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Questions About Auto Insurance and Accidents

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Comments

  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    sfo,

    i don't want to lead you astray. i am just a driver, not an insurance guru. i personally don't think diminished value is specific to luxury automobiles...

     

    you might want to try posing that question over in the "Real-World Trade In Values" forum...ask them what is your vehicle worth retail and trade with it's present age, mileage, options, condition etc, (but asuming it was never hit) and then ask them what it would be worth retail and trade if it's been repaired (and i guess you'll have to provide your information on what has been damaged, and the estimate to repair).

     

    you could also ask them if a carfax report on your vin will show that the vehicle sustained significant damage.

     

    the expert there "Terry" (screen username: rroyce10) always qualifies his estimates of value assuming no significant repairs.

     

    as for parts, here's one site (there are many out there I guess) that provides pricing on OEM parts. I like the fact you can see diagrammatically the parts for the various sections of the vehicle.

     

    http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/catdisplay.jsp

     

    good luck.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    My 16 yr. old son got in a little fender bender. His 2nd one in less than a year. In the first one, it was claimed on our insurance, $3200 damage to my vehicle, don't know how much to the other car. He rear ended her car, said it wasn't too bad, but I'm sure there were some damages. On my most recent policy renawal, there's an accident surcharge of about $70, surprisingly small.

     

    In the most recent accident, he pulled out in front of someone, so it was definately his fault. Damage to their car was a scratched wheel and a few scrapes on the panel, don't have the estimate yet. Damage to my car was $2000.

     

    My collision deductible is $1000. I have State Farm and cannot be cancelled according to Florida law and my agent has confirmed this. Should I pay it or claim it?
  • grandtotalgrandtotal Member Posts: 1,207
    Sounds like the first accident was definitely his fault too if he rear-ended another car. I think your problem may be greater than whether to claim or not, the problem is your son's driving. Having said that I think you might do better to pay it yourself because I have a feeling your insurer may not take a second accident in less than a year quite so lightly.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    << I have a feeling your insurer may not take a second accident in less than a year quite so lightly. >>

     

    Thx for your input, but I'm looking for something more than that. Anyone have an idea how much my rates can be increased? Are there any other ramifications besides increased rates or my insurer looking for some other excuse to cancel my policy? Again, according to Florida law, my insurer can't cancel my policy for claims which has been verified by my agent.
  • grandtotalgrandtotal Member Posts: 1,207
    Again, according to Florida law, my insurer can't cancel my policy for claims which has been verified by my agent.

     

    But they could raise your rate so high that you choose to take your business elsewhere.
  • janzjanz Member Posts: 129
    while they may not be able to CANCEL your policy, you may find that they will decline to RENEW your policy. Unless someone in claims or underwriting from your company is reading these posts, I suspect most of the feedback you get from us on possible rate increases will be only guesses.

     

    If you can, I'd pay the 2nd accident out of your pocket. Whether you stay with your current carrier or find you self shopping, one accident for a male teenage driver is plenty. He's only 16 and has several more years ahead of driving on your policy.

     

    (I speak as a mom of two teenage boy new drivers and a recent fender bender. Also, I agree, with grandtotal, perhaps your son would benefit from more supervised driving time with you.)

     

    Good luck!
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,145
    I'm not an expert, but if he was ticketed for the accident and your insurer finds out, the rate could be raised anyway.

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  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    What does it matter? He consulted his agent. Can't his agent flag that, and isn't that enough? (I honestly don't know).
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    He's got a clean driving record, no tickets were issued for either accident. I haven't contacted my agent about the 2nd accident, yet. If we pay for it, they shouldn't find out. There were no injuries in either accident.

     

    I agree that he needs more driving time with me. But I don't believe that would do any good though, he's a typical bull-headed teenager. He's already on a short leash after the first accident. Of which, I will pull the leash shorter.

     

    He really is a good kid, maintains above a 3.0 GPA taking all honors courses, part time job, and plays high school lacrosse. He's just so pig headed sometimes.

     

    BTW, he also pays for his insurance, has paid the $1K deductible on the first accident and will pay for this one too.
  • manamalmanamal Member Posts: 426
    It is not my kid or my life, but I am a driver on the road. DO what my parents did 25 years ago when I had my second minor accident: they prohibited me from driving.

