M/24 Alabama, Madison County (Huntsville)
Car Insurance
I recently gained ownership of a car (2014 KIA Soul Base model) and my parents signed me up with their insurance company (Alpha) under my own account. I noticed the policy for this car is about $715.12 for every 6 months. I have a list of coverages and stuff here.
Is there anything I should drop? I did an evaluation with Mercer and was told Progressive would be cheaper with the same stuff. (Like, $250 cheaper)
(also this is my first time doing anything like this, so forgive me)
When you sign up for car coverage, which benefit is not necessary/work keeping?
byu/IAskSoMnyQuestions inInsurance
Posted by IAskSoMnyQuestions
9 Comments
Loss of use is good if you don’t have a separate car to drive when there’s no other party responsible but that’s the only one that could stand out and is totally based on accessibility and preference.
Otherwise don’t drop anything. Higher limits are usually inexpensive to carry compared to low limits and low limits dry up FAST if you hit someone.
If anything, you could have higher deductibles if you need to save a few bucks.
Good on you for the high liability limit. 100/300/100 is the lower limit of what I’d accept these days and you’re beating that.
You might want to *raise* the UM injury coverage, though.
The loss of use and roadside assist can be looked at closely. If you have another way to get around if the car is being worked on you could drop it. (If another party is at fault *their* insurance owes you a rental, BTW)
You could always increase deductibles a bit.
And yes, Progressive is generally pretty cheap and the service isn’t bad. I have heard of people getting screwed when they and the other party both had Progressive, though. Progressive tries to go with the finding that would save them the most money instead of what’s the evidence leans to.
I guess this is a side question, but would this be considered normal/acceptable amount? Again, I’ve never done car insurance on my own and I also got a quote from Mercer saying Progressive would be $250 cheaper than this with about the same coverage.
Should I go with my research and go for progressive? Should I stay with Alpha if this amount is normal for car insurance?
Looks fine to me other than maybe pushing up your UM coverage.
UM is what it pays if you’re injured in an accident that is the fault of an uninsured or underinsured driver, so if somebody uninsured t-bones you in an intersection, and you’re left in a wheelchair for life (or maybe just a lifetime of chronic back pain), you get $25k before the lawyers and doctors take their cuts. I, and a lot of adjusters here, personally carry a million. (You usually can’t buy a UM limit that’s higher than your liability limit though). UM is for low-frequency but high-severity claims. You’ll probably never need it but if you *do* need it you’ll be glad you bought a high limit.
The roadside assistance that many insurers offer is hot garbage. The payouts are low to the towing companies so you tend to get worse service than with something like AAA. Also some people have posted here that towing claims through their policy were counted as claims in some cases the same as having an accident.
I dropped roadside assistance. Some carriers and states count it as a claim, which is bad news. I just got AAA instead. It is more expensive, but it is more robust and will not count as a claim.
> I did an evaluation with Mercer and was told Progressive would be cheaper with the same stuff.
What does that even mean? “I was told” is the most dangerous phrase in the English language.
Did you get a WRITTEN quote showing Progressive’s premiums for the exact same coverage?
If not, then go to Progressive’s website and work out the figures for yourself.
I haven’t heard of this carrier what is there full name?
Personally wouldn’t change anything on it. You COULD lower to 100/300/100 but its not going to save you much. You COULD raise the deductible on your Comprehensive coverage but again, not much savings. Whoever the agent is did a good job with the coverages. Could you find the same for a better price? Probably, but I would make sure it was an exact apples to apples comparison with this.
ETA: I just saw your UM coverage….definitely bump that up. I’d go 50/100 at the VERY lowest, but I always encourage people to match their liability coverage.
$715.62 for SIX MONTHS? holy hell. I’m 50, and I pay over $300 A MONTH for two old cars (a 2009 BMW and 2002 VW) even wilder that’s a Kia. Only reason I can think it’s so expensive is that I live in PG count, MD which is legit home to some of the worst drivers in the US (it’s between DC and Baltimore as well)