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Old Oct 07, 2017, 11:25 PM
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Rose76 Rose76 is offline
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Member Since: Mar 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 12,855
That's pretty high for car insurance. If your car is all paid off, you might want to dump the comprehensive. The bank requires you to have that, while you owe money on a car loan (because it's a "collateralized loan" - with the car as collateral.) How old is the car? What would insurance give you, if you totaled it? (Keep in mind that they'll raise your rates, if you collect from them for damage to your car, regardless whose fault the damage is.) Once a vehilcle is worth less than $4000, I wouldn't insure it against loss. Sure, you might total it and incur a loss of a few thousand dollars. But, over the course of your life, you're not going to total/severely damage all your vehicals. But look at what you'll spend on comprehensive coverage over your lifetime, if you make a habit of always carrying comprehensive. You might spend more than it costs to replace a high-mileage used car. No law requires you to carry comprehensive. (Only the bank, if you owe on it.)

Next, look at what other coverage you carry that is in excess of what the law mandates. For instance - "uninsured motorist." That's basically another form of comprehensive. You don't need both. I wouldn't bother with either, if my car is worth less than $4000. Uninsured motorist also pays your medical bills, if you're injured in an accident caused by a driver with no insurance. But you already have health insurance . . . so why insure against healthcare costs twice? I wouldn't. Plus, remember, if you collect from your insurance company on this, your rates will go up. I would never file a claim against my insurance company for a small amount - say, a few hundred dollars. They'll raise your rates and get it back from you. Most states do not require you to carry uninsured motorist coverage. A minority do.

Then, there's "medical." That helps with healthcare costs for you and your passengers, if you get banged up in an accident. But you already have health insurance. So do most people who ride in your car. Besides, the "medical" part of auto insurance typically pays out, like, $5000. If you, or your passenger, are severely injured, your healthcare bills are going to be way more than that. If the bills are really astronomical, and you're poor - you probably can get Medicaid. So I wouldn't worry about carrying "medical." (There are 16 states that require you to have it. Most don't.)

Lastly, let's look at the "liability" portion of your auto insurance. Like most people, you are probably carrying more than the law requires. That makes sense, if you own property or have a lot of money in the bank . . . or if you earn a high income. Typically, people get extra liability, if they own a home or have a lot of equity in a home they are still making mortgage payments on. They are afraid of being sued and, potentially, having to sell their house to pay off a judgement for damages. But, if you really don't have any wealth and you don't earn a high income, no one is going to hire an attorney to sue you. There is no point in suing a poor person. People can't sue you for what you don't have. I mean, they can . . . but they won't. It would be pointless.

Lastly, shop around. Call a few agents, or insurance companies. You can get drastically different quotes from different insurers.

I pay $35/month for my insurance. I pay the whole 6-month premium every 6 months. Otherwise, they charge $5/month extra for accepting monthly installment payments. That's $60/year that I save.

Maybe you have a very valuable vehicle that you feel you must carry comprehensive on. IDK. Why do you think your auto insurance is so high?

Last edited by Rose76; Oct 07, 2017 at 11:45 PM.