Whats everyone paying for Car Insurance?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We moved from California to Georgia almost two years ago. Been with same insurance company for both car and auto for over 35 years. Our first year in Georgia, rates pretty much stayed the same. The following year our car insurance doubled! We have 5 cars. One is an historic car which basically stays in garage and another that basically stays in garage too. Only 2 drivers, in early 50's. No accidents and made only one claim in 35 plus years, a windshield. That was with Liberty Mutual. We dumped Liberty Mutual and moved on. I do know that when having a new driver, such as a teen, it brings it up dramatically. Asked our new insurance agent about it (our daughter will start driving in 3 years). He said to brace ourselves because rate can go u 150%!

I agree with tvguy regarding the historic car. At least the insurance company I worked for the main auto product wasn't designed to adequately protect antique or historic cars due to their uniqueness in value, parts and average usage. We would often recommend that person seek coverage for that vehicle with a specialized company (and we had a company we would refer them to since the agents could write with them).

As for the other vehicle that stays in the garage depending on your insurance company and state rules (I haven't looked up GA in a while) if you don't drive that vehicle often at all, especially if it's a seasonal vehicle, you may look into storage/lay-up (often called comprehensive only coverage) for that vehicle. It basically removes coverages including liability and collision to the vehicle so you wouldn't drive that vehicle on the streets at that point and puts comprehensive coverage on it. Some states have penalties for removing liability from a vehicle or putting a vehicle in storage and not all insurance companies allow this though.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Get classic car insurance for the historic vehicle. It is MUCH cheaper and better fits the needs of a car that is rarely driven and may be worth some money.

We did move husbands 69 vette and 87 Shelby to a classic car insurance company. It wasn't all that cheaper than Liberty Mutual. Saved about $100 for both. What it's better for is the vette, in case of accident. Thanks!

 

[havaneselover]

I pay $560/year (just went up from $480) to insure my 2012 Odyssey. I raised my coverage last year and put about 18,000 miles per year on my van. No tickets or accidents and I'm currently the only driver.

My dad has a 1998 Porsche slant nose turbo (one of 500) that costs him an absolute fortune to insure. He's the original owner. And I'd be surprised if he puts 1,000 miles a year on it. Glad I'm just insuring a 6 year old minivan

 

[tvguy]

We did move husbands 69 vette and 87 Shelby to a classic car insurance company. It wasn't all that cheaper than Liberty Mutual. Saved about $100 for both. What it's better for is the vette, in case of accident. Thanks!

The big difference is normal insurance pays actual cash value, where as classic car insurance pays "agreed to" value. There is about a $10,000 difference between the two with agreed to value being the higher number.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Rates are something that you cannot compare to anyone else. Each state is different and then even neighbors rates with the exact same vehicle can be different rates based on insurance score and various other factors. That is why so far, I have not commented on rates. You shouldn't compare to others. Shop rates with various companies if you want, but you cannot compare to your neighbor or someone on an Internet board. No one on here can say someone is paying a low or high premium because we are not looking at your rating factors. I am sure there is a valid reason for your rate that your agent can explain.

I am replying about your question on Umbrella. Have you heard about a doctor having professional liability in case she/he is sued for an error she/he may do on the job? Umbrella is excess personal liability. It protects people against claims or lawsuits for errors she/he may do as a person... such as being at-fault in an auto accident.

Umbrella is a "excess personal liability" policy that acts as an umbrella over your auto policy and home policy. It will cover all household members (those with a DL will be listed as operators), all vehicles, all homes, and all vacant land that you own or co-own, so each one has to be listed. Many people own more than one home or co-own a home with a sibling. For this reason the company may require you have all these products with them and not split up between companies. All insurance companies require certain minimum liability limits on your auto and home policy to maintain an umbrella policy. These underlying requirements may vary company to company. Most umbrella start at $1Million in coverage and only goes up from there.

For an umbrella example below, I am going with the company minimum liability listed as:
Again underlying requirements is determined by the company.

Auto
Bodily Injury $300,000 per person / $500,000 per accident / $100,000 in property damage This is where you see 300/500/100

Home
Minimum Liability of $300,000
Personal Injury Endorsement that extends coverage for intentional torts like libel, slander, defamation of character, wrongful arrest, assault and battery when not criminal, etc. (This endorsement may vary company to company as well, mine includes this whenever there is an umbrella policy.)