     

    "bullheaded teenager" is enough of a reason for the kid not to be driving.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    Let's keep the advice to insurance issues can we?
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,145
    Yes - parenting advice doesn't really fit in to our format.

     

    If you haven't notified the insurance agent of the accident and there's no ticket, then it seems like his rate will at least remain the same. I feel for you - I've got one on a learner's permit now.

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  • grandtotalgrandtotal Member Posts: 1,207
    I feel for the poster too, but I think that the "parenting" advice may be necessary. This adolescent is a danger to himself and other road users and it is his parents resposibility to recognise this and act upon it. Until he is 18 they are legally responsible for him.

     

    Now, to keep this post strictly relevant to the topic, my question - isn't the poster legally bound to report his son's accident to his insurer whether he claims on his insurance or not?
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    << isn't the poster legally bound to report his son's accident to his insurer whether he claims on his insurance or not? >>

     

    Not in the state of Florida as long as there are no injuries.

     

    But then, why would an accident w/o injuries required to be reported to insurance? We'd get in to a situation like "How severe would the accident have to be in order to be required to report?" A simple door ding? A scrap backing in to a post?

     

    I'm surprised no one here has had experience where they have more than one accident, like my son, and can relate what their insurance company did.

     

    Oh, and BTW, my son has had 3 minor accidents, not 2. He hit a mail box when it jumped out in front of him when he first got his license. Of which, he paid for those repairs (and the mailbox), no insurance was involved. And please, no parenting advice.
  • klop21klop21 Member Posts: 1
    My car (Toyota Camry 1999) was hit while it was parked. The guy who did the damage to my car has State Farm insurance. I went to the body shop (Toyota dealer) and got a repair estimate of $2700. I then faxed the estimate to State Farm. They called me in the next day and said that I can go ahead and fix the car at that body shop and they will deal with it directly since it participates in their "program". They also mentioned that I still may choose any other body shop but I have to let them know. I'm wondering is it possible to make State Form just to send me the check for $2700 and I will decide later what to do with it? What if I do not want to fix the car at all but want to take the money... Have anybody tried to do this?

     

    Thanks, Oleg
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,818
    Yes I 've done this; got a check and sold the wreck on my own.

     

    The ins co will have to send out an adjuster to look at the damage to make sure nobody's pulling a fast one, but it can be done. Be aware they kinda have you over a barrel; there's little to prevent them from calling it $1500 in damage instead. In my case, the estimate got lowered from $5900 to $5,850 or something, they were really on the up-and-up.

     

    They sure acted as if they didn't like it, though.

    And a friend of mine tried to get GMAC insurance to pay up, and they wouldn't. Three repairs later (and still leaking) he's not happy and has since switched.

     

    -Mathias
  • sean3sean3 Member Posts: 158
    when my ex was driving my car she clipped someones bumper and did about 3,000 damage combined, and my agent said that she was not on my policy? but since I had full coverage they would take care of it, what's messed up is if she was named on my policy, my rates would have gone up..but they didn't..she got a ticket. I guess thats how they determine rate hikes, based on who is ticketed..My insurer (Farmers) said that Comprehensive claims can never cause a Rate Hike cause they are no indicator of driving skill..Sean
  • sean3sean3 Member Posts: 158
    I really don't know to much about ins but i know we have to have it to have a car.when i got my policy they had put rental and towing on my policy..which I never thought about but, $28 every 6mos extra in premiums for the both, I was sure glad I had it,when the body shop couldnt get a $14 part for 1 extra week.I figure I used $300 in reantal car fees that woulda been out of my pocket..Look over your policy..I had found about 4 very small adiitional premiums for rental towing and glass repair/replace options..
  • brcentbrcent Member Posts: 2
    When I purchased my new motorhome I was led to believe that My car insurance would cover me until I could get home and get a new policy from my insurer for the motorhome. When I got home I called my insurer and was told that policy only applies to cars. Is there a law or regulation that requires them to cover a newly purchased vehicle for a grace period? And if so why would a motorhome be excluded?
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    What grace period? And how dared your dealer to let you leave his lot without valid insurance?
  • prophet2prophet2 Member Posts: 372
    They increase geometrically, depending on the company and state you live in.

