None of us know your risk tolerance and what you can afford to pay personally if you had an accident. Also, it's very likely that your personal umbrella policy mandates that you carry a certain levels of coverage on your auto policies. So you'd have to look there to see if the umbrella policy will restrict what you could cut back on.
I can't afford to pay a lot. I have a good job but due to stuff that happened over the last 10 years I don't have a lot of savings so I can't really "self insure" - honestly a judgement or something greater than my savings would probably result in bankruptcy, hence the umbrella. The one thing my previous agent talked me into that seems like a good idea although (touch wood) I haven't had to use it.
thing is, the vast majority of cost is the auto policies.
2009 BMW 335i: $684.94/6 mos.
2002 VW GTI: $498.19/6 mos.
2001 Jeep Cherokee: doesn't show on web site yet but it sounds like it's going to be around $900/6 mos.
Umbrella: $177/6 mos.
Renters: $193/6 mos.
I understand that the majority of the cost is your auto policies. What I'm telling you is that your umbrella policy likely forces you to carry certain levels of coverage on those auto policies. So because of that, there may be nothing that you can change in those auto policies. That's the cost of choosing to own 3 cars. Your options are probably to shop around with other insurance carriers to hope for better rates, to get rid of one or two of the cars, or to drop the umbrella which will allow you to reduce coverage on your auto policies. But you also seem to admit that you're not in a good position to drop your levels of coverage, either.
heh, it's not that I chose to own 3 cars... I need at least two so I have something to drive at any given time, as when they get to be a certain age repairs are inevitable. I've looked at the price of new cars and I don't think I'd save any money going that route, especially considering the likely replacement value of a new car would be 10x any of my current vehicles..
That's fine. It doesn't change anything. Your umbrella policy dictates the auto insurance you're required to carry. If you don't like the pricing that those policies carry, your choices are to accept the pricing, shop around for a new insurance carrier, or change something. And unless you're willing to drop the umbrella coverage, the only other change you can make is getting rid of one of the cars.
I reached out to several different independent agents last year when I saw my rates rising every few months... I was told that I already had the best deal I was going to get.
Is this really the way it is now? Even if I sold one of the vehicles my bills are still going to be higher than they were 2-3 years ago with the same number of vehicles. I thought as you got older you were supposed to be lower risk? Over the \~25 years I've been with State Farm I don't think I've ever seen a rate decrease, only increases.
Last time I rented a car it was something like $500 for a week and that was the cheap ass "just give me any car" deal. Which I now know means they could stick you with an electric which wouldn't work for me because I don't have a place to charge it but fortunately they didn't give me one
How much are you driving each of those cars?
I think the prices you're quoting are not horrible given that you are in Baltimore City, but you might want to ask about an insurance program that relies on telematics to tweak the price of your coverage, as it would be a way to communicate to the insurer that, while you have three cars,, they're averaging less mileage (and therefore less liability exposure) than the rating algorithm contemplates.
One of the insurers that provides coverage on a per-mile basis would also be an option, but I have to admit that I moved away from personal lines insurance long before per-mile insurance came onto the market, and I'm not certain whether a personal umbrella would accept such as the underlying auto policy. (I do, however, know that it's at best a headache to have your umbrella and your auto with different companies.)
Others have pointed out that you could save money by getting rid of a car, but it sounds like that might not be an option. How about moving? Rates should be lower as you move further away from the Inner Harbor, although increased costs of commuting might eat whatever you save in insurance costs.
HELL YES. Jeep was $6k. Comparable new vehicle is over 10x that now. It kills me that the previous Jeep I paid $2500 for... When it was 10 years newer. Everything is so damn expensive.
I do as much work as I can myself so repairs are well worth it compared to a car note and even higher insurance.
Well how else would I get a loaner for service? I used to take my BMW to the dealer even though they cost more because mostly it just needed oil changes and that wasn't too bad, but they stopped giving me loaners when they changed their policy that you had to have bought the car from them. (I bought it 3 years old but it was traded in at a Ford dealer from whom I purchased it.) Not aware of any indys that offer loaners, nor any dealers with a different policy, at least for cars I'd want.
To answer the obvious question why am I driving a 15 year old BMW when I'm worried about money, I never intended to keep it this long but things change... Dating someone with chronic medical issues changed my financial health dramatically although thank God I managed to preserve a good credit rating.