The Umbrella doesn't kick in until the situation (claim or lawsuit against you) exceeds the underlying liability limits. So let's say you are sued after an auto accident for bodily injury of $3Million and you have a $3Million umbrella, the auto covers up to the 300/500 and then the umbrella picks up the rest. Umbrella also covers the cost to defend you and pays out up to the policy limits.

There are myriad of reasons you can be sued. You can be sued for leaving a bad review on yelp. I know someone who saw a man in a car, hit a man on a bicycle, he gave his witness statement to the police. The man in the car is now suing him over his witness statement. The other day, I heard of office drama leading to a defamation of character lawsuit. Your kid is accused of bullying someone at school and you are sued. Your dog bites the neighbor, etc. It doesn't matter if you are right or wrong, the fact of being sued and having to hire a lawyer and make it to court for the case to be thrown out is a pain the butt.

Umbrella is it's own separate policy with it's own separate premium.

OP, what you currently have on your policy you would have to INCREASE liability, which increases the auto policy premium. We haven't even discussed your home policy. Then if you wanted an Umbrella you have an additional premium on top of the auto premium increase. Umbrella policies are wonderful to have when you need them.

Umbrella give you piece of mind that is you are served with a lawsuit, you are protected. Last year a crazy lady on Etsy was making threats to sue me for a bad review I left. She was trying to get me to remove my review. I left an honest feedback and could back-up what I was saying, so I refused to remove my review. I was actually going to return the product to her, but then she started making threats so I still have that product in it's original package along with other items I would need in case a lawsuit pops up. Having an umbrella is piece of mind of "bring it" I know I am protected. I haven't heard from her in over a year, no lawsuit.

Thank you so much for all the info. I'm hoping CA is an umbrella state but I doubt it.. I had no idea people can sue over a bad review. Its crazy so many sue happy people.



BTW- DD gors to college and lives in the dorms. We were told its a little cheaper since she wont be driving back and forth and even though she wont be driving a lot minum is 5,000 miles was the lowest we could putt down. Looking at everyones number we are totally over paying

 

[NinaBella]

Thank you so much for all the info. I'm hoping CA is an umbrella state but I doubt it.. I had no idea people can sue over a bad review. Its crazy so many sue happy people.



BTW- DD gors to college and lives in the dorms. We were told its a little cheaper since she wont be driving back and forth and even though she wont be driving a lot minum is 5,000 miles was the lowest we could putt down. Looking at everyones number we are totally over paying

There are no state restrictions on Umbrella. If you are decline for an umbrella it would be for another reason, but not your location.


Every company handles college students slightly different. Some will still use your address, others will use the school address. Just make sure you are listing the mileage as accurately as possible. if she has good grades, ask if they are giving you a good student discount.

Although, I am generally pro loyalty for your company (there are benefits for longevity) It doesn’t hurt to shop with other companies. If you shop and you don’t switch, at least you are just a bit more educated On the topic and know what the other companies offer compared to yours. I have been with my company twenty years and will shop just to be curious with no intent to switch.

 

[mjkacmom]

2000 Honda Odyssey
2005 Honda Odyssey
2006 Honda Odyssey

4 drivers (19 and 21 year olds). No collision, $500 deductible, $4000 a year. My kids are away at college, but not far enough away for a discount.

 

[wendow]

Just added our dd17 today and our insurance went up $675 over next 6 mos

So, $3000'ish year for 3 drivers (44yo male, 43yo female, 17yo female) and 3 cars (2016 Odyssey, 2005 Civic, 2004 Silverado).

We have Geico and live in CO.

 

[Judique]

This thread inspired me to go sit down with my agent today.(She's minutes from me and I needed some outside time.) I changed all the deductibles to $1000. My comprehensive was at $200 and I never use it, even for windshields.

Got some tips on getting one vehicle's value estimated. I'm considering dropping collision on an older vehicle I rarely drive, but still wish to keep right now.

Dropped down to lower mileage per year. Not sure exactly what I'm going to save as I didn't ask for a printout and I didn't keep track of the pennies as we went through it, but every little bit counts!

Three vehicles were approximately $3100 a year prior to changes.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I have a scary question for all you guys. My daughters grandparents are moving down south and are offering my DD17 one of their cars. I don't know all the details about it but it is a 2004 mitsubishi eclipse convertible. It has ridiculously low miles. 35,000. if I remember correctly our cost jumped about $100 per month when we added her to our policy as a part time driver, what am I in for if we add another car that she would be the primary on?

