Car Insurance

[FrugalTexan75]

Hi All. I am debating about whether or not I shoud drop my comprehensive and other comprehensive from my car insurance.

I have a 1997 Honda Civic with about 88,000 miles on it. I think it will be going good for a lot more years - I have had very little trouble with it at all.

By dropping the two comprehensives, as well as the Personal Injury Protection (PIP) I would be cutting my car insurance nearly in half. Right now I pay ~$365 every 6 months -- it would go to ~$180 every 6 months.

Of course I'm going to probably be moving to Fort Worth in the next 4 - 6 weeks, which will probably raise my insurance rates.

What do you all think? Should I leave my coverage alone (I have $1000 deductible already) or would it be okay (financially smart) to drop the comprehensives??

Thanks!

Laura

[ChillPhatCat]

It's basically just gambling, if you've got a very good driving record I'd consider dropping comp. With a $1000 deductable, you're already looking at 1/3 the value of the car (I guess the car is worth $3k). Personally I wouldn't carry comp on a car that old. If you can save $370 per year, that will cover the other $2k (insurance would cover if totalled) in about 5 years. And that car is good for at least 200k miles.

[sweeps]

CPC is right, it's a roll of the dice. You could drop your coverage and run into someone leaving the insurance office. Or you could keep your coverage and never get into an accident the rest of your life.

Since your deductible is so high already (too high, in my opinion), I would take the chance, drop the full coverage, and put the savings in the bank.

[Ima saver]

I would drop the full coverage too and bank the savings. My reasoning is: I am a very good driver and have not had one accident since I have been driving (almost 50 years). If I was in an accident, more than likely it will be the other person's fault and their insurance will pay. Your car is almost 10 years old, really not worth paying full coverage on.

[acezz4e_tish]

well if your done paying for the car, drop it to plpd yes, but if your still making payments on the car, you have to carry full coverage, i dont know a company that dont require it.

[kashi]

I have a 94 Tempo and still have comprehensive and collision on it. It's fully paid off, and I'm a good driver. The reason I keep it on is because I can't afford to pay for a new (or used) car. I got a lot of pressure from almost everyone to take off that coverage, but I've kept it anyway. Do whatever you feel most comfortable doing, Laura.

[Fern]

I have a 99 Honda Civic with about 77,000 miles. A month or so ago i dropped collision/comprehensive and now i just pay $400 a year!!!!

I have a good driving record so i'm not too concerned, especially as i work in my hometown, so don't do too much driving, typcially. That could be something else to consider when making your decision....how much driving do you do?

[acezz4e_tish]

i have a gr8 driving record too but a bad credit history with med bills for four kids and i cant believe that is a concideration against my costs but it is! i dont have any tickets, accidents nothing on my record. im sure of whats on my record too, cause it used to be that you could go to our local police department and get a print out. when i worked at dominos long ago, you needed to do it for a job. i havent even been arrested before, so i dont know why all these things wouldnt make it lower especially since my report has on it bills for being sure that everyones healthy. geeesh.lol the only loan i ever had ever, was my 96 cavelier brand new, and i paid it, wasnt even late and thru gm and gm discounts for family i just got thier insurance with my payment. so med bills are only thing on my report. but that post of jeffereys on saving on insurance, i got a call off that already and for six months its only gonna be 357. just gotta wait on daves payday. thats gr8 for 2 cars rv and house on a policy, thats little over 700 a year. geicho was outrageous. dont believe what you see on were the best we will save you money. check it out deeply and intense.

[ChillPhatCat]

Another side to this argument. I have a friend who's parents always pay the bare minimum car insurance, they've been doing this for 15 years. What they did was save up the money they would have spent on car insurance for the first few years and set it aside. They now have enough to replace their car if they ever got in an accident, they've kept this fund across a couple vehicles now so they don't need anything more than liability, if they do total out a car they will just have to start building up the fund again, but it's probably an unlikely event.

[Ima saver]

If you have bad credit, you will pay more for insurance and many other things. Why, people with bad credit have been shown to make more claims on their insurance policies.