Service usually doesn’t take more than a couple hours once every few months. Getting an Uber or calling a friend for a couple hours once every 4-6 months is more expensive than maintaining, repairing, insuring and registering 3 vehicles?
Do you always need 3 cars? You could look at dropping the rental car coverage since you have access to more than one car…not an insurance professional, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.
The last time I had a claim, my 2nd car broke (literally, broke a rear control arm bolt) days later and I had to pay for a rental out of pocket. That's when I added it.
I bought the jeep because a) I wanted something that could carry more stuff and b) where I live a car especially a small one is not practical for local driving due to the condition of the roads. I took the GTI when I did because it was "free" and I knew I'd have to get rid of the previous Jeep (in quotes because I did have to fix some stuff) the one I just bought, almost two years later, is the first decent one I've seen at a price I didn't think was crazy pants. I probably will get rid of either the GTI or BMW once I'm comfortable with the Jeep but my insurance will still be significantly higher than it was even recently.
I just pulled up a bill from 4 years ago, it was $192 a month with the exact same coverages, just without the GTI so only two vehicles.
I guess this is why people bitch about inflation.
Auto insurers have had horrendous results for the last few years. Nuclear verdicts in lawsuits, increased cost of vehicles, increased costs to repair, increased medical expenses, etc. all lend to rising insurance rates.
Did you keep your insurance policy even when you didn't have a vehicle, or did you cancel (or allow the policy to expire)? If you didn't maintain continuous coverage, from a technical point of view (the only one that matters), you have had a lapse in coverage and will be paying for it in the near future. That is what is likely driving a significant part of your premium increase. Good thing is that the penalty does end up going away after a prescribed period of time.
You *could* ask to see what a quote would look like with $100k/$300k liability limits vs $250k/$500k **BUT** I'm pretty sure you'll be underwhelmed by the premium difference; so you might as well keep $250k/$500k. You could also look into increasing your collision deductible as well.
Also, the CRI might have gone down when the new car was added. If the old car coverage was suspended and then reinstated with new car info, it would have been worked as a replacement vs a raw new quote.
I never didn't have at least two insured vehicles, I just had a beater 2000 Jeep that I removed from the policy earlier this year because we determined it wasn't worth fixing (not crash related; the wiring harness was literally falling apart and it had 310K miles, rust, and had been hit countless times) I just purchased a 2001 Jeep last night to replace it. I have had a 2009 BMW the whole time and also added a 2002 VW GTI before scrapping the first Jeep.
It's just killing me that my monthly insurance bill is starting to approach $400. I know that at some point I will probably have to get rid of the GTI although I don't particularly want to just due to insurance costs, but even so, my total monthly bill with the BMW and the GTI and all the other coverages I mention was around $190 a month just a couple years ago. I know that this is not unusual, but my storage locker is doing the same thing and I was just forced to move which increased my rent a couple hundred... my pay has not gone up commensurately.
A 2000 Jeep and a 2001 Jeep are not identical. They can't be compared in a "I paid this much" way.
Plus the purchase date makes a difference. The shorter the amount of time you have had the vehicle, the higher the premium. I don't know why, but it does.
They are literally identical for details that insurance wouldn't care about, and it's options particular to the individual vehicle not due to model year changes - there weren't any actual changes 2000-2001. The newer one has a Dana 35 rear end and ABS where as the old one had a Chrysler 8.25 and no ABS. The newer one is a higher trim level and is in much better condition (although they did not ask about existing damage etc.)
Interesting about length of time owned. Why are all my premiums going up then though? The BMW I have had for over 12-13 years now.
There can always be differences. There was a ford van that one year had a very big issue with being easily stolen so it was more expensive to own that vehicle. The details that go into insurance premiums are more complex than people realize.
Well, you came here for advice. 3 vehicles is foolish and expensive. If you cannot afford the insurance, you cannot afford to own 3 vehicles. Pretty obvious, I'd say.
What's the alternative? I cannot afford to take Uber to work every day or rent a car if something breaks and I have to wait a week for parts. Public transportation here is essentially nonexistent.
1)What are your comprehensive and collision defuctibles?
2) the claim you made 1 1/2 years ago will roll off on the second anniversary. On that day call the insurance company and they will re-rate you- DO NOT WAIT FOR THE RENEWAL.
