Car Insurance Coverage?

[Anonymous]

What car insurance coverages does everyone have? Our underinsured motorist protection with Progressive is currently set the same as our Comp/Collission, but is that really necessary? I'm looking into ways to save money and thinking that if we're not at fault during an accident, our Comp and Collision should still cover us if necessary, right?

Also, thoughts on Personal Injury Protection? Are we wasting money on this if we're already solidly covered on our health insurance plans?

We just bought a new car and said no to the hard sell of extra warranty protection and GAP insurance. Was this the right choice? I know I can get some type of GAP through Progressive as well, but is this really necessary?

Right now our comp and collission is set at 50/100/100. My car is worth about $30K, SO's is about $20K.

[Anonymous]

I definitely would have got the GAP insurance.  Many companies no longer provide it.  IMO, it would spend the extra money on GAP insurance before I would on car rentals, AAA sevices, etc.  In the event your vehicle is totalled and the pay off is way less than the value of the car, (which depreciates quickly), the GAP would cover it.

I have GEICO and have WA states minimums.  I do not get the extras like medical payments or underinsured motorist.  If someone has no insurance and hits me, I am still covered no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response, I'm in WA too! I think I'll add loan payoff to our Progressive policy. It's less expensice per month than the policy Toyota Financial was offering. I think I'll also drop everything to minimums, since they'd certainly cover the cost of any damages to our vehicles unless they were totaled and the loan payoff would step in there.

When you say "if someone has no insurance and hits me, I am still covered no matter what" do you mean because the state mins you already have would cover it?

[Anonymous]

Basically, yes.  I have comp and collision so if someone uninsured hits me I am still covered.  A few years ago I got re-ended by two cars.  I was not at fault in any way.  The other two peoples insurances were fighting over who was at fault.  I had Progressive at the time and they just paid for the damage, which was significant, then went after the other two companies for reimbursment.  As far as I know neither one would admit to fault and I do not know if Progressive ever got paid.  I checked about 2 years after the accident and it was still showing as an open case.  It did not count against my insurance either. 

If you have full coverage, no matter who hits you, your insurance should cover it.

I also do not have medical or any of that other stuff.  I am military and do not have to worry about getting paid if I miss work.

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

...I had Progressive at the time and they just paid for the damage, which was significant, then went after the other two companies for reimbursment.  As far as I know neither one would admit to fault and I do not know if Progressive ever got paid....

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You probably had to pay the deductible, so if and when Progressive ever does get paid you should get a check from them for your deductible.

About eight years ago I was hit twice in a short period of time by customers of Geico and Atlantic Mutual.  The Atlantic Mutual adjuster came to my workplace, looked at my car, and handed me a check on the spot that turned out to be almost exactly what my chosen Body Shop charged.  Geico tried to claim it was my fault, so my carrier (State Farm) paid the damages to my car minus the deductible, then took Geico to Intercompany Arbitration and maybe six months later I got a check for my deductible and a note basically saying, "since we got the full amount of of Geico here's your deductible."

As I understand it, Intercompany Arbitration is how disputes over fender-benders are handled in my State (bigger cases go to court).  Every insurance company licensed to do business in the State has to contribute hours of their adjusters' time in proportion to their market share, deciding cases in which they are neutral.  So when Geico and State Farm were fighting over my fender-bender it might have been an Allstate or Progressive adjuster who looked over the file and said, "Geico's customer was at fault, pay State Farm."

[Anonymous]

This is just my take on vehicle insurance and some may think I'm over covered.  But, injuries in an accident can run into a lot of money.  If you have assets to protect, money, home, ect you better make sure that you are well covered , if not and an injury claim goes above your coverage they can and will come after your assets.

I am not an insurance agent nor do I have any connection with such, We carry 250,000.00/500,000.00 and 100,000.00 in property coverage, we also have a 10,000.00 PIP.

When my hubby was hit last year by an eighteen wheeler Progressive immediately picked up the medical bills to our limit on our PIP, then we were out of pocket for the rest (still have not settled with the other company). He was hit on thurs. and on the following tues. Progressive brought out a check for the kubota and trailer and then on thurs, they brought out a check for his F350.

Also my Progressive agent says we do not need uninsured/underinsured motorist because our comp/collision would cover that.  But, that is something you should check with your agent abt.  I deal directly with Progressive I dont go through an agent.  Hope this helps.  Good Luck Vicki

     ETA:  I just looked at my policy and we actually have uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury in the amount of 250,000/500,000.  What we dont have is uninsured/underinsured property damage, which progressive said would be covered under our comp/coll.  But I would never try to advise someone on what their coverage should be, only you can determine what coverage you need. 

Message Edited by greyhound2007 on 04-26-2009 06:16 AM

[Anonymous]

Remember that comp & coll will only cover your vehicle's damages, if you drop your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and you get hit by someone with no insurance, get ready to pay for your own medical expenses since most private medical insurances exclude injuries by automobile accidents.  I would not advise to keep it or to drop it, shop around and see how much you would save by dropping it, sometimes it may be just a few dollars a month, then balance the risk and make a decision.  As far as going just with your state min limits, like someone said earlier, if you have any assets, they could be at risk if you cause an accident and your limits do not cover all the medical expenses, I would just compare the savings vs risk.  I think in the state of WA PIP is mandatory so no way out.