heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Okay, recently I just got a new car (2010 Hyundai Elantra SE). How much auto insurance coverage is good coverage? Limits? Personal injury protection? Liability protection? What limits do you have? How much do you pay a month? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bay Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 I have Geico, and my wife was recently in a fender bender. The whole thing went extremely smooth. When you sign up with them they have a recommended setting for most things, I'm not sure if that is too much or too little but it was the only thing I had to go off of. Insurance for the new car is about $100 a month. It's a Versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Keep a low deductible for comprehensive coverage (50 or 100$) Keep your collision deductible at 250 or no higher than 500 if it saves you a bunch. For liability, you want to have at MINIMUM 100,000 per person, and I would reccomend 300,000. For property, it's probably not much more to bump it from 50k to 100k and that protects you if you hit a car worth more than 50k. If you own your own home, make sure to use the same agent for both polcies to save money. If you rent, check into a cheap renters insurance policy, it might actually be CHEAPER to have both than just the auto policy. The price will depend on your age, your driving record, your zip code and your credit rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 Alright I found my policy. It seems a little high its $141 a month. Here are the details. M=Thousans Liability Protection Bodily injury $500,000/person $500,000/ACC Property damage $100,000/ACC Personal Injury protection 2.5M per person Uninsured/under insured Bodly injury $500,000/person $500,000 ACC Property damage $100,00- $250 deductible Physical Damage coverages comprehensive-$250 deductible Collision $500 Deductible I was reading on the internet that you should go to up to your total assets. I don't own a home, so should it be wise to drop it to $300,000 Bodily injury and $300,000 Personal Injury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Alright I found my policy. It seems a little high its $141 a month.Here are the details. M=Thousans Liability Protection Bodily injury $500,000/person $500,000/ACC Property damage $100,000/ACC Personal Injury protection 2.5M per person Uninsured/under insured Bodly injury $500,000/person $500,000 ACC Property damage $100,00- $250 deductible Physical Damage coverages comprehensive-$250 deductible Collision $500 Deductible I was reading on the internet that you should go to up to your total assets. I don't own a home, so should it be wise to drop it to $300,000 Bodily injury and $300,000 Personal Injury? The first thing you should do is call the agent who wrote it and ask if there are any discounts you are missing. And then ask if you would qualify for a multipolicy discount if you bought a renters policy. Think of it this way, if you buy a cheap renters policy for 120 dollars a month, but it gave you a 15% discount on the auto policy. You would actually SAVE 11 dollars a month to have the extra policy, AND you would have coverage for your stuff as well as another liability policy for your house/apt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Also to note, the average auto policy in my agency is appx 1700 a year, so you're not way out of whack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 With two teenage drivers, I wish I was paying $1700 per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 Also to note, the average auto policy in my agency is appx 1700 a year, so you're not way out of whack. I don't rent either :pfft: (ill leave it at that...thanks economy). Thanks for the help Kilmer! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberOsaka Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 I have Geico, and my wife was recently in a fender bender. The whole thing went extremely smooth.When you sign up with them they have a recommended setting for most things, I'm not sure if that is too much or too little but it was the only thing I had to go off of. Insurance for the new car is about $100 a month. It's a Versa. This is why the Geico's of the world do the general public a HUGE disservice. They often recommend the minimum state limits without regard to whether or not your are truly protected. They have made insurance a commodity based on price alone. I did an online quote and they recommended very low liability limits without ever asking about my assets or value of home. If I had injured someone and was sued for $100k or more I would have been looking at losing assets or working for years to pay off a judgment. Seek the advice of a professional agent and make sure that your assets are adequately protected. Not the advice of someone working a phone bank that you'll never speak with again or a website. The time to find out that you have "too little" is not after an accident. Great advice by Kilmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 With two teenage drivers, I wish I was paying $1700 per year. Actual I have Erie insurance, their policy's you only pay for 9months, but you are covered for 12mths. Its actually $1,223 per year :pfft:... Good Advice Kilmer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 I don't rent either :pfft: (ill leave it at that...thanks economy). Thanks for the help Kilmer! :thumbsup: That's not important really. You can still buy a renters policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budski Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 If you or either of your parents were in the military check out USAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bay Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Well, I guess I've been disserviced. I'll be changing my policy, most likely, as we just bought a home and will use that agency instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulane Skins Fan Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 What state are you in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 What state are you in? Columbia, MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boobiemiles Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 50,000/100,000/50,000 $500 deductible for both comp and collision 50,000/100,000/50,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightymouse Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 heyhole, Your policy price might not be that expensive as you have good coverage. To answer your original post, the amount of coverage you purchase should depend on your salary and/or your assets. For example, if you are a college student that doesn't own a house