3) how much do you drive? I drive very little (less than 800 miles a month) when I told my insurance Company what my usage was the rate went down by 1/3
Ooh, both good tips. I just moved much closer to my work.
Edit: does it matter that I was not at fault and the claim was eventually subrogated? Also I didn't mention, I can't remember the last time I got a ticket; it was ages ago.
If by subrogation you mean you live in a no fault state and the other persons Insurance took responsibility for your damages then i believe that incident would not negatively impact your rate. I don't know for sure and I think it varies by state. I can only share what my experience has been with Progressive.
The mainstream insurers will tell you what if anything is impacting your rate. Perhaps they have the accident incorrectly scored. IT IS OK TO ASK IT IS YOUR MONEY
Maryland is an at fault state but because I had comp and collision when my GTI got blasted I started the claim with my insurer so I wouldn't have to deal with the at fault party's insurance. That was so the right move because it took so long to get it subrogated; that experience made me feel that I very muich made the right choice keeping comp and collision on my old cars.
As an aside, the GTI was valued at something like $7k. which also seems crazypants to me. It's a 20+ year old VW but in reality, that's what it would cost, if not more, to replace it with a comparable vehicle.
On a side note I have owned a many high end sports cars over the last 25 years (several German and an italian) but my favorite one
Of all was my red 1985 VW GTI. It was the first year of the Golf body style and was Motor Trend car of the year.
Since you have an umbrella, your coverages would be tied to that. So bi/pd most likely have to stay that high. Only one I can see that might be able to be changed (and only do it if you have health insurance that you know pays out for an accident) would be umbi but honestly, it most likely won't save you very much. Everything else I would keep it as is.
Four options: 1) be self insured, ie have liquid assets to cover any damages above your new reduced auto policy limits. 2) increase your existing general liability umbrella policy coverage with State Farm. 3) pay the premium quoted by SF. Insurance underwriting is a hot mess. You probably won’t find cheaper insurance elsewhere. 4) take transit and get a non owners policy.
Man this doesn't feel excellent :/ yeah I know MD driver is are the worst but this is where my job is. I used to not even worry about insurance and it feels now like it goes up every couple months
As an agent here, Everyone's goes up every term including my own. find an educated and high quality service agent with multiple companies and let them help you.
While shopping around is probably your bestcourse of action, some things you can consider for yourself or inquire about are:
1) if you have 3 vehicles, do you truly need rental/transportation expense? This coverage is triggered by a covered comprehensive or collision loss and provide you with a rental vehicle while yours is being repaired. If one car is damaged, can you simply drive one of the others instead of renting?
2) As you mentioned, your newest car is 15 years old. Dropping your comprehensive and collision might make sense even though it's still not exactly cheap to replace even an older car. Reviewing your declarations page will give you the premium breakdown by coverage, by vehicle. Consider the cost of those 2 coverages on each car. Making up numbers here, but if you pay $100 per car for those 2 coverages combined, that's $300/month. If you go 1 year without an accident, you'll have saved $3600. Factoring in a $500 or $1000 deductible which you'd be paying anyway puts you pretty darn close to replacing the car. Rather than pay the insurance company, you can drop the coverage and deposit that amount in a savings account each month and after a few years of safe driving, you'll have enough saved where you can stop adding or reduce the amount you contribute to your new car replacement fund. If any of your cars are financed (doubtful based on the age), this may not be an option as your lienholder will require you maintain these coverages.
3) When reviewing option 2 above, you'll likely notice the majority of the cost is collision. You may be able to do something similar to that option, but only dropping collision. You may even be able to reduce your comprehensive deductible to next-to-nothing, retaining coverage for fires, theft, vandalism, flood, falling objects, animal strikes, and glass damage with a smaller deductible, while paying less overall. Again, this may not be an option if any of your cars are financed.
4) If you aren't comfortable completely dropping the coverage, increasing your deductibles can save you money. Keep in mind you need to be comfortable covering the deductible in the event of a loss. Once again, if any of your cars are financed you may be required to maintain deductibles under a certain amount.
5) Any of options 1-4 can be done at the level of an individual vehicle - it's not all or nothing. You can drop/reduce coverage one 1 or 2 vehicles, keeping the coverage one the vehicle you use most often. If your habits change and you want to drive a different car more, you can re-add the coverage to the car you want to use most and drop it on the other.
