I am not sure what factors I should really be looking at. I only have one vehicle am currently single.
2006-10-04 13:36:29 · 10 answers · asked by James B 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
Insurance is to cover losses that you can not comfortably cover yourself. When a vehicle is financed, the lien holder will require that you have full coverage to protect their investment in the vehicle. Once it is paid off, it is your choice to cover the car, or to risk it being wrecked or stolen and you having to bear the entire cost of the repair and/or replacement yourself!
I would recommend that you continue to insure your vehicle. If you want to take some of the risk yourself, you can increase the deductible on your policy. This should lower your costs, due to the decrease in risk for the insurance company!
2006-10-04 14:20:20 · answer #1 · answered by fire4511 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You should keep full coverage. The only time you want to drop comp and collision is when your vehicle is old enough that the value versus the cost of the coverage do not make it cost effective. If you had an accident and it was your fault (yes, it can happen!) and your car is totaled could you replace it on your own or fix it if it wasn't? What about comp losses (hit an animal, hail damage, a tree falls on it)- are you willing to pay out of your own pocket or walk away and shell out more money for a new vehicle?
My rule of thumb is at least 5 years old, but closer to 7 you should keep comp and collision. If cost is a factor, consider increasing your deductibles but keep them at an amount you can afford to pay if you have an accident.
2006-10-05 18:21:54 · answer #2 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were to be in an accident where you were at fault, could you repair or replace the vehicle out of pocket?
If you hit a deer, or the vehicle were vandalized or stolen, could you repair or replace the vehicle?
Your "full coverage" protects you in the event of situations such as these. The best 'explanation' is that those coverages are to protect your CAR. Only you can make the final decision, but, to me, it would be like saying the money you paid for the vehicle was disposable income and you wouldn't miss it if you had to pay it all again.
2006-10-05 02:36:37 · answer #3 · answered by purplepinkanddots 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never had an accident, and felt I was wasting money on the full coverage if I owned the car and I was a safe driver. In looking to save some money, I dumped the comp and collision.
Someone plowed into me and they have no insurance. I needed my car, so I had to put out the $3750 to fix it. Hold onto the comp and collision a little longer, it's a brand new vehicle and quite costly to fix them.
My son had a nice Neon, kind of old, but he did a lot of customization on it. The day it came out of the paint shop, a bad rain storm broke a tree limb over the roof of his car while he was driving. Homeowners of the people that owned the tree wouldn't cover it because the tree was something or other, I don't know, in any case, another pocket full of money for repairs.
2006-10-04 23:29:50 · answer #4 · answered by Cinderella 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If anything happens to the vehicle that is your fault, or someone hits it and runs off, or it gets stolen, and you only have liability, guess what? If you have enough cash on hand to replace the vehicle out of pocket, drop it down to just liability coverage.
2006-10-04 23:13:13 · answer #5 · answered by oklatom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good for you, dude!
Don't drop collision yet...it is much less expensive that buying another car if, God forbid, something happens to it. You could stuff an extra thousand into a savings account and raise your collision deductible to $1,000.00 if you want to save some premium dollars. One more note; if you are involved in an accident it is always better to let your insurance handle everything, especially if you end up dealing a really sorry, C- insurance company on the other side. Could be like getting blood from a rock and if you have no collision -- then no adjuster army on your side.
PS -- get rental coverage if you don't already have it -- it cost almost nothing (in fact, two days car rental will usually cost more than a year's premium).
2006-10-04 23:05:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its a brand new car.If you can stand to replace it in the event it is stolen or wrecked,then don't pay for full coverage.Its an expensive gamble though. I would go with full coverage for at least 4 years.
2006-10-04 20:42:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
First you want to ask yourself.... Why did the insurance company want full coverage for you while you were payingthe car off, ultimately the coverage(full) is for your protection so unless your car is totally worthless and you don't think you need coverage I would suggest that you keep full coverage because in the long run it only protects you!
2006-10-04 20:42:12 · answer #8 · answered by Michael N 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you get in accident, liability will not cover any of your $20,000 vehicle, can you afford that if you cause an accident? You may have to hire the lawyer to go after other person even if they were at fault if their insurance balks at the claim. I wouldn't chance it.
2006-10-04 20:44:58 · answer #9 · answered by M B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Liability will not pay off your car if you were to total it. Think smarter not harder.
2006-10-04 20:44:46 · answer #10 · answered by heckynot_35 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