car ins. help

[73ss454]

After looking at my car insurance I'm trying to save a few $ and have a question.

Is there any reason to keep underinsured/uninsured ins. in the policy. I have health insurance and I'm retired so is there any need to keep it?

According to Geico I don't have to keep it in the state of Fla.

 

[FinanceDude]

What are your limits now? Drop the medical coverage (if you have it) on your car policy, and raise the deductibles as high as they let you,keep the underinsured/uninsured, and see what the price drops to.......

 

[73ss454]

FD, what's the reason for keeping the underinsured/uninsured part?

 

[FinanceDude]

FD, what's the reason for keeping the underinsured/uninsured part?

It depends on how good your auto insurer is at paying claims. Also, by taking the coverage, some insurers will give you a better overall rate.

I can't remember the exact stats, but it used to be that something like 20% of all drivers are uninsured, and up to 40% may be underinsured.

If you have a claim, and the other driver has no insurance or not enough insurance, the burden falls on your insurer to make you whole. I don't know GEICO's record on paying claims, if they are good at it,you could probably drop the coverage.

Bottom line, if you were in a serious accident, and your medical and damage bills were high, and the other driver had NO insurance, would your company put you back where you were? If the answer is NO or YES, the choice is easy. If the answer is MAYBE, ask for more questions....... Better still, is it a risk worth taking?

 

[GatorBuzz]

Would your group health insurance cover you in an automobile accident? In some states they are not required to. In Florida, I think they MAY be required to do so in these cases. I'm not positive, though. If not, your group health insurer may state that they are not responsible for damages done to you in an auto accident. My only point is that you may want to ask these questions of both your auto and health insurers before making this decision.

 

[73ss454]

Maybe this will save some of you guys some $.

I spent some time and found out what underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage does. As it turns out if you have medical coverage and are not working the only thing they pay out is pain and suffering.

No fault covers 80% of medical up to 10K and then your personal health ins. would kick in.

IMHO I really don't see any reason to have this coverage is you have medical and are not working. But do your own DD.

 

[MooreBonds]

Maybe this will save some of you guys some $.

I spent some time and found out what underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage does. As it turns out if you have medical coverage and are not working the only thing they pay out is pain and suffering.

No fault covers 80% of medical up to 10K and then your personal health ins. would kick in.

IMHO I really don't see any reason to have this coverage is you have medical and are not working. But do your own DD.

YMMV, but my underinsured/uninsured coverage is something like $8/6 months.

Granted, as noted above, it doesn't cover everything but the kitchen sink. However, as with all insurance questions, you have to ask yourself the likelihood of the event happening.

I'm willing to bet that I will be in an accident caused by an uninsured (or even underinsured - quite possible, since many people just buy the state minimum coverages) at least once in my lifetime. A lifetime of premiums (about $16/year, or, say, $1,000 lifetime) is worth it (to me), knowing I have the coverage in case it's a serious accident.

Just like when you consider the cost/benefit of taking a health insurance policy of $3,000 deductible vs $5,000 deductible (how much you save vs. how many times in your life you'll have a $5,000+ medical expense year).

 

[samclem]

Maybe this will save some of you guys some $.

I spent some time and found out what underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage does. As it turns out if you have medical coverage and are not working the only thing they pay out is pain and suffering.

And it also covers repairs to your vehicle, right? And it also covers medical expenses of your passengers (who may be in a different medical insurance situation/employment situation than the driver is, and totally un-covered for medical expenses if there's no Um policy in place).

With the number of "undocumented aliens" in many parts of FL, I'll bet there are many drivers without insurance (or licenses) there. That probably drives up the cost of UM coverage, but also increases the likelihood that it will be needed.

 

[73ss454]

And it also covers repairs to your vehicle, right? And it also covers medical expenses of your passengers (who may be in a different medical insurance situation/employment situation than the driver is, and totally un-covered for medical expenses if there's no Um policy in place).

With the number of "undocumented aliens" in many parts of FL, I'll bet there are many drivers without insurance (or licenses) there. That probably drives up the cost of UM coverage, but also increases the likelihood that it will be needed.

Sam, I found out that this ins. in Fla. only covered a spouse or relative living in my household. If a friend was driving with me and was injured he would be covered under my no fault for 80% but not under under/uninsured.

I called my medical provider and I'm covered for any injuries not covered under my car ins., so I'm covered. Also it provides for lost wages which is great but I'm retired so no advantage there. They did say they would cover me for pain and suffering. But who gets to decide if I had any of that, I'm sure it's not me.

Also if I have a collision it doesn't make any diff. if I had the under/uninsured coverages for the repair of the vehicle because I carry collision on the vehicles.

I find no reason to have it and I'm saving $170 a year for 25/50K on this part of the policy.

While speaking with the Geico rep in Fla. I came out and asked him if there was any reason he could see why I should continue to carry it and he said No.

I cancelled it the other day.

 

[samclem]

Hey, 170 bucks buys a lot of beer and pizza. Enjoy!

 

[Nords]

Maybe this will save some of you guys some $.
I spent some time and found out what underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage does. As it turns out if you have medical coverage and are not working the only thing they pay out is pain and suffering.
No fault covers 80% of medical up to 10K and then your personal health ins. would kick in.
IMHO I really don't see any reason to have this coverage is you have medical and are not working. But do your own DD.

I relieved a guy who left the Navy and came back to the same building as a contractor while attending law school at night. (Long story.) He spent most of a semester studying car insurance laws, particularly UM/UIM.

The best reason we could find for UM/UIM was if another driver injures your kid, resulting in lifetime care/disability. Most health insurance stops paying for your kid when they get to a certain age, although this would certainly be a situation for extenuating circumstances. But the UM/UIM insurance would go a long way toward easing the family's care/maintenance/medication issues.

Another reason for UM/UIM would be if your own medical insurance was capped at some point or if you were considered "recovered" and the situation was now classified as "long-term care". Again that UM/UIM insurance would pay for a lot of rehab and medications while litigation ensued.

We're keeping our UM/UIM insurance until our kid is forced off our health insurance, and then since we parents have TRICARE we're dropping the UM/UIM. That'll leave us with the state's minimum requirements and our liability coverage.

 

[73ss454]

Nords, I'm not sure if diff. states have diff. rules with this type of ins.
Also, if I had young kids I would feel as you do but they are long gone. Really can't find any reason to have it except the pain and suffering. Don't know how easy it would be to collect from my own ins. co. for pain and suffering so I just let it go.

I had mixed feeling about dumping it but feel better knowing you checked it out also.

 

[nphx]

My experience with State Farm (i had no underinsured/uninsured)... when a no licence, no insured person ran a stop sign. The wonderful people at State Farm paid their injury claim and i was saddled with paying to have my car fixed. Welcome to america.

 

[brewer12345]

Nords, I'm not sure if diff. states have diff. rules with this type of ins.

This is absolutely the case. In FL, you tend to get the screwjob because insurance companies are being treated as public enemy #1 by the state gummint, so they have tried like hell to reduce how many policies they write and what they cover. Perhaps the state will eventually see the error of its ways, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[73ss454]

My experience with State Farm (i had no underinsured/uninsured)... when a no licence, no insured person ran a stop sign. The wonderful people at State Farm paid their injury claim and i was saddled with paying to have my car fixed. Welcome to america.

I think that would be the case in Fla. also but I have collision on my policy so my ins. co. would have to repair my car. Then they would have to chase the un/underinsured driver of the other car for the money.