     

    In my neck of the woods, it is not uncommon to see a 10% increase on renewal for the first chargeable claim. It goes up to 40% on the second, 90% on the third. This applies when the claims occur within a thirty-six month "rolling period."

     

    My daughter was a perfect driving school pupil, but her inexperience in the real world was another matter. Two at-fault accidents within five months with her mom's car, one with mine, plus a parking lot collision for which we paid $800 out-of-pocket to the other car's owner (no claim). Premiums on her mom's car went from $1200 to $2900 per year. It gradually went down while she was away at college for four years. She also totaled one of my cars in 2001 and her own in 2002.

     

    She has improved greatly since I bought her 2003 RSX two years ago. Two scraped rear bumpers and fender while parked by hit-and-run drivers - I paid the first ($600), insurance the second time which was much more extensive ($1500 - 250 ded.).

     

    I'd suggest paying for the second accident. If you go through insurance, you'll probably pay it anyway through increased premiums, assuming you get offered a renewal.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    Now THAT was the kind of feedback I was looking for. Thanks prophet2..... Unfortunately, I already put in the claim on my insurance. My car's estimate was $2K and the other's was $1200, can't afford that. The policy is up for renewal shortly, so I'll let you folks know what happens. I don't expect it to be pretty though.
  • tfultontfulton Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I was recently rear ended on a freeway offramp by an 18 yr old girl not paying attention

    cell phone etc..

    she hit me about 45 mph completely totaling her car and smashing in the whole back end of my car.

    Her car was registered in her parents name, but when I went to contact the insurance co listed on the State Patrol's collision report, they said the policy had lapsed. I only had liability myself

    so they said I have to pursue damages on my own.

    Anybody have any advice? I now have no car, not to

    mention I had to go get it out of impound myself

    for an accident that wasn't even my fault.

    Safeco says they're looking into it but it could take 4 weeks or more? Can I go after the parents

    in this case if they own the car? help!

                                 thank you

                                    TC

                                 Kirkland,WA
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    Well my sad story just took a detour. My son's car was just hit in the school parking lot, not his fault 'cuz it was parked. It was hit in the front bumper, different part of the bumper from his other accident, but there are damages to the same body parts as the other accident. That should be loads of fun for the body shop and insurance company to figure out. The owner of the car that hit my son's car has said they will pay it out of their pocket.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    << Can I go after the parents in this case of they own the car? >>

     

    Yes, I believe you can as long as they're the registered owner. There was just a case here in Orlando where a 22 yr old girl ran a red light and killed two little girls. The parents of the girls are sueing the parent of the driver since they were the registered owners.

     

    I just transferred title of the vehicle that my 20 yr old drives in to his name just in case he gets in an accident, I'm shielded, still carry the same amount of insurance though. And I will be doing the same when my 17 yr old turns 18 next year.

     

    Keep receipts for every out of pocket expense, impound fees, rental car, etc. Get a good estimate of what your car was worth. Then go after the parents. Good luck, and let us know how things progress.
  • andyman73andyman73 Member Posts: 322
    My story is a good one. In 97, I was involved in a weather related accident. Ins. totaled my 85 325e. I paid 6K for the car in 96. Between the time of ownership, I put 45K miles on the car(150mile/day commute for 14 months of the ownership time.).............Anyways, they sent me a check for $6500, and I was only hoping for 3500. Talk about an early Christmas present, happened on Labor day.

     

    However, I did find out the importance of rental coverage, didn't have it. But was able to borrow a car from future inlaws, since I was going to purchase with insurance money. It did take about 5 weeks to get the money, tho.
  • rickvhrickvh Member Posts: 28
    You should see a lawyer on this one. If you had collision your car would have been covered and UM/UIM would go towards bodily injury for occupants of your vehicle.

     

    Depending on the situation, if the girl lives with her parents, you might be able to go after them under the personal liability on the parents homeowners (since family members residing in household are.. in my state anyway.. also covered).

     

    You can win a judgement against her and garnish her wages for your losses of property, loss of use, loss of earnings if you had to miss work, and if you were injured, loss of future earnings. Bankruptcy wont even shield from this.

