Archives for May 2005

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.
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(Continued from Part 1 and Part 2.) In addition to liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, there are a couple other options to choose from in the car insurance world. These include: Personal Injury Protection, Emergency Road Service (Towing), Rental Car Coverage, Full Glass Protection.

Personal Injury Protection
While Liability covers the other person’s vehicle, PIP covers the medical cost for the passengers in your vehicle, no matter who’s fault it was. Chances are if you already have decent health and disability insurance, you won’t need this coverage. Some states require a minimum amount, like mine. I’m just carrying the minimum.
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The most common advice I hear about how to lower your car insurance premiums is either to drop collision on your car, or raise your collision and comprehensive coverages as high as possible. But first, I think you have to put things in perspective first.

What is collision coverage? Will it go up if I make a claim?
Collision insurance will cover costs related to repairing damages to your car due to an accident with another car (including hit-and-run). Usually this type of coverage is only required when you lease or have a loan on your car. In most cases, if you do get in an accident and make a collision claim, your rates will go up. Some companies will forgive the first accident if you have a certain length of accident-free history. For me I think it’s 10 years.
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Thanks for everyone’s comments about insurers, I’m going to whittle it down to 3-4 major auto insurers, I don’t want to deal with the small fries. My policy expires in mid-July, so I have a bit of time. Now I need to examine my policy coverage levels to see if they are appropriate. There are many components of auto insurance, and I actually understood very little about each until recently.

How much liability coverage do I need?
Liability covers damage you may cause to other people’s property and injuries to the people themselves, including your passengers. It offers protection from lawsuits. Usually each state designates a minimum level of coverage that everyone is required to have, something in the neighborhood of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $5,000 property damage.
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I may be purchasing my company car after it goes off-lease. This, of course, means I have to insure it myself along with our current car, and I’ve been meaning to shop around for car insurance again anyways. I’m tempted to get quotes from everywhere, but as I understand it many of the car insurance companies pull “hard” inquiries on your credit report, which will hurt your credit. (Update: I’m not entirely sure about this. This link at Washington Mutual Insurance suggests something different. However, some people have had inquiries from car insurance companies show up on their credit report). So, I’m asking my readers to give me their personal advice and experiences. Which car insurance company do you have? Do you like it? Does it have a good multi-car discount? Which did you switch from? What website did you use to compare prices? Thanks!
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