Met with my Agent last week… (Car Insurance, not Acting)

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Ok, I sat down and talked with my State Farm agent. One really annoying thing is that I had certain coverages because I swear I was told I needed them for my $1 million Personal Umbrella Policy. This time, I was told I didn’t need them. I feel somewhat misled, and am seriously considering another agent, but maybe I just misheard. Humph. Here’s what we discussed:

Non-owned Car Coverage – Liability
I drive a company car for work, and also for personal use. This extends my liability (and $1M Umbrella) coverage to that car, so if something happens in it I am covered. It only costs $10/year, and also covers rental cars, so it’s definitely worth it to me. I was told that this was required for the Umbrella Coverage (I think), but it’s not.

Non-owned Car Coverage – Liability
This extends my collision & comprehensive coverage to my company car. My company cars is already covered by my company. I was also told before (I think) that this was required for the Umbrella Coverage, but it’s not. This costs $50/year! I’m going to drop it.

Comprehensive Coverage – Deductibles
Currently my deductible is $100.
If I raise it to $500, I’d save $32/year.
If I raise it to $1000, I’d save $40/year.
If I drop it completely, I’ll save $100/year.

Since comprehensive covers everything from glass repair to a stolen radio to a stolen car, I personally feel better with a lower deductible. My non-scientific reasoning is that basically any repair these days costs at least $500. If I make only one $500 claim ten years from now with a $500 deductible, I’d have saved $320 in premiums, and then paid $400 more out-of-pocket. And even with a claim my rates won’t go up. I also shy away from dropping comp completely because I park my car in the street at night in an urban area. My friend who works at a parking garage can attest to the high stolen car rates around here. I’m keeping the $100 deductible.

Rental Car Insurance
A recent comment made me actually want to see what I’d get if I signed up for this coverage, which I previously thought was extraneous. So I was quoted $20/year for rental coverage of 80% of the rental car costs, with a maximum claim of $500. So you’d be paying $20/year for a max of $500 of coverage? I’m keeping with my previous opinion that this ain’t worth it for my specific situation. For the days I really need a car, I’ll just pony up the $25-30 per day.

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Comments

  1. Like the commenter u were referring to ,
    I belive rental car coverage is necessary.

    u maybe willing to spend 25-30 for a day of car rental.

    But no body shop in america is going to give your car back in the same day.

    Recently my friend had a minor accident , rear bumper damaged , the body shop guy kept the car for 10 days.
    (Not his fault , so the other party paid for the rental car ).

    25-30 for a day is fine , but 10 days ?
    Then u will feel like one of my other friend who didnt opt for this insurance and ended up paying for 7 days of car rental from her pocket.

    progressive charges me 18 bucks for this coverage every 6 months.

    So u end up paying for a day of Rental Car every Year.( including taxes ).

    So think about it before you say NO 🙂

  2. Thanks for your comment. I don’t doubt that in an accident, you may lose your car for 10+ days. It’s just the max limit is only $500, and that simply isn’t that much money when you compare it to how often you might need it. I think of it as similar to buying coverage for your TV or digital camera at Best Buy. Can your TV break or could you drop your digicam? Yes. Do you want to pay $40/year to insure it? I don’t.

    The same can be said for Roadside Coverage, but I’ve locked myself out of the car more often that I’d like to admit… ;P

  3. umm comparing rental car insurance to BeastBuy Xtended Warranty is like comparing apples to a fruit of the citrus variety.

    Xtended warranties can be offsetted by Credit Card Xtended warranties , so i never buy them.

    Since there is no such FREE protection in the case of Rental cars , i end up taking that coverage.

    But hey for each his own !!!

    Why dont you call a one or two body shops and ask them how long they take to fix an average car ?

    A Nice lunch time Homework for ya 😛

  4. Concerning rental car coverage… my personal feelings are that if you are over 25, you don’t need it. Since it usually covers a maximum $ amount, and often doesn’t kick in right away, or cover the entire amount, it’s not worth the premiums. However, if you are under 25, and can’t rent a car on your own, the rental car coverage is good because it ensures that if your car ever is damaged or stolen, you will be able to rent a temporary replacement. I was 22 when I bought my Civic, and less than a month later some jerk dinged it up pretty good in a parking lot. It took two days to fix (and of course I had just moved 300 miles away from home and started a new job), but nobody would rent a car to me because of my age. Since I paid for rental coverage, my insurance agent was able to make some calls and get me a car, otherwise I would have been up a creek…

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