     

    Lack of insurance just means that they left their assets wide open to liability.
  • rickvhrickvh Member Posts: 28
    Should check your state laws on this one. Where I live, insurance follows the car. If its your policy, it will pay BI/PD to other parties up to its limits and stop as long as you werent the driver, your liability *might* stop there. As noted in the other post, if your child lives with you, you are still open to liability. And this isnt just in auto related losses.

     

    So even if the car is in their name and they have their own policy, if they live with you, you can still be liable under your auto policies on your vehicles and your personal liability policies. Anyone in this situation should put all family members on their policy and make sure limits are high enough. Umbrellas give the best bang for the buck in this situation. $20/month can buy you a million in coverage to save you after your auto/personal libility limits are exhausted.

     

    Worst that can happen is your out some money short term if policy rates go up because of a loss.
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    << if your child lives with you, you are still open to liability. And this isnt just in auto related losses. >>

     

    I don't believe so in the state of Florida. Based on the advice I was given, "Parents are not liable for negligence caused by their adult children that live in their household. That includes auto accidents."

     

    I also checked in to the umbrella policy. And from State Farm in Florida, they required high liability limits on the auto policies before they'd write an umbrella policy and those high liability limits were expensive.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    High liability limits are not expensive, at least in Connecticut. As well as I remember, about $100 or $150 per year to go from the legal minimum, 10/20/40, to 50/100/300. This is with one car. $100 to increase the limits second time, to 50/300/500 - with two cars on policy. Less than $10 per year to increase property coverage from $50,000 to $100,000.

     

    Big damages happens, but very seldom. Most accidents are fender-benders and/or rear-ends. Even if a car is totalled, what is probability that it's value was higher than $50,000? Even for MBs and BMWs which cost more than 50 grands new...

     

    Body damages mostly are whiplashes, fractures, etc. Expensive, but seldom more expensive than $100,000 per person.

     

    In addition, the cautious people, who are buying the high-limits insurances, are less prone in average to be involved in accidents.

     

    Thus, the average of distribution ("mathematical expectation") for high insurance payments is low. Hence the additional premiums also are low.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    I see with auto insurance in GA (and probably everywhere else) is that many folks try to cut corners on their auto coverage to "save money", and that is what usually comes back to bite them in the rear because they will usually need the exact coverage they saved money by not purchasing...

     

    1. they buy low liability limits like $25K, when $100K is not much more expensive...then they cause an accident, seriously injury someone in the other vehicle, and wonder why they do not have enough insurance to cover, say, a $50K judgment, often forcing them into bankruptcy, and often forcing the OTHER party into bankruptcy because they can't afford the medical bills that your lower liability limits won't cover...

     

    2. they don't buy rental insurance, a mere $20 yearly, offering a $20 daily benefit for 30 days...often, liability may not be determined for a week or two, or liability may be split 50/50, so no one is at fault...rental insurance will pay for your rental car for a month, regardless of who is at fault...

     

    3. they don't buy uninsured motorists insurance, so when struck by an uninsured motorist, there is no recourse except small claims court, and collecting on the judgment is almost impossible, as the scofflaws rarely have a regular job from which to garnish...

     

    4. they don't buy medical payments insurance (medpay) to pay doctor bills regardless of who is at fault (this does not apply if you are in a no-fault state...GA is a fault state)...with medpay your doctor bills are paid up to a max medpay limit of $100K (assuming you purchase that much coverage) and the medpay also covers all occupants in your vehicle, giving you a great amount of coverage if you have a minivan with, say, 8 people in it...

     

    Regardless of what the law requires you to buy, it is always a wise consumer who insures themselves against any possible risk, and that means higher insurance premiums so yoiu should always buy liability, collision and comprehensive if your vehicle is worth over $3-5K, medpay, uninsured motorists, rental car insurance...those who just buy the legal minimum will usually suffer a loss that should have been covered by the insurance they DID NOT buy, then, the loss suffered is usually far in excess of the measly savings on cheaper car insurance...do it right, buy all the proper coverages, and stop complaining when you suffer a loss that you were too cheap or too stupid to insure against...most common phrase I hear from clients..."I didn't think I would have an accident where I needed the insurance"...as though they could predict the day someone would strike them or they might lose control of their vehicle...sheer stupidity, these folks should not be allowed to vote or reproduce...
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you for your suggestions.

     

    However, I do not understand the need for accident medical insurance, bundled with car, when I have a general medical insurance.