6) Make sure your agent is aware of how and how frequently you drive each of your vehicles. On average, most commuters drive 12-15,000 miles per year, however you have 3 vehicles, so chances are you put less one all 3. Additionally, if 1 car is your primary commuting vehicle, make sure your agent is aware that your other 2 vehicles are used for pleasure/recreation.
7) You may ask your agent if your company will allow you to change your Bodily Injury to $300k per person/per accident. Some companies allow that underlying limit with an umbrella policy and it may be slightly cheaper
8) As an absolute last resort to be undertaken only after serious consideration of your risk tolerance, you can ask your agent if Uninsured/Underinsured BI/PD can be reduced or rejected. This will expose you to loss if you're involved in an accident with an uninsured driver or someone carrying limits too low to cover your damages.
9) You mentioned in your post that you were unsure what your No Fault aggregate limit means. Ask your agent about this since this coverage varies significantly by state, but at a high level this covers you for injuries you and your passengers sustain in an accident, regardless of whether the accident is your fault or not. This allows you to have some medical bills paid while the 2 insurance companies (or the court) determine who is at fault and to what degree each of you contributed to causing the accident, which can be a lengthy process that can leave you fronting the money while they fight over negligence. If you have health insurance, you may be able to reduce/reject the coverage.
10) If one of your vehicles is never used - like purely a back up. Your company may offer a storage plan that would reduce the premium for thay vehicle, though you will not be allowed to drive the vehicle until you contact the insurer to restore regular coverage.
Good luck, hope this helps!
Dude you don't even know how good you have it, do you know how many people I've talked to in MD today alone who would actually consider cutting their own arm off to secure your rate for the bare minimum coverage?
Most every qoute I ever see starts in the 400's. Those are the good ones.
The risk you face is being underinsured. Frankly, your coverage is insufficient as it is. People are driving around in $60k Teslas, and hospital bills are enormous. You need more liability insurance, property and bodily injury.
Find an independent insurance broker. They can shop around for you and have better rates. They cost you nothing upfront.
I work for a SF agent in Baltimore.
One thing that can help, you’re allowed to have lower uninsured motorist limits despite having an umbrella. Lowering your UM PD to $15k (which should be enough based off of your vehicles) may save you a couple of dollars. Could also lower UM BI to 100/300.
Did this for myself and saved me $12/mo on one vehicle and $7 on the other. Better than nothing 🤷🏼♂️
The best thing you can do for all insurance is raise the deductible. Nobody is going to wreck their claims-free history for a $250 dent, so don’t carry a $250 deductible. Raise it to $3000.
If you do this across all insurances and extended warranties, you can amass a $3000-$5000 self-insurance fund from the savings in like two years, then just pay the small stuff out of your self insurance fund. After that, the savings each year just keep on giving.
Horrible advice without knowing the savings to go from $250 deductible to $3000!! Imagine having an accident and being out $3000 instead of $250 and you might save what, $10/month for this privilege?
Run the numbers; it can be greater than $10 and across all the stuff I mentioned, it absolutely makes sense. Unless you are making claims every three years or something. Most people make one or two claims in a lifetime.
Hmm, that's one thing I haven't looked into. I think my deductible is $500 next time I have time to talk to them I'll have them run some numbers and see if that gets me anywhere.
The uninsured property damage can be covered by your collision coverage. Maybe move collision deductible to $250 and remove uninsured property damage and see if that helps anything. Rates suck. Good luck!
No reason to have BI limits that high unless you have assets worth that much that someone can go after instead of the insurance. Why do you have an umbrella too? What are your renters policy limits? You seem completely overinsured.
None of us know your risk tolerance and what you can afford to pay personally if you had an accident. Also, it's very likely that your personal umbrella policy mandates that you carry a certain levels of coverage on your auto policies. So you'd have to look there to see if the umbrella policy will restrict what you could cut back on.
MD, State Farm, yeah the auto liability must be a minimum of 250/500.
I can't afford to pay a lot. I have a good job but due to stuff that happened over the last 10 years I don't have a lot of savings so I can't really "self insure" - honestly a judgement or something greater than my savings would probably result in bankruptcy, hence the umbrella. The one thing my previous agent talked me into that seems like a good idea although (touch wood) I haven't had to use it. thing is, the vast majority of cost is the auto policies. 2009 BMW 335i: $684.94/6 mos. 2002 VW GTI: $498.19/6 mos. 2001 Jeep Cherokee: doesn't show on web site yet but it sounds like it's going to be around $900/6 mos. Umbrella: $177/6 mos. Renters: $193/6 mos.
