Bruce3404 wrote: As a minimum, you need to be able to protect your assets, so the answer would vary depending on one's net worth. That 15/30/10 coverage the other fellow had might be all he could afford and he might not have any other assets. Even if he does, he could always go BK to erase any judgement against him. The bankruptcy laws would allow him to protect certain other assets.
It's easy to say we should all be socially responsible and carry no less than 100/300/100 regardless of our net worth, but in the real world, those who don't have a great deal to lose are not going to spend any more than they have to and, if not for most state laws, wouldn't carry any insurance at all.
What's interesting is that more insurance agents don't sell or even try to sell higher property damage coverage (that's the last number, in this case $10,000).
Although I've been retired from the business for over a decade, I remember that it was incredibly inexpensive to up one's property damage to $25K (cost was about $1 for 6 months). $10,000 is way too little in these times and anyone carrying that small amount should check with their agents and up it as much as their finances will allow.
Bankruptcy does not erase a court ordered judgment, at least not here.
Deen - Vancouver, WA
'02 Dutch Star 4090 (41+', triple slide)
435/1200 ISC Cummins/Banks PowerPak
'08 Honda Civic/dolly
'05 Honda Odyssey/dolly
NRA Benefactor Life Member
FMCA f47302s, Life Member: Good Sam, Newmar DP Owners Group
51st yr of RV'ing
BarneyS wrote: The trouble with that is that most insurance companies will not write an umbrella policy unless you have certain coverages on your home and vehicles. I know I had to increase my coverages before they would write an umbrella for me. I did not have minimum coverages to begin with either.
Barney
I believe you are correct. In 1989 I downgraded our auto insurance to the minimum the company sold and then took out a million dollar liability rider for both house and autos. Recently when my agent and I were reviewing our coverage he mentioned that they would not write the policy that I had, because they now require a larger base. However, I am grandfathered in.
Wayne in San Jose
TV1:2002 Chevy 1500HD 4wd Crew Cab,Valley Odyssey brake ctlr,McKesh mirrors
TV2:2008 GMC 2500HD long bed 4wd Crew Cab,GMC brake ctlr,GMC mirrors
TT:Trailmanor 2720
Honda 2000
Yamaha WR250R,Polaris Sportsman 700 X2,Polaris Scrambler 500
I believe that it is possible to not only buy uninsured motorist coverage, but also under insured coverage. This protects you when the other driver is at fault, but he does not carry enough insurance to cover the damage that he caused.
I think there is one little point that has been missed that creates a HUGE issue. The owner of the rig that was hit uses it FOR WORK (COMMERCIAL) and the personal policy they have on it does not apply. There is loss of income and property coverage in a commercial policy if requested.
I am sure it is another simple deal where the owner did not want to spend the extra dollars on the commercial policy and saved a few bucks. Guess that will come back to bite them.
Its funny to hear all the talk about reducing coverages and buying an umbrella. You may want to consider that umbrellas can, and do have, minimum underlying limits. They can change on the umbrella and if you dont keep up you get to pay for the difference before the unbrella kicks in.
Liability is cheap. 100/300/100 is a joke. 500,000 combined single limits should be the minimum purchased. Then add your umbrella.
In the legal happy society we live in I would get all the coverage I can.
There is some mis-information in this thread. I'm tired so this will be quick and as simple as I can make it.
BI (bodily injury) is for damage you do to another's person. You hit them and hurt them (Their body's damage not their car) your insurance company pays from this. Normally expressed 100/300 or 25/50 the first number is the most the company will pay for a single person the second is the amount they will pay for an entire accident.
PD (property damage) is for damage you do to OTHERS property. You hit a car, house, whatever this is where it gets paid from. Normally does not exceed 100k. Also not possible that I've seen to purchase 100k of PD while carrying very low limits on BI.
CSL - Combined single limit. Essentially the two above items can be combined into a single limit of say 300k or 500k and claims are paid without consequence of property damage or injury to a person.
Comp - Covers your vehicle from acts of God. Glass coverage is usually bundled in there as well so is flood coverage for your vehicle in most states. Tree falls on your car if you have Comp coverage they will give you its depreciated value less a deductible. Or fix it if the damage is usually less than 80% of the total value.
Collision works in a similar fashion but covers non-acts of God. Get hit by someone with no insurance and this will pay to get your car fixed or totaled. This also pays regardless of your fault so if you rear end someone your car still gets fixed. This is coverage for you only. Many people mistakingly say they have full coverage when they purchase this but in reality have******coverage because they carry little or no liability coverage.
Uninsured or under insured motorist is a little more complicated. The basic concept is that if you are in an accident with someone that does not have enough BI coverage for your injuries (or no coverage) you can obtain a judgment against the at fault party for your injuries and collect that judgment from your own policy. Regardless if the guy is a bum or a billionaire your company pays the limits or judgment whichever is less and they go after the other party for the money.
Umbrella - General purpose policy that covers you over and above your regular insurance. It requires you carry minimum limits on your other policies and pays should you screw up and injure someone or something that exceeds the primary policy limit. Umbrellas are always secondary forms of coverage meaning you will need to max out another policy before it will pay.
What should you carry? 100/300/100 on BI minimum. Why? Because unless you have a terrible driving record or terrible credit it doesn't cost much to carry the higher coverage. In fact insurance company's use your prior coverage levels to determine your rate. Someone with prior coverage of 10/20 will pay a much higher rate that someone with prior coverage of 100/300. On average in most states. Why? Because the guy with 100/300 tends to be more responsible and has fewer accidents. Just like people with higher credit scores tend to have fewer accidents and less severe ones when they do occur.
Keep in mind if you kill someone or permanently injure them no amount of insurance is enough. Thats why you get a good agent that can steer you in the right direction. Protect yourself with base coverage and an umbrella up to whatever your needs are and drive safely.
* This post was
edited 12/07/07 11:56pm by Aridon *
snocrossmechanic wrote: I think there is one little point that has been missed that creates a HUGE issue. The owner of the rig that was hit uses it FOR WORK (COMMERCIAL) and the personal policy they have on it does not apply. There is loss of income and property coverage in a commercial policy if requested.
Snocrossmechanic; You brought up a good point. I am not sure about the commercial part though as he only lives in the unit while he gives sales seminars at campgrounds. It is just that now he has nowhere to live while the coach is being repaired unless he returns to his home in Oregon which basically stops his income.
Brian & Loretta
Chance (Golden Retriever)
2004 National Tropi-Cal T396
2005 Suzuki XL-7 toad
We moved!! No more nasty neighbors, no more rotten parking. I am saving this picture just to remind myself how bad it was.
In theses times, it really pays to be properly insured. Since everyone is law-suit happy. We carry One Million Dollars of coverage. The added cost to up your insuranse isn't all that much. But it is sure a nice piece of mind to have. We also have our home coverd by a One Million Dollar coverage also. In this day and age, is it worth it, you bet it is. My DW has been in the Insurance industry for over 38 year. She would like even a higher limit on everything. but at some point, you have to be realistic also. We would rather have to much, than not enought coverage. We would hate to be ruined at our age now, as it would for sure be to late to try and start all over again. So we will keep up with the much higher coverage on everything that we own, such as our home, and all areas of coverage, and a lot extra on the Truck and the SUV's, and our 5er. Do yourself a favor, and check with your insurance agent, and see how little a lot more coverage really costs, you just might be really surprized at how little it really is. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
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