auto insurance during covid 19

David Harper

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There are articles in the media now suggesting that many of us should reduce our insurance coverage during the pandemic because we're paying for coverage we don't need. The reasons are ;

we're driving far fewer miles (our car is spending most of it's time in the garage)
some of us aren't commuting to work at all
most of us are experiencing some degree of financial hardship
So there are ways to significantly reduce our insurance cost;

increase your deductible to the maximum (usually $2000)
drop certain coverages completely like comprehensive (since a tree isn't going to fall on your car, or get hail damage, or hit a deer if it's in the garage).
reduce your liability coverage to the state minimum
switch to a company that charges by the mile driven (like metromile)
drop optional coverages(like rental car, accidental death, auto medical, etc.) these coverages are pure profit for the insurance companies.
If you have two cars and can get by on only one, suspend the insurance on the other one and don't drive it
If one of your cars is older, and paid off, drop the collision coverage on it. (this coverage is for if the accident is your fault) The car probably isn't worth it.

I've done the math and I can reduce my monthly premium from about $100/mo. to about $30/mo. I haven't done anything yet because I'm going to switch
insurance companies to one that charges by the mile. Has anyone else here done this yet?
Be aware if you research this online make sure the article you read ISN'T an insurance company article or an article affiliated in any way with the insurance companies. They will try to scare you out of doing this. For obvious reasons.
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jdm_mike

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Depending on your insurance provider, I believe there is an option to reduce your payment but you'll have to pay more in the end? Just double check with your provider and weigh the options.

Like @S7N57 said, it's better to keep the full rate rather than having not enough

In my experience, I just pay for the whole year. Been doing it since I first started driving
 

AlphaDigital

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Winter months = storage insurance for the R.

On my daily since I dont drive crazy, I opted for the drive safe app and my insurance has temporarily gone done until the data comes back and I further decreased the deductible to $0 for a couple of bucks more a month and im still paying less than I was before. Kind of a win win I suppose.

I think looking into the specifics of your coverage is important, sometimes companies out there put just bare minimums to give you the rate youre looking for but in the event of an accident youre gonna be screwed especially if there is bodily harm involved. If youre driving less maybe it makes sense, but theyre called accidents for a reason and youll be glad you had regular coverage when they happen.
 
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David Harper

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Better to not have it and not pay for it rather than pay for it and never use it. In 40 years of driving I have never;
had a tree fall on my car or had hail damage or hit a deer
had an at-fault accident
had a claim against my liability coverage
used rental car coverage
had a damage cost that exceeded my deductible
used my collision coverage
used my comprehensive coverage

for most people most of your insurance premium is pure profit for the insurance company
it's like extended warranties; based on fear, mostly a scam.
And wait till you see what happens if you ever actually file a claim. Your rates skyrocket.
Insurance is the most profitable scheme in the entire business world. That's why they're always trying so hard to sell it to us.
 
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S7N57

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Better to not have it and not pay for it rather than pay for it and never use it. In 40 years of driving I have never;
had a tree fall on my car or had hail damage or hit a deer
had an at-fault accident
had a claim against my liability coverage
used rental car coverage
had a damage cost that exceeded my deductible
used my collision coverage
used my comprehensive coverage

for most people most of your insurance premium is pure profit for the insurance company
it's like extended warranties; based on fear, mostly a scam.
And wait till you see what happens if you ever actually file a claim. Your rates skyrocket.
Insurance is the most profitable scheme in the entire business world. That's why they're always trying so hard to sell it to us.
Well it looks like you made your decision. But just remember this if you get ran over by someone and they don't have insurance don't go crying to your insurance company when they won't cover all your bills.
 
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David Harper

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bikejog

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My insurance company refunded $20 to my cc for my 6-month policy a few months after lockdown. That was the only discount I got from them.
 