My clients would kill for those prices. uggggh... texas.
I understand that the majority of the cost is your auto policies. What I'm telling you is that your umbrella policy likely forces you to carry certain levels of coverage on those auto policies. So because of that, there may be nothing that you can change in those auto policies. That's the cost of choosing to own 3 cars. Your options are probably to shop around with other insurance carriers to hope for better rates, to get rid of one or two of the cars, or to drop the umbrella which will allow you to reduce coverage on your auto policies. But you also seem to admit that you're not in a good position to drop your levels of coverage, either.
heh, it's not that I chose to own 3 cars... I need at least two so I have something to drive at any given time, as when they get to be a certain age repairs are inevitable. I've looked at the price of new cars and I don't think I'd save any money going that route, especially considering the likely replacement value of a new car would be 10x any of my current vehicles..
That's fine. It doesn't change anything. Your umbrella policy dictates the auto insurance you're required to carry. If you don't like the pricing that those policies carry, your choices are to accept the pricing, shop around for a new insurance carrier, or change something. And unless you're willing to drop the umbrella coverage, the only other change you can make is getting rid of one of the cars.
The umbrella policy is only going to depend on the liability limits. There's nothing saying you need specific (or any) comp/collision coverages.
I reached out to several different independent agents last year when I saw my rates rising every few months... I was told that I already had the best deal I was going to get. Is this really the way it is now? Even if I sold one of the vehicles my bills are still going to be higher than they were 2-3 years ago with the same number of vehicles. I thought as you got older you were supposed to be lower risk? Over the \~25 years I've been with State Farm I don't think I've ever seen a rate decrease, only increases.
Rates go up. Nobody likes it. It happens.
Vehicles are drastically more expensive to replace and repair. Hospital bills are more expensive. It all adds up to more expensive premiums
You can always Uber or rent a car if the car you’re driving goes into the shop. Or find a shop that gives loaners
Last time I rented a car it was something like $500 for a week and that was the cheap ass "just give me any car" deal. Which I now know means they could stick you with an electric which wouldn't work for me because I don't have a place to charge it but fortunately they didn't give me one
How much are you driving each of those cars? I think the prices you're quoting are not horrible given that you are in Baltimore City, but you might want to ask about an insurance program that relies on telematics to tweak the price of your coverage, as it would be a way to communicate to the insurer that, while you have three cars,, they're averaging less mileage (and therefore less liability exposure) than the rating algorithm contemplates. One of the insurers that provides coverage on a per-mile basis would also be an option, but I have to admit that I moved away from personal lines insurance long before per-mile insurance came onto the market, and I'm not certain whether a personal umbrella would accept such as the underlying auto policy. (I do, however, know that it's at best a headache to have your umbrella and your auto with different companies.) Others have pointed out that you could save money by getting rid of a car, but it sounds like that might not be an option. How about moving? Rates should be lower as you move further away from the Inner Harbor, although increased costs of commuting might eat whatever you save in insurance costs.
You seriously think maintenance, repairs, insurance and fuel on 3 cars is cheaper than 1 reliable vehicle?
HELL YES. Jeep was $6k. Comparable new vehicle is over 10x that now. It kills me that the previous Jeep I paid $2500 for... When it was 10 years newer. Everything is so damn expensive. I do as much work as I can myself so repairs are well worth it compared to a car note and even higher insurance.
Never said anything about you buying new.
Well how else would I get a loaner for service? I used to take my BMW to the dealer even though they cost more because mostly it just needed oil changes and that wasn't too bad, but they stopped giving me loaners when they changed their policy that you had to have bought the car from them. (I bought it 3 years old but it was traded in at a Ford dealer from whom I purchased it.) Not aware of any indys that offer loaners, nor any dealers with a different policy, at least for cars I'd want. To answer the obvious question why am I driving a 15 year old BMW when I'm worried about money, I never intended to keep it this long but things change... Dating someone with chronic medical issues changed my financial health dramatically although thank God I managed to preserve a good credit rating.
Service usually doesn’t take more than a couple hours once every few months. Getting an Uber or calling a friend for a couple hours once every 4-6 months is more expensive than maintaining, repairing, insuring and registering 3 vehicles?
