickets, no claims.
USAA Insurance

We have super high coverage limits because we don't own a home or have a high net worth and we live in a city where people routinely drive cars that cost well over $100k. I'll be damned if I hit a Maclaren or a Lamborghini...

Coverages:
Bodily Injury $500k/$1M
Property Damage $500k
Medical Expenses $100k
Uninsured motorist bodily Injury $500k/$1M
$1000 deductible
Rental Reimbursement

 

[Sadie22]

Where you live, the type of car, safety features, number of cars, other types of household policies, whether you also have a liability umbrella, age and marital status of drivers, accident status are some of the items which affect cost of insurance. It does not matter what someone in some other state or even another part of your state pays. We got discounts for Honor Roll, having the student complete a program with the insurance agent, and how far away the school was if the car stayed home.

 

[DizzyStitch]

I'm paying about 2,000 per year for a 20 year old and 17 year old and me in my 50's. We have a 2016 Subaru, a 2013 Ford and a 2011 Acadia. I'm with Geico and no accidents but the 17 year old had a ticket last year. Silly girl. And we are in the Cleveland Ohio area.

 

[Pooh2]

Our auto and homeowners insurance have gone up 20% each year for the past two years despite having no accidents or claims over the past 30 years. We've been with an independent guy for 30 years that we really like but might get a quote from USAA next year.
Our health insurance went up by over $6,000 since the Affordable Care Act came to be.
Some days, it feels like we are working just to pay insurance and taxes!

 

[tvguy]

Our auto and homeowners insurance have gone up 20% each year for the past two years despite having no accidents or claims over the past 30 years. We've been with an independent guy for 30 years that we really like but might get a quote from USAA next year.
Our health insurance went up by over $6,000 since the Affordable Care Act came to be.
Some days, it feels like we are working just to pay insurance and taxes!

If you have an Independent Agent, he should be getting you the lowest rate from the the companies he represents. I don't think my mom had the same insurance company on her homeowners for more than a year at a time because her Independent Agent would switch her to the company with the lowest rate for the same coverage.