or have any other assets and you do not earn a huge salary, then minimum limits would probably suffice. The reason being is that if you have a lot of assets and not enough insurance to cover a serious injury/fatality or high property damage, a claimant (or tortfeasor) could opt not to settle if the policy limits are minimal and if you have a lot of assets. They could then come after you directly for any damage that is in excess of you insurance policy. If they know there are no assets and there is nothing to go after, then they will likely settle within the limits of your policy. I live in Florida so I don't know the laws and trends in every state....but in Florida, they cannot take your house away if you own only one house and are underinsured. Only what is considered luxury items (such as a second house or a boat, etc). That being said, I would not recommend having anything lower that $100,000 per person, $300,00 per accident for Bodily Injury and $50,000 for property damage. I would also recommend not have uninsured/underinsured limits lower that your bodily injury limits. You need to also look and see if you uninsured/underinsured limits are stacking or non-stacking (depending on your state) as this would also make a difference in your premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zCommander Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 I have 20/40 but you could opt for 50/100. Take a look at esurance.com they are the cheapest I found so far. I am trying to switch from All-state's sister company called Encompass. Encompass 4 years ago was really cheap for me and since they have bumped my rate and now want me to pay 1700 for my three cars. Only the van has full coverage. The same on esurance.com was just under 1100 for a year for all three cars!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Anything less than 100k really exposes a person. Think about what a hospital visit alone will cost if you hit another car? Much more than 20k I can guarentee it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberOsaka Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Alright I found my policy. It seems a little high its $141 a month.Here are the details. M=Thousans Liability Protection Bodily injury $500,000/person $500,000/ACC Property damage $100,000/ACC Personal Injury protection 2.5M per person Uninsured/under insured Bodly injury $500,000/person $500,000 ACC Property damage $100,00- $250 deductible Physical Damage coverages comprehensive-$250 deductible Collision $500 Deductible I was reading on the internet that you should go to up to your total assets. I don't own a home, so should it be wise to drop it to $300,000 Bodily injury and $300,000 Personal Injury? For those coverages you are getting a good price. I have been in the business over 20 years and have a rate that can just about beat anyone in DC/MD/VA. I'm at 129/month for your scenario. (making certain assumptions such as no tickets/accidents, good credit) If you're getting $141 and you're happy with the service I think that you should stay where you're at. You have excellent coverage and a fair price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boobiemiles Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Anything less than 100k really exposes a person.Think about what a hospital visit alone will cost if you hit another car? Much more than 20k I can guarentee it. Yeah but this guy is 25. I mean I write 100K and up when they have assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyholetsgogrant Posted August 18, 2010 Author Share Posted August 18, 2010 heyhole,Your policy price might not be that expensive as you have good coverage. To answer your original post, the amount of coverage you purchase should depend on your salary and/or your assets. For example, if you are a college student that doesn't own a house or have any other assets and you do not earn a huge salary, then minimum limits would probably suffice. The reason being is that if you have a lot of assets and not enough insurance to cover a serious injury/fatality or high property damage, a claimant (or tortfeasor) could opt not to settle if the policy limits are minimal and if you have a lot of assets. They could then come after you directly for any damage that is in excess of you insurance policy. If they know there are no assets and there is nothing to go after, then they will likely settle within the limits of your policy. I live in Florida so I don't know the laws and trends in every state....but in Florida, they cannot take your house away if you own only one house and are underinsured. Only what is considered luxury items (such as a second house or a boat, etc). That being said, I would not recommend having anything lower that $100,000 per person, $300,00 per accident for Bodily Injury and $50,000 for property damage. I would also recommend not have uninsured/underinsured limits lower that your bodily injury limits. You need to also look and see if you uninsured/underinsured limits are stacking or non-stacking (depending on your state) as this would also make a difference in your premium. That was some really really god info. I may actually lower my personal injury protection, because I have pretty solid health insurance through my employer. Also, I may lower the limits to 300K. 500k might be excessive. I am curious as to what the average payouts to bad accidents and what Maryland laws says how much someone can get in car accident and if they can take your house etc...I wish/hope we can get laws on how much someone can get in car accident, its too wide open. **** happens. BTW I probably have no more than 10K in assets. What if you have no assets, is their a limit to judgements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Yeah but this guy is 25. I mean I write 100K and up when they have assets. Lack of assets doesnt mean lack of responsibility if he causes damages up to that amount. If he has assets of 25k and the guy he hits has a hospital bill for 90k, he wont be off the hook for the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberOsaka Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 That was some really really god info. I may actually lower my personal injury protection, because I have pretty solid health insurance through my employer. The minimum required personal injury protection in MD is $2500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Great advice RememberOsaka (My ex runs an Allstate office). I have really low deductables because I was grandfathered in. But otherwise, as I understand it, higher deductables will also get you lower rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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