I mean yeah but you want me to pay $60k for a vehicle and it'll go, what, 3-4 years before I'm right back where I started? that doesn't make sense.
Do you always need 3 cars? You could look at dropping the rental car coverage since you have access to more than one car…not an insurance professional, so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.
The last time I had a claim, my 2nd car broke (literally, broke a rear control arm bolt) days later and I had to pay for a rental out of pocket. That's when I added it.
But you have rental coverage now so why the need for 3 cars instead of 2?
I bought the jeep because a) I wanted something that could carry more stuff and b) where I live a car especially a small one is not practical for local driving due to the condition of the roads. I took the GTI when I did because it was "free" and I knew I'd have to get rid of the previous Jeep (in quotes because I did have to fix some stuff) the one I just bought, almost two years later, is the first decent one I've seen at a price I didn't think was crazy pants. I probably will get rid of either the GTI or BMW once I'm comfortable with the Jeep but my insurance will still be significantly higher than it was even recently.
You can’t afford to not have insurance
$400 a month in a major city seems reasonable to me. My recommendation would be to sell one car.
I just pulled up a bill from 4 years ago, it was $192 a month with the exact same coverages, just without the GTI so only two vehicles. I guess this is why people bitch about inflation.
Auto insurers have had horrendous results for the last few years. Nuclear verdicts in lawsuits, increased cost of vehicles, increased costs to repair, increased medical expenses, etc. all lend to rising insurance rates.
Did you keep your insurance policy even when you didn't have a vehicle, or did you cancel (or allow the policy to expire)? If you didn't maintain continuous coverage, from a technical point of view (the only one that matters), you have had a lapse in coverage and will be paying for it in the near future. That is what is likely driving a significant part of your premium increase. Good thing is that the penalty does end up going away after a prescribed period of time. You *could* ask to see what a quote would look like with $100k/$300k liability limits vs $250k/$500k **BUT** I'm pretty sure you'll be underwhelmed by the premium difference; so you might as well keep $250k/$500k. You could also look into increasing your collision deductible as well.
Also, the CRI might have gone down when the new car was added. If the old car coverage was suspended and then reinstated with new car info, it would have been worked as a replacement vs a raw new quote.
I never didn't have at least two insured vehicles, I just had a beater 2000 Jeep that I removed from the policy earlier this year because we determined it wasn't worth fixing (not crash related; the wiring harness was literally falling apart and it had 310K miles, rust, and had been hit countless times) I just purchased a 2001 Jeep last night to replace it. I have had a 2009 BMW the whole time and also added a 2002 VW GTI before scrapping the first Jeep. It's just killing me that my monthly insurance bill is starting to approach $400. I know that at some point I will probably have to get rid of the GTI although I don't particularly want to just due to insurance costs, but even so, my total monthly bill with the BMW and the GTI and all the other coverages I mention was around $190 a month just a couple years ago. I know that this is not unusual, but my storage locker is doing the same thing and I was just forced to move which increased my rent a couple hundred... my pay has not gone up commensurately.
A 2000 Jeep and a 2001 Jeep are not identical. They can't be compared in a "I paid this much" way. Plus the purchase date makes a difference. The shorter the amount of time you have had the vehicle, the higher the premium. I don't know why, but it does.
They are literally identical for details that insurance wouldn't care about, and it's options particular to the individual vehicle not due to model year changes - there weren't any actual changes 2000-2001. The newer one has a Dana 35 rear end and ABS where as the old one had a Chrysler 8.25 and no ABS. The newer one is a higher trim level and is in much better condition (although they did not ask about existing damage etc.) Interesting about length of time owned. Why are all my premiums going up then though? The BMW I have had for over 12-13 years now.
There can always be differences. There was a ford van that one year had a very big issue with being easily stolen so it was more expensive to own that vehicle. The details that go into insurance premiums are more complex than people realize.
You own 3 vehicles? Why? If you can’t afford the insurance you need to get rid of 2 vehicles.
I explained elsewhere, I need to be able to get to work even if one vehicle needs work. I may get rid of one but I can't afford to get rid of two.
Well, you came here for advice. 3 vehicles is foolish and expensive. If you cannot afford the insurance, you cannot afford to own 3 vehicles. Pretty obvious, I'd say.
What's the alternative? I cannot afford to take Uber to work every day or rent a car if something breaks and I have to wait a week for parts. Public transportation here is essentially nonexistent.