NonyaBisness

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well i'm pretty much driving the same amount, I had maybe a week or 2 off total due to Covid so far but even then I wouldn't reduce my levels of coverage, just because you are on the road less doesn't mean you can't still be in a bad accident, also I'm over 25 years old so the cost difference is negligable, hell I have a $100 deductable on my Collision because it's only like $11 more every 6 months then a $500 deductable, I've got 2 cars with full coverage on the Civic and Comprehensive on the other older car and only pay like $118 a month, the costs of the higher limits versus the lowest limits are maybe 4-5 bucks a month so it's down right finanically stupid to have the lower coverage, if you opt for the lowest coverage then you hit a BMW or some exotic the 50/25/50 won't cover shit, especially if someone gets hurt, then you get sued and totally fucked, better to have the higher coverage, especially if you own property, you don't want to lose everything because of a car accident just to save a few bucks a month do you?
 

aerodynamics

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You can save a significant amount simply by shopping around. When I bought the Civic, it became my third car and I found the quote from my ins co. to be somewhat high considering my driving history and # of vehicles. So I went and got a bunch of quotes and now I'm paying less for three cars than I was for two with the old company with MORE coverage. My name aint Miss Cleo and you never know what will happen today, tomorrow, next year. Maybe if you live in the middle of nowhere and all you do is drive around your property but increasing deductibles, dropping coverages when you live in a dense area or metropolitan city is a bad idea.

Just remember, you're not under any contract with your insurance so you're free to switch companies as you please. I think that's a better way to save $ than dropping coverage.
 


AlphaDigital

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Better to not have it and not pay for it rather than pay for it and never use it. In 40 years of driving I have never;
had a tree fall on my car or had hail damage or hit a deer
had an at-fault accident
had a claim against my liability coverage
used rental car coverage
had a damage cost that exceeded my deductible
used my collision coverage
used my comprehensive coverage

for most people most of your insurance premium is pure profit for the insurance company
it's like extended warranties; based on fear, mostly a scam.
And wait till you see what happens if you ever actually file a claim. Your rates skyrocket.
Insurance is the most profitable scheme in the entire business world. That's why they're always trying so hard to sell it to us.
The article you linked for the insurance coverage reasons are based on assumptions and old cars

2. COLLISION INSURANCE
As a quick refresher, there are two main types of car insurance:

  • Collision insurance covers accidents that occur while you’re driving.
  • Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car when it’s stationary, like theft, vandalism, hail, etc.
If you drive an older car, it’s a good idea to get rid of your collision coverage. Allow us to explain. Let’s say you have a car that’s worth $2,500, and you have a $1,000 deductible.

If you get into an accident, your insurance company will give you $1,500 — at most — to repair or replace your vehicle.

And mind you, your insurance policy won’t even kick in unless you get into a big accident — one that costs over $1,000 in damage.

3. PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION
Personal injury protection is one of the various types of auto insurance coverage you’ll come across when you shop around for an auto insurance policy.

Personal injury insurance provides medical payments coverage to you and other passengers in your car if you’re in an accident.

This insurance may be unnecessary if you rarely have passengers in your car and already have great health and disability insurance from your employer — then your medical expenses will be covered anyway.

However, keep in mind that personal injury protection is a legal requirement for residents of some states. Check to find out if that’s the case in your state before ditching your coverage.

Potential Savings
Varies, although on average, you’ll probably save $50-$100/year.


4. COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE
In addition to collision coverage, you also might want to drop comprehensive coverage on an older car.

To determine whether it makes financial sense for you to do so, try the 10% rule of thumb.

For example, let’s say you have a car worth $4,000 with a $1,000 deductible. Should your car be damaged beyond repair, you’ll get $3,000 from your insurance company.

If you’re paying more than 10% of that amount ($300) annually for that coverage, you probably should get rid of it.

In fact, with an older car, you might just want to carry liability insurance. Liability coverage means that if you’re at-fault in an accident, other people’s bodily injuries and property damage will be covered by your insurance.

You’re actually required by law to carry liability insurance, but if you drive an older vehicle, that might be the only type of insurance coverage you need.

Potential Savings
The average person pays $22/month for comprehensive coverage.

For an older car, that figure is probably closer to $15/month, so you can expect to save approximately $180/year.


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IMO dropping some of this coverage makes sense in the event that you drive an "older vehicle", dropping personal injury protection is silly, and a horrible reason to try and save money. In the event that you cause bodily harm to somebody and you dont have the coverages in place to cover it, thats your house, personal property, and wages that are going to get screwed over in the process, not to mention the person you hurt that you are screwing over as well in an attempt to penny pinch.

