My 3rd party property coverage is $20 million (say $15m USD). But 3rd party personal is backed by the state (sole insurer Transport Accident Commission), and has no theoretical maximum.
tangent: Although Aus is sort of a ‘single payer’ when compared to the USA, it’s not entirely so, and the TAC is one of the exceptions. And the TAC price is higher than the Federal price, so hospitals are less eager to cast you out. If you have a bicycle accident, you hope a witness saw the car hit you.
$15.yr.
AFAIK there is no limit to the size of a 3rd party claim. Actual injury claims may not be huge, (even an amputated leg would be settled at <£250,000) but so-called Special Damages can push a claim into the £millions, but are usually much less.
I stand corrected. Yeah, that seems like a better system.
Your comprehensive insurance costs $15 a year? Or the difference between zero deductible and what deductible costs $15?
A quick google search claims that the average annual comp premium in the US is about $150.
My comp premium with a $2k deductible is $14 (for a different car. The new car isn’t up on the insurer’s website yet so I can’t check), so if yours with $0 deductible is $15, I should switch insurance.
Since we are comparing premiums, mine is £430 a year with a £200 deductable. This is below average for the UK.
I have learned at least four interesting things about the auto sales and insurance business so far. Thanks, internet buddies!
Yes, difference.
There’s also the annoyance of having to call the agent, figure out where you can get the work done, etc. I drive cheap cars that are cheap to repair. I’d rather just go get it done.
Not quite understanding this. ISTM most crashes involve someone violating some kind of traffic law, whether it’s failure to yield, failure to maintain control of vehicle, driving too fast for conditions, or some such thing. How often do auto insurers refuse to pay claims?
Liability is different from collision/comprehensive. It would not surprise me at all if a drunk driver’s insurance paid for another person’s damages ( injury, vehicle , a fence etc) but refused to pay under collision/comprehensive for damages to the drunk driver’s own vehicle.
MD-2000 is probably referring to the fact liability insurance doesn’t pay for deliberate violations of the law. IE if you use your vehicle to knowingly (rather than presumably careless violations of traffic law) perform a criminal act, it isn’t covered. The easiest example is if you see your ex across the road and decided to run them down, there is no payout (liability, collision, etc) on your policy. Or if your car gets totaled while you’re in the midst of using it as a get-away car during a robbery.
Of course there are plenty of people who try to say “I didn’t intend to run down that crowd of protesters, my food accidently hit the gas, not the brake,” but that’s a probably a separate thread.
Since this thread is revived anyhow …
I just bought 2 cars with credit union financing. They required the collision / comprehensive deductibles be $1000 or less. Not my preferred deductible, but OK.
I think that this is the key. You will certainly be covered in most reasonable situations where you’re in an accident and judged to be at fault, such that you get a ticket for some traffic law violation. Insurance companies are real sticklers for “finding fault”, because in most jurisdictions (including those with laws that are euphemistically called “no-fault”) that governs how payouts are made. Drunk driving and driving while your license is suspended would be the most common exceptions of premeditated illegal activity nullifying all coverage.
On a different topic, this thread has reminded me that I really ought to check my insurance, which I haven’t paid attention to in years. I suspect my deductible is expensively much too low, and for a car that getting fairly long in the tooth, it’s questionable whether I need collision coverage at all. And unless it’s changed over the years, last I remember my maximum liability was $2 million, which is probably not enough these days. Although the last time I tried to cancel collision coverage, on a different older vehicle, the agent told me that because the car was assessed at a fairly low book value I wouldn’t really be saving much. I’ll have to look at all my costs. I know I have various extras in there like non-owned vehicle coverage and loss of use.
In Canada $2m is the recommended amount of coverage for liability so you’re probably good there. Depending on the age/value of the car it may be a good idea to call and ask how much the collision/comprehensive is adding to your policy. If the car is worth $2 thousand and your deductible is the standard $500 it may be worth the savings year after year to remove one or both of those coverages. The loss of use tends to be part of the comprehensive coverage and if you don’t have that the loss of use is removed saving a bit more money. You could also check what your company’s requirements are for changing coverages. It might save a few bucks a month to remove the non-owned vehicle coverage if you’re not renting or borrowing vehicles and only add it on if you do.
If I have collision and comprehensive coverage already, and health insurance through another provider, what does Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage get me?
If someone hits me without insurance, doesn’t my own collision coverage take care of that?
Yes and no (of course). In the states that offer UM/UIM and potentially UPD there are a couple of advantages in the case you describe: You already have health insurance, COMP and COLL and of course, the other party is found at fault. First, the UM/UIM also covers a lot of areas your health insurance may leave you hanging - deductibles, copays, etc. Second, if you are rendered unable to work, it will also (in most states) cost lost wages, or again, anything else directly related to your personal injury that the other parties liability would normally have covered, including some rehabilitation and in at least one case I was aware of, mental counseling.
In the case of UPD (Uninsured motorist Property Damage) it often gives a zero-deductible option for repairs if the other party is uninsured and there is sufficient coverage. Again, in personal adjuster experience, I’ve seen claims where there’s a relatively minor claim, but with a $500 or $1000 Collision DED, many customers just didn’t bother and took a cash settlement, because they didn’t have the cash to pay for actual repairs out of hand at the time.
So in general it’s nice, but in some state required, others not, and it’s almost always pretty damn cheap for the peace of mind.
When buying a property recently and the bank insisted that they pay my insurance (despite a good credit rating and deposit). I got to choose my insurance, within certain parameters they set making sure certain minimums are met, but once chosen it is bundled into my monthly payment that the bank collects. The bank then pays the insurance company on my behalf.
Same for property taxes (but that is pretty common). Bank collects from me and bank pays the city.
Bottom line is the property is the collateral and they are protecting it. A lot of that has to do with who gets what if you default. There is an order and priority to who gets claim on assets and the lender always wants to be first on that list (for example, unpaid taxes preempt all other debts…the state gets the first bite at the apple).
Right. I believe that it is referred to as force placed coverage.
This is how my mortgage works too but its at my option. I could change insurance companies if I want as long as I maintain adequate coverage. I could also stop the escrow for the insurance as long as I maintained my coverage. If I didn’t maintain coverage, the mortgage company could declare me in default on the mortgage, buy replacement insurance, and add it to my mortgage payment. They aren’t going to pick the cheapest or best insurance and it would only protect their interest, not mine.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear. This is the same for me. I can pick and choose my insurance but it must meet certain minimum requirements.
Yes, but you have to pay your deducible.