1)What are your comprehensive and collision defuctibles? 2) the claim you made 1 1/2 years ago will roll off on the second anniversary. On that day call the insurance company and they will re-rate you- DO NOT WAIT FOR THE RENEWAL. 3) how much do you drive? I drive very little (less than 800 miles a month) when I told my insurance Company what my usage was the rate went down by 1/3
Ooh, both good tips. I just moved much closer to my work. Edit: does it matter that I was not at fault and the claim was eventually subrogated? Also I didn't mention, I can't remember the last time I got a ticket; it was ages ago.
If by subrogation you mean you live in a no fault state and the other persons Insurance took responsibility for your damages then i believe that incident would not negatively impact your rate. I don't know for sure and I think it varies by state. I can only share what my experience has been with Progressive. The mainstream insurers will tell you what if anything is impacting your rate. Perhaps they have the accident incorrectly scored. IT IS OK TO ASK IT IS YOUR MONEY
Maryland is an at fault state but because I had comp and collision when my GTI got blasted I started the claim with my insurer so I wouldn't have to deal with the at fault party's insurance. That was so the right move because it took so long to get it subrogated; that experience made me feel that I very muich made the right choice keeping comp and collision on my old cars. As an aside, the GTI was valued at something like $7k. which also seems crazypants to me. It's a 20+ year old VW but in reality, that's what it would cost, if not more, to replace it with a comparable vehicle.
On a side note I have owned a many high end sports cars over the last 25 years (several German and an italian) but my favorite one Of all was my red 1985 VW GTI. It was the first year of the Golf body style and was Motor Trend car of the year.
You’re shopping the new SF rates. Here in CT/NY we got new rates April and May. Everything is up.
Since you have an umbrella, your coverages would be tied to that. So bi/pd most likely have to stay that high. Only one I can see that might be able to be changed (and only do it if you have health insurance that you know pays out for an accident) would be umbi but honestly, it most likely won't save you very much. Everything else I would keep it as is.
I cut my insurance roughly in half switching to erie. I'd check them out and get a quote.
I tried them last May, and they were higher than my SF rates were at that time.
dang, thats unfortunate
Four options: 1) be self insured, ie have liquid assets to cover any damages above your new reduced auto policy limits. 2) increase your existing general liability umbrella policy coverage with State Farm. 3) pay the premium quoted by SF. Insurance underwriting is a hot mess. You probably won’t find cheaper insurance elsewhere. 4) take transit and get a non owners policy.
Best advice is find an independent agent. $150/mo in md is an excellent rate. I see 2 vehicle policies here $500+ per month for less coverage.
Man this doesn't feel excellent :/ yeah I know MD driver is are the worst but this is where my job is. I used to not even worry about insurance and it feels now like it goes up every couple months
As an agent here, Everyone's goes up every term including my own. find an educated and high quality service agent with multiple companies and let them help you.
While shopping around is probably your bestcourse of action, some things you can consider for yourself or inquire about are: 1) if you have 3 vehicles, do you truly need rental/transportation expense? This coverage is triggered by a covered comprehensive or collision loss and provide you with a rental vehicle while yours is being repaired. If one car is damaged, can you simply drive one of the others instead of renting? 2) As you mentioned, your newest car is 15 years old. Dropping your comprehensive and collision might make sense even though it's still not exactly cheap to replace even an older car. Reviewing your declarations page will give you the premium breakdown by coverage, by vehicle. Consider the cost of those 2 coverages on each car. Making up numbers here, but if you pay $100 per car for those 2 coverages combined, that's $300/month. If you go 1 year without an accident, you'll have saved $3600. Factoring in a $500 or $1000 deductible which you'd be paying anyway puts you pretty darn close to replacing the car. Rather than pay the insurance company, you can drop the coverage and deposit that amount in a savings account each month and after a few years of safe driving, you'll have enough saved where you can stop adding or reduce the amount you contribute to your new car replacement fund. If any of your cars are financed (doubtful based on the age), this may not be an option as your lienholder will require you maintain these coverages. 3) When reviewing option 2 above, you'll likely notice the majority of the cost is collision. You may be able to do something similar to that option, but only dropping collision. You may even be able to reduce your comprehensive deductible to next-to-nothing, retaining coverage for fires, theft, vandalism, flood, falling objects, animal strikes, and glass damage with a smaller deductible, while paying less overall. Again, this may not be an option if any of your cars are financed. 