What are recommended car insurance ceilings for...?

Question

Liability bodily Inj and unisured /under insured motorist currently have 100,000/300,000 on both . Is this too much ? , Not enough ?I'm getting ready to renew my policy and have been getting quotes and not sure how much of a difference it makes.. I'm in N.J if you need to know

Answer 1

Unfortunately with health care costs today 100/300 should be a bare minimum. I always recommended my clients carry 250/500 Bodily Injury (to protect your assets if you are at fault) and Uninured Motorist coverage (to protect you if someone else is at fault and hasn't got any/enough coverage) and 100000 in Property Damage Liability (for damage to property if you are at fault). Coverages are somewhat different from state to state, so check with an agent in y our state for a thorough explanation of coverages.

I also recommended adding 1-2 million additional in a Personal Liability Umbrella. That provides additional coverage over and above what you carry on your house and cars.

The important thing to remember when getting quotes is to have each company quote you the exact same coverages (or as close as possible, as some companiees have slight differences in peripheral coverages like car rental and medicaly payments). Get them in writing, and compare them apples to apples. Be sure to check deductibles, too.

Finally, consider the reputation of the company. Saving $100 a year in premiums won't be worth it if you have a claim that doesn't get paid, or has a ton of service issues.

Good luck!

Answer 2

If you have a lot of assets (house, stocks, savings, etc.) you better be taking the highest limit you can get and buy and umbrella policy on top of that for another million or two.

Jury awards can be pretty high and if you have a million in assets, you can bet your life they'll go after it.

On the other hand, they can't get blood out of a turnip so if you don't have anything for them to get, a lower limit might suffice but think about this. My son was hit by a car a year ago and spent 12 days in the hospital. The hospital bill alone was almost $50,000. No one expects to cause an accident. That's why they're called accidents. But if you do, you want to have adequate liability coverage to cover it so you don't lose everything you've worked for.

Answer 3

Too much? Hah! Hit a school bus, and have 40 injured kids, and you'll lose your house.

Usually the maximum amount of car insurance you can buy is $250,000/$500,000/$100,000, then you can buy an umbrella policy for an extra million.

You need to insure yourself for what you are worth - add up all your assets, and add to THAT your expected salary for the next three years - have a limit high enough to cover that.

For what it's worth, once you get that 100/300/100 limit, it's pretty cheap to increase your limits after that.

Answer 4

Ok, with today's economy you are better with 100/300. you are better safe than sorry. many companies tend to quote you with lower limits and you compare prices not coverages so be careful.