     

    The same with uninsured/underinsured motorist. My car is already insured, and I will lose only deductible if hit-and-run, or hit by uninsured motorist. And my medical insurance will cover damage to my body, if any.

     

    So I increased liability limits, have reasonable $25/day rental, but bought minimally available UI and medical - to not overinsure the same risk twice. Possibly I am wrong and did not consider some possibilities. I do not drive anybody but my family. Would I drive, for example, my sister, she also have medical insurance.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Probably, most of people does not understand that extra insurance does not cost much.

     

    For example, the minimal insurance, 10/20/40, costs something like $800 in CT. Sizeable sum to most of people, and very high amount for big minority. Recent graduates, recent immigrants, unemployed, underemployed, etc., etc. The very people who do not have much experience and often do not have friends or relatives who can teach them.

     

    I also was in this situation after immigrating. Expected that a 50/100/300 insurance would cost about 5 times more than the 10/20/40 one. $4000 or so, $2500 at best. Absolutely out of reach for me then. In reality it costs about $1000 - not so different from the very basic insurance. It was a nice surprise.
  • larrycuhlarrycuh Member Posts: 1
    I am currently 19, 1 accident and 1 violation on record. I'm from Long Beach California. I want to know the best way I can get the cheapest auto insurance. Who should I contact? Which companies? Should I base my decisions on the online quotes? Which plans do you suggest are the best that will save a person in my situation money? Is there a way my parents insurance will cover me? I am trying to insure a 91' Lexus LS400 that is worth $2,000. Can someone please help me? If you need more information in order to help me. Just let me know what I left out. Thanks a lot guys.
  • prophet2prophet2 Member Posts: 372
    Premiums increases are not multiples (100K liability is NOT 2x the rate for 50K). Too many elect the minimums and get unpleasant surprises when they get into accidents, at-fault or not.

     

    They are overly concerned with small stuff like collision/comprehensive (COL/COMP) deductibles while chisling on stuff like bodily injury liability (BI) and medical payments.

     

    We have partial no-fault in our jurisdiction which applies to medical expenses. Only when these expenses exceed a set amount will the wrongful party be exposed to BI liability. The uninsured/underinsured (UN/UND) coverage applies only to medical payments and if the other party has no insurance or only minimum limits, then the UN/UND coverage comes in. UN/UND does not provide coverage to the physical damage to your vehicle. The other party must have property damage (PD) liability or you must carry your own collision to get your car repaired through insurance.

     

    I do not buy UN/UND. Instead, I go for higher personal injury protection (PIP), which is the medical payments coverage.

     

    Rate structure:

     

    BI - 20/40K base; 100/300K +45%; 300/300K +59%

    PD - 10K base; 20K +2%; 50K +8%; 100K +12%

    PIP - 10K base 30.10; 50K +13.00

    COL - 100 ded. base; 500 ded. -45%; 1000 ded. -48%

    COMP - 50 ded. base; 250 ded. -32%; 500 ded. -35%

     

    We had a case a few years ago when the son of a prominent local official was injured after jumping out of a moving vehicle. The basic medical insurer refused coverage as was their right in passing off the liability to the automobile carrier. It was my client's vehicle involved in this insident and his policy which provided coverage.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you so much for the information. It is a pity I could not find it neither when immigrated 9 years ago, nor later. Even while I am subscribing and am reading several personal finance magazines, to learn the ropes in the US. All information I have I received when renewing insurance.

     

    I am still do not understood well what you wrote about medical insurance. I thought that my insurance, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, covers all my family medical costs, up to the high lifetime limit of million or two million dollars. Am I wrong, and the insurance would refuse payments for medical help caused by accident?
  • mikefm58mikefm58 Member Posts: 2,882
    I too dumped UI/UND and also PIP since I have all the coverage I need through my insurance at work. I'd have to dig out old policies for the exact savings but between 4 vehicles and 4 drivers in my household, the savings was considerable.
  • prophet2prophet2 Member Posts: 372
    Regarding medical insurance, in our jurisdiction, the medical payments coverage in the auto insurance policy is "primary" for injuries suffered in an auto accident, regardless of fault. This applies up to a threshhold limit. After this limit is exceeded, the wronged party and/or his insurer can go after the "at-fault" party and his insurer (BI liability ). This is "secondary" to the primary coverage.