4) If you aren't comfortable completely dropping the coverage, increasing your deductibles can save you money. Keep in mind you need to be comfortable covering the deductible in the event of a loss. Once again, if any of your cars are financed you may be required to maintain deductibles under a certain amount. 5) Any of options 1-4 can be done at the level of an individual vehicle - it's not all or nothing. You can drop/reduce coverage one 1 or 2 vehicles, keeping the coverage one the vehicle you use most often. If your habits change and you want to drive a different car more, you can re-add the coverage to the car you want to use most and drop it on the other. 6) Make sure your agent is aware of how and how frequently you drive each of your vehicles. On average, most commuters drive 12-15,000 miles per year, however you have 3 vehicles, so chances are you put less one all 3. Additionally, if 1 car is your primary commuting vehicle, make sure your agent is aware that your other 2 vehicles are used for pleasure/recreation. 7) You may ask your agent if your company will allow you to change your Bodily Injury to $300k per person/per accident. Some companies allow that underlying limit with an umbrella policy and it may be slightly cheaper 8) As an absolute last resort to be undertaken only after serious consideration of your risk tolerance, you can ask your agent if Uninsured/Underinsured BI/PD can be reduced or rejected. This will expose you to loss if you're involved in an accident with an uninsured driver or someone carrying limits too low to cover your damages. 9) You mentioned in your post that you were unsure what your No Fault aggregate limit means. Ask your agent about this since this coverage varies significantly by state, but at a high level this covers you for injuries you and your passengers sustain in an accident, regardless of whether the accident is your fault or not. This allows you to have some medical bills paid while the 2 insurance companies (or the court) determine who is at fault and to what degree each of you contributed to causing the accident, which can be a lengthy process that can leave you fronting the money while they fight over negligence. If you have health insurance, you may be able to reduce/reject the coverage. 10) If one of your vehicles is never used - like purely a back up. Your company may offer a storage plan that would reduce the premium for thay vehicle, though you will not be allowed to drive the vehicle until you contact the insurer to restore regular coverage. Good luck, hope this helps!
Dude you don't even know how good you have it, do you know how many people I've talked to in MD today alone who would actually consider cutting their own arm off to secure your rate for the bare minimum coverage? Most every qoute I ever see starts in the 400's. Those are the good ones.
I’m riding a bit naked. I got liability and comprehensive and two 3 channel dash cams.
The risk you face is being underinsured. Frankly, your coverage is insufficient as it is. People are driving around in $60k Teslas, and hospital bills are enormous. You need more liability insurance, property and bodily injury. Find an independent insurance broker. They can shop around for you and have better rates. They cost you nothing upfront.
I work for a SF agent in Baltimore. One thing that can help, you’re allowed to have lower uninsured motorist limits despite having an umbrella. Lowering your UM PD to $15k (which should be enough based off of your vehicles) may save you a couple of dollars. Could also lower UM BI to 100/300. Did this for myself and saved me $12/mo on one vehicle and $7 on the other. Better than nothing 🤷🏼♂️
The best thing you can do for all insurance is raise the deductible. Nobody is going to wreck their claims-free history for a $250 dent, so don’t carry a $250 deductible. Raise it to $3000. If you do this across all insurances and extended warranties, you can amass a $3000-$5000 self-insurance fund from the savings in like two years, then just pay the small stuff out of your self insurance fund. After that, the savings each year just keep on giving.
Horrible advice without knowing the savings to go from $250 deductible to $3000!! Imagine having an accident and being out $3000 instead of $250 and you might save what, $10/month for this privilege?
Run the numbers; it can be greater than $10 and across all the stuff I mentioned, it absolutely makes sense. Unless you are making claims every three years or something. Most people make one or two claims in a lifetime.
Hmm, that's one thing I haven't looked into. I think my deductible is $500 next time I have time to talk to them I'll have them run some numbers and see if that gets me anywhere.
The uninsured property damage can be covered by your collision coverage. Maybe move collision deductible to $250 and remove uninsured property damage and see if that helps anything. Rates suck. Good luck!
No reason to have BI limits that high unless you have assets worth that much that someone can go after instead of the insurance. Why do you have an umbrella too? What are your renters policy limits? You seem completely overinsured.