[acezz4e_tish]

its funny tho, most of that of which is on my credit report is owed by jakes dad, as hes 90% responsible for the bills on jakes medical. but its all on mine, non on his report im sure. i was also told by a friend in the bank that medical isnt concidered bad credit. i was asking them questions about pells and seog's and stuff, cause im single parent i can go to school at no cost. i would have to buy my books, but as the semester would be ending i would get a check for thier cost. i wanted to find out if there was anything for books in advance, as i get a ssi check for my son and im at home not working. since we were friends i knew i could ask and find all i needed to know about. they opened an extension to the state college right here in town, so i was concidering some stuff. and i pay all my other bills, so there cant be anything on there but my kids meds and if its not concidered bad credit for loans, why would it be for insurance. that statement dont make sense to me. ive had a policy and havent had any claims and feel ive earned the right to be respected and a discount. after all i think it would make more sense that it would be a higher risk to insure someone that dont have kids, and has had accidents or been arrested, why should my kids medical bills matter?

[Ima saver]

I really can't answer that, I just know that I read somewhere that if your credit score is low, you will get charged more for your car insurance. They say because people with lower scores make more claims than people with high scores. I pay a lot more car insurance on my last camero and on this vette than most people and I have never had a ticket or accident. Why? My car is more likely to get stolen cause it is a sports car.

[cercis]

Ima, you bring up a good point for people looking to buy a new car. If you haven't decided what kind of car you want, call your insurance agent with details of cars you like and get quotes. It's amazing how much difference there can be, even in liability only (you'd think a bigger vehicle would cost more for liability since it will clearly do much more damage should it hit another car but that doesn't necessarily hold true).

I'd drop the comp and collision and stick with liability only and then either put the savings into a savings account for car repair/replacement or use it to pay down debts so that I could qualify for another car loan later.

Tish - I can relate to the med bills. My insurance drug their feet paying a med bill and let it go to collections (but I was never notified). They then paid it. This leaves me high and dry for at least 3 more years until the collections drops off my credit report. But it didn't go on DH's report. If they hadn't paid it, or I'd been notified so that I could contest it, my credit report would actually look better because I could get it cleared, but since it's paid, it leaves me with no grounds for clearing - paying it indicates you recognize it as a valid debt.

[acezz4e_tish]

ya i guess ill just have to grin and bare it, i think that after a certain amount of time has passed you should get a grace. well maybe my points are too low, cause i dont go out and create new loans and such too, i dont have a bank acct either. to much to get me into trouble and to much paperwork to add to my usual for ssi. they dont like to cover kids with adhd anymore, and have ceased accepting anymore claims for it. every month i get new papers to fill out for another office somewhere, one year claims, for office here, then cape, then st louis. its never ending, they even had one that called on the phone to do one over the phone. his pills cost half that check, im not giving it up. 300 is alot of money, by time i pay a sitter that can drop off and pick up two diff schools two diff times of day, id owe. bring home six hundred and pay out 700. know what im saying? its just not worth going out of the house for work until my youngest is in full time school.

[cercis]

Collections notices will drop off after 7 years of no activity. Mine was posted in 2001-2002 (for a 03/2000 bill), so I have 2-3 years before it drops off.

[FrugalTexan75]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have had my insurance with Geico for the last 7 years. Every year I have checked prices with other places and haven't found anyone that beats the rate I have with them. I do have a pretty good driving record - I haven't had an accident since my first year driving (1993). I do own my car free and clear.
I think I'm going to think about this some more, but your comments definitely help me out!

Laura

[ChillPhatCat]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Why? My car is more likely to get stolen cause it is a sports car.

That's funny because the number one stolen car for many years running is the Acura integra which is barely sporty... Different years of Integras topped the top 20 list last year 7 times. Reliable popular econo cars are in fact the most desirable because of the tuner craze. I don't think the people in charge actually understand how things work.

[Bluezy]

Originally Posted by FrugalTexan75

I have had my insurance with Geico for the last 7 years. Every year I have checked prices with other places and haven't found anyone that beats the rate I have with them.

Hun , I just saved $850 this week switching from Geico to Allstate!! There were rumours that the two companies were in a price war, but I had no idea. My vehicle insurance payments went from $140 per month to $55 per month. And this is with a clean driving record and top credit. And, by the way, I am currently living in Florida, a hot spot for accidents.

Be sure to check around to see what might be out there. Cheers hun!

[cercis]

Most stolen car changes place to place and year to year. In some places the most stolen car is the one with the most interchangable parts (think chop shops). In others, it's the most exciting "joy ride".

There is a US list and generally the more "generic" cars top that list, but it will be different is various areas.

[acezz4e_tish]

here they just jack the equiptment and leave the cars.lol