     

    If the "at-fault" driver doesn't have insurance, the wronged party can make a claim under his own "uninsured motoriat" (UM) coverage. If the "at-fault" driver has BI limits that are exhausted by the expenses, the wronged party can claim under his own "inderinsured motorist" (UND) coverage.

     

    I've chosen to decline UM/UND on my own policy and increase my PIP (medical payments) because the premium increase is less than what is charged for comparable UM/UND limits. My insurer will pay benefits up to those higher limits even though they exceed the threshhold. It's my insurer, not me, that will subrogate for payments made over the threshhold.

     

    Personal medical insurance (Blue Cross, Blue Shield, etc.) come into play only AFTER your PIP and the other party's BI coverages are exhausted.
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you!

     

    My PIP is $1000. When my wife was rear-ended and she had whiplash, Blue Cross paid for doctor's examination, no questions asking. I tried to push on the the insurance company of party-in-fault to repay the costs to my Blue Shield, but they refused. Told that it would be illegal. Instead they sent a check to my wife, payable on her order. We returned the check back, and stopped bothering.

     

    Probably Connecticut laws are different.
  • jb_turnerjb_turner Member Posts: 702
    You better get a bicycle.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    In a sense, you are correct...if you have medical insurance, you may argue that you may not need medpay...however, your medical insurance may have limitations that medpay (at least, here in Georgia) will not have...some examples...if you belong to an HMO, you may wish to see some podiatrist, chiropractor or other doctor thatmay not be a member of your plan, medpay will cover it as it covers any willing provider...your health insurance may be subject to a $250, 500 or $1,000 deductible before any coverage is in effect, whereas medpay pays first dollar coverage and, as I stated, $100K of coverage rarely approaches $100.00 yearly premium...also, your group health only covers your family's injuries, but if your two best friends and their 2 kids are passengers injured in a wreck with you, they are also covered by your medpay, which, to me, offers me great peace of mind that I can cover all the occupants of my car with $100K of medical coverage for a mere $72.00 yearly...sometimes your health insurance may want to be reimbursed for what they paid out if you recover "pain and suffering" from the other party if they are at fault, which will lower your overall award, whereas medpay does not need to be repaid...one does not have to be sue-happy if they are injured by another person's careless driving and wish to be reasonably compensated for their injuries...to use their settlement to repay Blue Cross and then to walk away with nothing is frustrating and unfair, in my mind...medpay corrects that problem...medpay is not subject to deductibles and copayments, so if your deductible on your Blue Cross is $100.00 (a rare deductible these days) and your copay is $15.00, and you see Doctor X for 10 visits, you have paid out $250.00 for treatment, which is almost 2.5 years worth of premiums for $100K of medpay, plus the medpay still covers all of your passengers, family or not...if just one other member of your family has the same medical treatment as you, your $250.00 out-of pocket becomes $500.00...also, what if your insurance covers you for 15 visits to a physical therapist but you need 20 visits, the remainder comes out of your pocket, costing 5-10 year's worth of medpay premiums...if medpay cost $500 yearly, I could see arguments against it, but when $100K of coverage, covering ALL vehicular occupants, only costs maybe $8,00 per month, I just do not see any argument against it...we are playing the odds, of course...if you never have an accident, you might call it wasted money, but just one accident in 10 or 20 years, with just one injured passenger, and the payback on your cheap premium costs you almost nothing...realistically, there is no downside to medpay, and the upside in covering medical costs of you and your passengers is phenomenal...

     

