Auto insurance: how much to get?

[JK]

Currently a resident and moving to a new state so I'm reevaluating my auto insurance policies and what I need on our two vehicles (both 2016 Honda CR-V). We have a sizable emergency fund. I've been doing some reading and the general recommendation is to get a lot of liability insurance, consider adding an umbrella policy, skimp on the collision/comprehensive if you have an emergency fund, and consider not purchasing rental or roadside. I was curious what numbers people currently have with their policies and if it changes once you become an attending.

-Bodily Injury

-Property Damage

-Property Protection

-Personal Injury protection

-Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist

-Collision:

-Comprehensive:

-Car Rental

-Roadside:

 

 

[jfoxcpacfp]

It will partially depend upon your state's minimums. Your insuror will also probably have parameters for what you need to have in place before qualifying for umbrella coverage.

[JeffreyBrown]

jfoxcpacfp, I also got to a little about it. Thanks!!

[adventure]

It can depend if your vehicle is financed too.

I was told to go high (300/100), because a car accident can get expensive quickly. I've also heard having umbrella coverage can come in to play here, but I'm not wise in those matters yet.

[Dreamgiver]

My opinions:

-Get AAA instead of roadside, better coverage and more value from the membership

-I do not have rental as we have an extra car laying around so I do not know the cost of that

-Definitely do not skimp on collision/comp on a newer car (if it is leased or financed you must have that coverage anyway), if anything up the deductibles

-Umbrella policies usually require you take out the maximum liability coverage (500,000). Still, umbrella policies offer a great value

-Ditch one of the most underpowered cars on the road....ok, just kidding...

 

[KentWest]

Auto insurance includes 6 different kinds of coverage:

PIP or Personal Injury Protection

Bodily Injury Liability

Collision

Property Damage Liability

Uninsured Coverage

Comprehensive coverage

Look for them according to your personal requirements and states laws..

[beagler]

I have an umbrella policy for 3M. Requires maxed out auto liability at 250/500k or something similar. Auto related liability is probably the biggest risk we have outside of malpractice. Imagine one talking on the phone with the hospital after a long day or night shift and accidentally hitting a kid running out on a street. Think million+ damages garnered from you. If you're not worth it now certainly they could garnish future wages from a doctor.

Collision/comprehensive up to your comfort. Remember for renting cars you may need some amount both to be covered by home policy.

Definitely get under and uninsured driver coverage. It covers your and passengers if some crazy hits you - they're likely to have no or minimum coverage. What if you're unable to work for a while?

 

 

[Doctor Money Matters]

I would get the max. You need it to get umbrella coverage which is one of the cheapest best values in insurance. Listen to my podcast episode about asset protection to get more information. Umbrella insurance is a must for any practicing physician.

https://goo.gl/Sy9NZT

[Craigy]

I am at 100/300 plus a $1M umbrella.  Finally bit the bullet and got an umbrella since our net worth is finally getting pretty solid in the black.

[childay]

Liability 250/500

Uninsured Motorist 250/500/100

Collision/comprehensive w/ 1k deductible

No towing or glass or medical payments etc

Umbrella 2M

Thinking I should probably drop the collision at this point w/ my EF being easily able to cover a new (reasonable) car..

[Craigy]

Personally I wouldn't drop comp/collision unless it was really exorbitantly expensive.  Even if you're a good driver, if someone else hits you, your insurance can cut you a check immediately and subrogate against the other guy, whereas if you're waiting on the claim to be settled with the other guy and there's some dispute, it can take months, even years to get paid. Also if I get into a wreck through my own fault I don't want to feel that much worse about it.

Usually you can cut down the comp/collision to a pretty low figure if you opt for a higher deductible like $1k, $2k.  Personally I'm not going to make a claim unless it's pretty large anyway.

[White.Beard.Doc]

I would strongly recommend umbrella in conjunction with your primary auto coverage.  The amount of liability on the auto policy is determined by the requirements of the umbrella coverage.  Most companies require 300k or 500k of liability insurance on the primary auto policy to qualify for the umbrella coverage.  Even if your assets now are limited, your future income stream is high as a physician, so you should get umbrella coverage now to prevent wage garnishment in the future for a bad auto accident.  1 or 2 million umbrella liability coverage is likely sufficient to keep a plaintiff's lawyer from going after your assets or future earnings beyond your insurance coverage.

[Frenchy1011]

Kind of highjacking this post. Sorry!

 

I am looking to get new auto/property/umbrella insurance. How do I know which companies are the best for this? Is there some kind of database for this? Not even sure how many are out there and tough to know the quality of the companies. Any help would be appreciated!

[ajm184]

Frenchy1011 wrote:

Kind of highjacking this post. Sorry!

 

I am looking to get new auto/property/umbrella insurance. How do I know which companies are the best for this? Is there some kind of database for this? Not even sure how many are out there and tough to know the quality of the companies. Any help would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

The answer depends a bit on what you consider 'best'.  A.M. Best Company is a company that rates insurance company's from a claim-paying ability perspective (i.e. does the company have the financial wherewithal).  The only point though where an opinion matters to you is when you make some sort of claim where the service, path/speed to resolution are usually paramount.  In my opinion this is why insurance company's spend so much time on commercials talking about two value points (cost or claim service).

I would also recommend comp/collision for newer vehicles.  Having an emergency fund to purchases a new vehicle is great, but spending 20K when you could have spent 1k on a deductible is still pretty disheartening.  In addition, all the newer safety feature (airbags, back up camera, brake sensors) make newer vehicles very expensive to repair.  My wife (cost 22k new off the lot) was hit at low speed (< 10 mph) earlier this year by another car, hitting the passenger side corner of the vehicle. No one was hurt, but the angle of the collision bent the frame on car bringing an expensive but otherwise manageable repair to a total loss.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Frenchy1011 wrote:

Kind of highjacking this post. Sorry!

I am looking to get new auto/property/umbrella insurance. How do I know which companies are the best for this? Is there some kind of database for this? Not even sure how many are out there and tough to know the quality of the companies. Any help would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

IMO, having a relationship with an agent you trust and who will take time to explain your options and understand your situation is top priority. Once you narrow it down to a couple of agents, then compare quotes. Ask for referrals from your colleagues for starters.

At least one of the agents on WCI's recommended insurance advisors list is a property specialist. You'll have to find an insurer that offers coverage in your state, too.

PS, you'll probably get more responses if you start a new thread.