 

[NinaBella]

I have a scary question for all you guys. My daughters grandparents are moving down south and are offering my DD17 one of their cars. I don't know all the details about it but it is a 2004 mitsubishi eclipse convertible. It has ridiculously low miles. 35,000. if I remember correctly our cost jumped about $100 per month when we added her to our policy as a part time driver, what am I in for if we add another car that she would be the primary on?

The only way to know that is to call you agent and have them give you a quote. They can quote before you decide to take the vehicle.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

The only way to know that is to call you agent and have them give you a quote. They can quote before you decide to take the vehicle.

Thanks. We just found out about the car tonight, we are going to call our agent tomorrow. I was just curious what everyone else's experiences was.

 

[kydisneyfans]

3 vehicles
2010 Tacoma
2010 Mazda CX 7
2008 Saturn Vue.

3 drivers
Son-19-small incident where he backed into an illegally parked car and caught the corner of the car's bumper-around $800 in damage, not a scratch on his truck.
Wife-45-2 speeding tickets in 2012 within a month of each other-clear since
Me-45-never ticketed

We pay $2,900 a year with $500 deductibles and full coverage on all. Waiting for renewal. Changed companies in 2017 due to insane increases last year, new company saved us over $500 a year.

 

[Darcy03231]

New Hampshire

$300/$500/$300
2 Drivers - 50+
No accidents or tickets
2009 Dodge Caliber
2007 Jeep Commander

Full coverage $1000 deductible

$500/year

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Ok, so we heard back from the insurance guy. It is going to cost 2,020 a year to add my daughter and the car to our policy for a total of 3,438 a year for 3 cars with 3 drivers. (286.50 per month) it seems a little high from what I am reading on this thread.

I drive a 2005 Cadillac CTS no accidents no tickets
DH drives a 2010 Mazda 3 no accidents no tickets
DD17 has only had her licience for about 8 months no accidents no tickets.

 

[brertoad]

I don't remember exactly, but we switched to Travelers and saved about $1600 a year.
1 car with minimum requirements for umbrella policy, and umbrella policy.

 

[Klayfish]

Ok, so we heard back from the insurance guy. It is going to cost 2,020 a year to add my daughter and the car to our policy for a total of 3,438 a year for 3 cars with 3 drivers. (286.50 per month) it seems a little high from what I am reading on this thread.

I drive a 2005 Cadillac CTS no accidents no tickets
DH drives a 2010 Mazda 3 no accidents no tickets
DD17 has only had her licience for about 8 months no accidents no tickets.

Everyone elses rates are 100% irrelevant to yours. You need to shop around and see if anyone will give you a better rate.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Not long ago, I traded my minivan for a sedan and my insurance went way up. For a Dodge Caravan it was like $360 for 6 months, on a Nissan Altima it is like $620 every 6 months. I was not a happy camper when I found out about the insurance hike, but it was not a deal breaker. For whatever reason, the price did not go up to add my fiance as a driver. It is specifically noted in the policy that his daughter is EXCLUDED from my car. She has her own insurance for some like 10 years old Honda Civic and it is outrageously high. I am not sure of the exact number, I am thinking it is like $2000-ish every 6 months.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We pay almost 4000 a year for three cars. 2014 Chrysler van, 2004 Toyota, 2008toyota. No teen drivers and live just outside Chicago. We have a 750 deductible for the cars. But my husband is a lawyer. We have 1,000,000 personal injury liability and 500,000 property damage. Plus a 1,000,000 umbrella coverage. And we are the only house in the area with earthquake coverage...there actually is a large fault close by. My husband believes there is no such thing as too much insurance! Our total insurance bill for house and cars is outrageous but we have a large historic home built in 1874 and we have total replacement coverage that only a company like Chubb will provide. Plus a separate policy for artwork. So we bundle all our insurance together.

 

[luvmy2boyzz]

$2592 per year
3 cars 100,000/300,000
1 22 year old male liability, medical pmts, comp, roadside assistance, uninsured motorist 2001 Acura 200,000+ miles
1 19 year old male liability, medical pmts, comp, roadside assistance, uninsured motorist 2005 Mitsubishi just under 100,000 miles
Me all the above plus collision 2015 CRV
We live in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has a law that requires you to carry car insurance. If you get pulled over you must show proof of insurance but then they also make you carry uninsured motorist coverage!