    Uninsured motorist (U/M) insurance is really only good for recovering pain and suffering for injuries suffered when the other guy is at-fault and you (or your passengers) have been injured...once again, you do not have to be sue-happy to wish to recover compensation from the other party...if your leg was broken, you spent 4 weeks in a cast and eight weeks out of work, plus you could not properly bathe or bend over due to your injuries, if the other guy was not insured you can recover nothing (at least, in the fault state of Georgia)...no pain and suffering, no lost wages, nothing...oh, sure, you can sue the other guy personally, but good luck collecting on your judgment against him, and your life would be much easier with the U/M coverage...with U/M your U/M policy acts like the liability insurance for the other uninsured person...most folks, if they have been hospitalized or moderately-to-seriously injured, often feel they deserve compensation... if you NEVER feel that way, don't get U/M coverage...but I am amazed at the number of folks I meet who say to me, "I am not in this for the money, but I really feel I deserve SOMETHING for what this guy's negligence has cost me"...it is nice to sound high and mighty (those damn lawyers make everything cost too much and all they want is to go after everybody) but when your spouse or child has been injured by someone else's carelessness, it is a rare person who does not want "something" for their pain, aggravation, suffering, lost earnings, watching their child or spouse suffer...you don't have to be greedy to want just compensation, and most people, when struck and injured by the uninsured driver, feel cheated that the person walks away with no penalties while they spent a week in the hospital or eight weeks at home recovering from a broken leg...even the minor injuries deserve compesnation, as many simple neck and back whiplash injuries may still put you out of work for a week or two, especially if you are in manual labor and cannot lift, bend or twist because of neck, shoulder or back pain that does not respond to simple Motrin treatment...when you miss 2 or 3 weeks of work but the mortgage still must be paid, most folks feel entitled to some kind of payment for what they have endured...not frivolous litigation, but just compensation for what their carelessness did to you...won't happen if you do not have U/M, and if you do not have the medpay, then we are back to you paying the deductible, copays, etc, maybe costing you $250-$1000, and all paid by you while the other guy goes on his merry way...hence, it is a rare person who will not benefit from medpay or U/M, because I see what happens to those who don't have it, and the accident often costs them more than they can afford, even with group health insurance...simple, easy and cheap, and if you don't think it's cheap, see how much it could cost you when you don't have it...
  • yurakmyurakm Member Posts: 1,345
    Thank you! Now I am starting to understand it.
  • rickvhrickvh Member Posts: 28
    I'd like to offer my suggestion as an alternate choice to the other gentlemens post:

     

    BI (bodily injury), PD (property damage), UI (uninsured motorist), UIM (underinsured motorist)

     

    All are what we call critical coverages. Without these you can walk in to some serious problems. Why UI/UIM? There was an article on azcentral.com stating that 40% of the motorists in arizona have no insurance whatsoever, thats not even accounting for the other percentage that have minimum liability coverage of 15/30/10 in this state. Think about how much 15k is, you lose your leg and your a construction worker, are you going to be able to work at the same job? Probably not. Sure you can have medical to cover you until the stub heals, but who pays for your future wage earning ability if the other driver didnt have enough coverage?

     

    COL/COMP deductables of $100 and $50 are going to cost a great deal more than setting it at $1000. Say for example you can set the deductables from 100/50 to 1000 each and release $250-500 a year to place in a critical coverage like adding UM/UIM and/or increasing liability to 100/300 or 500/500 and still saving 100 bucks? I'm guessing conservatively too, i'd be happy to do a couple actual quotes to show anyone the difference. Having to spend $900 extra to pay a deductable might ruin your day, week or month. Suffering perminant injury from another driver with no insurance is going to ruin your life, and your families life.

     

    Up your critical coverages first then if you can afford it lower deductables. Or leave em. Look at it like this.. When was the last time you payed a deductable? once in 2, 3, 5 years? Never? The difference between $500 ded and $1000 is say $200 a year. Save that 200 for 2 years and you have $400 in your pocket. Save it 5 years and you come out ahead.
  • rickvhrickvh Member Posts: 28
    Larry: You can still ride on your parents insurance till at least age 21 if you are going to school. Generally speaking doing this can get you all they discounts they qualify for. Sure they will pay more, but if you offer to pick up the difference, it will still be much lower than if you were to go out on your own.

     

    It is very likely that you will pay per year very close to what your car is worth if you were to choose comprehensive and collision coverage, so my suggestion is to go liability only as long as you have that car. The pluses are you will be building time as "continuously insured" which will lower your rates as you get older. There are 3 age brackets that you should really do the most dilligent shopping on, 21, 25, 30. Keep shopping of course every year or so, especially till you turn 25. If you can get on the policy with your parents, ride it as long as you can because its the best you'll ever do until you get older.

     

    If you have to get insured on your own, go for Progressive or Geico, they often offer the best rates in your age bracket, especially if or when you get tickets.