Accidents are called accidents because we dont intend for them to happen. Theres no amount of careful driving in any number of years thats going to mitigate that. How much money are you trying to save that youre willing to forego certain coverages? There are better ways to be frugal that would equate to a similar amount of money saved if you ask me. Forego that daily cappuccino a couple times a week, eat out less, or something instead of cutting corners on your insurance coverage. You drive a honda civic not a maserati, im surprised youre paying that much, I dont even pay that much for my R. I could be at a $250 or less deductible for less than $80 a month and ive made sure that all the coverage numbers are at reasonable amounts.

You should shop around for better rates before considering dropping coverage because you feel like youre not accident prone..
 

Mae22

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The only accident I've ever been in during my 33 years of driving was this past September during the pandemic, when I hit a moron who ran a red light on his bicycle. Because he was uninsured, I had to pay my $500 deductible out of pocket and my own insurance had to cover the $8,000+ repairs, even though the guy I hit was ruled 100% at fault by the police.

I went from driving 30,000+ miles per year to less than 1000 miles per year since I now work from home due to the pandemic, but that's when the accident happened. Was also less than 2 miles from my home. So I'd caution anyone from dropping coverage, or increasing deductible, because the unimaginable can easily happen when you least expect it. Playing those odds can be dangerous.
 

AlphaDigital

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The only accident I've ever been in during my 33 years of driving was this past September during the pandemic, when I hit a moron who ran a red light on his bicycle. Because he was uninsured, I had to pay my $500 deductible out of pocket and my own insurance had to cover the $8,000+ repairs, even though the guy I hit was ruled 100% at fault by the police.

I went from driving 30,000+ miles per year to less than 1000 miles per year since I now work from home due to the pandemic, but that's when the accident happened. Was also less than 2 miles from my home. So I'd caution anyone from dropping coverage, or increasing deductible, because the unimaginable can easily happen when you least expect it. Playing those odds can be dangerous.

8k in damage from a bicycle? Yikes. the hell kind of bike was the dude riding.
 

bikejog

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The only accident I've ever been in during my 33 years of driving was this past September during the pandemic, when I hit a moron who ran a red light on his bicycle. Because he was uninsured, I had to pay my $500 deductible out of pocket and my own insurance had to cover the $8,000+ repairs, even though the guy I hit was ruled 100% at fault by the police.

I went from driving 30,000+ miles per year to less than 1000 miles per year since I now work from home due to the pandemic, but that's when the accident happened. Was also less than 2 miles from my home. So I'd caution anyone from dropping coverage, or increasing deductible, because the unimaginable can easily happen when you least expect it. Playing those odds can be dangerous.
Meza, AZ had bicycle congestion too? I tell you what tho, it was much more civilized and pleasant to cycle in my city before 10-15 years ago. Greg Lemond and Lance got me hook on cycling and unfortunately, they also got lots of other aholes hooked. lol... Back then, people single file on traffic lights and yell out when they're passing you. I was cycling in the city a couple years ago, and aholes were going left and right of me at stop light. Ironically, it was safer to cycle before they put in all these bike lanes. Now I hear lots of car hitting cyclist, cyclist hitting cyclist, and cyclist hitting people.

And this pandemic just bring out the worst of all people. I see people running red-lights. People passing me between parked cars on one lane traffic in 25 MPH Zone. Crazy!

And actually, my insurance company raised my insurance after my initial 6-month policy. When asked why, they said it was because their cost of doing business in my area went up because of all the looting that happened.
 
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Gruber

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The only right way to save on "pandemic" would be for insurance companies to reduce rates. If you just reduce your coverage, you do pay less.......but for less in return.

Obviously, the risk for insurance companies had decreased, but they only gave back peanuts for that. In my area the rush hours traffic seems just as big as it ever was, but late evening and night trafic is very slim. The fact is that many businesses close earlier and eating out is limited. Must be much much less drunk driving. There is no doubt the insurance business pays out much less.

Btw. The insurance cost is a big part of the penalty for always driving a newish car. If you like to get a new car every couple to 5 years, it will not only cost you the new car premium plus depreciation, but you lose all the benefit of cutting the unnecessary collision/comprehensive insurance.
It's an exhilarating and relaxing experience to drive a well performing, but low value car on minimum insurance, knowing that you can park wherever you want and if you total it, you will just happily walk away from the wreck and buy a new one.:cool:

And actually, my insurance company raised my insurance after my initial 6-month policy. When asked why, they said it was because their cost of doing business in my area went up because of all the looting that happened.
I believe insurance should never pay for war or riot losses/damages.
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