     

    Also ask about good student discount programs available too. Having above a 3.0 GPA earns a substantial discount with my company, but even with that, I often cant beat rates of "all-risk" insurance cos. on a solo driver policy under the age of 25. No matter how bad you think you are getting raped on rates, never let your policy lapse. You think its bad now, wait till you have a gap in coverage, it gets ugly!
  • rickvhrickvh Member Posts: 28
    Medical is a coverage that pays occupants of the vehicle if you were to be in an at fault accident. Generally it is a good faith payment to encourage someone to not sue you. The way it works for my company is, you get in a accident, we pay out medical to all occupants. You have it set to 5k, we pay it to every person in the car. Statistically speaking, someone thats handed a few thousand dollars is less likely to sue over minor injuries or fake injuries that are hard to medically disprove.

     

    Its kind of hard to justify as the insuree, the extra expense of medical. But the best example I can give is: You get in an at fault accident, you were taking your neighbor to the store. He is barely injured, maybe has a sore arm or something really minor. Insurance company pays out $2000, he figures thats good enough and doesnt think about it any further. Otherwise he might have persued a lawsuit against your insurance for $10,000. You end up having a total claim ending up to be $11,000 instead of $1000 + $2000 medical. The $9,000 difference in claim is going to make a significant difference in your rates over the next 3 years. For some insurance companies, underwriting considers what types of payouts were made in each incident too. They see a BI payout for 10k and collision for 1k, its going to look a bit different than 1000comp/2000medical.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    good points, and of course you should do whatever you want to do, but raising deductibles and juggling things around to save afew bucks seems to me to be worthless, when the medpay only costs $50-75 per year, yet you are purchasing up to $100,000 medical coverage PER PERSON for the entire year...don't forget, everyone is assuming that the other guy is at fault...but medpay covers you and your occupants if YOU are also at fault...so, if you fail to yield, or slide off the road into a tree, your medpay, assuming you bought it, will cover all of the injured adults in the 3-row minivan when you accidentally ran into the tree...spend your money as you wish, but, frankly, for $75 bucks per year, for the coverage you get, anyone who doesn't buy it, knowing the potential medical costs for minor injuries, is foolish to me...complain of head pain and abdominal pain, 2 MRIs cost $2,500.00, and we don't even know yet if you need any treatment, hospitalization, therapy or surgery... just health-insurance-copays alone will exceed the cost of medpay...if you believe saving the lousy $75 will change your life, by all means, DO NOT BUY MEDPAY...but the coverage you get for the cheapest premium in the world is a no-brainer for me, especially when I see the folks injured, needing some kind of treatment (therapist, chiropractor, or whatever), the other guy is uninsured, and they can't get treatment... whatever your argument against it, then don't buy it...but, financially, for the coverage you get, deductible-free, for the moderate possibility of serious injury as two vehicles collide, for the cheap price of a moderate restaurant meal for two, I do not believe there is any rational argument against it, except one: you are just willing to take the chance...again, if medpay was the same cost as collision, a good argument could be made, but $100K of coverage for ALL occupants (8 vehicle occupants = $800,000 worth of coverage) for less than a C-note per year???...buy it...
  • rroyce10rroyce10 Member Posts: 9,332
    ...... Good post .. but we need to get you to Paragraph school ..................... ;)

     

                                 Terry.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    Uh, in re-reading my last posts, you may have a good point, as I appear to go into run-on paragraph (singular)...but, I was going at warp speed, trying to communicate some understanding, and was not really worried about run-on, altho I was worried about punctuation and grammar...:):)
  • prophet2prophet2 Member Posts: 372
    Listen to "marsha7" as he provides good, accurate information on these boards.

     

    While insurance laws and requirements vary from state to state, the general principles apply all over the country. Liability is liability. The differences arise from some states being full tort, partial no-fault, or no-fault.
  • andyman73andyman73 Member Posts: 322
    Thanks for your mondo sized superinformative post. I personally, will be checking in with my agent post haste, to review my coverage. I know I have very high coverage, as my agent heavily insisted. She wants all of her clients to be protected to the hilt.

     

    Since I now have a 3.5 yr old daughter, I want to double check all the pertinent info. I even carry accidental death and injury riders. I find that those riders are soooo much cheaper than a bankrupting lawsuit. And they provide peace of mind at a reasonable cost.
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