Questions about coverage...

[KumuHonua]

I have just bought my first brand new vehicle. The first vehicle where I would like/require more than bare minimum coverage.

I live in Washington State and my lease company says:

Lease: If you leased your vehicle, TFS will accept the minimum liability required by the state in which your leased vehicle is garaged. Physical damage insurance is required for the full value of the vehicle, with a maximum deductible of $1,000.

I believe I have room to reduce my insurance payment while still having decent coverage as I believe I went overkill on my policy due to lack of experience.

Current Policy:

Bodily Injury Liability $100,000 Per Person
$300,000 Per Occurrence

Property Damage Liability $50,000 Per Occurrence

Underinsured Motorist - Bodily Injury $100,000 Per Person
$300,000 Per Accident

Personal Injury Protection Coverage A - see form

Accidental Death and Dismemberment $5,000 Limit

Vehicle #1 Coverage, Endorsements and Other Charges

Comprehensive $500 Deductible
Collision $500 Deductible
Underinsured Motorist - Property Damage $10,000 Per Accident, $300 Hit-and-Run or Phantom Vehicle Damage, $100 Not A Hit-and-Run or Phantom Vehicle Damage
Bodily Injury Liability $100,000 Per Person, $300,000 Per Occurrence
Property Damage Liability $50,000 Per Occurrence
Underinsured Motorist - Bodily Injury $100,000 Per Person, $300,000 Per Accident
Personal Injury Protection Coverage A - see form
Emergency Roadside Service
Accidental Death and Dismemberment $5,000 Limit

Does anyone have any insight on how I can reduce my premium while still having adequate coverage?

 

[fed up]

I don't write in Washington state but if you brought this policy to me I would ask a few questions. 1) take a look at the vehicles on the road in your area. How many are new at under $50K? 2) Uninsured and Underinsured. I spent 3 days in the hospital from a motorcycle accident with a vehicle insured at state minimums. 3 days equaled over $35000, subsequent surgeries added another $10K. If you are hit by someone underinsured or uninsured do YOU have enough coverage on your policy to be made whole? i will NEVER understand why people want the least amount of premium especially on a new vehicle. You bought it, now enjoy it and pay for the coverage.

 

[KumuHonua]

1. Most cars are under $50,000 in my area. Most cars are similar to my vehicle. $20-35,000.
2. I have Uninsured/underinsured. It is set at same levels as personal coverage and quite a bit higher than the $45,000 you stated in your accident.

I never said I wanted least amount of premium. I stated that I believe that I have room to reduce my cost and still have reasonable coverage.

Minimums in Washington State are 25/50/10.

 

[fed up]

The difference between 50K in property coverage and 100K is peanuts. Pick-ups trucks are selling for 50-65K. If you want to lower your premium, raise your deductibles (lower your cost)

 

[VolAgent]

What fed up has said.

You cannot have more in uninsured/underinsured coverage than you have in liability. Also, liability is typically the cheapest part of the policy. I would recommend considering $100,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence in bodily injury and $100,000 in property damage, if not even higher. Then you can have matching uninsured limits. What you are proposing won't be allowed as you are trying to have your uninsured higher than your liability.

If you want to save money, consider bumping the deductibles to $1000, although that might not save you that much.

 

[adjusterjack]

Does anyone have any insight on how I can reduce my premium while still having adequate coverage?

If you can afford to lease a brand new vehicle then you have assets and income that are vulnerable to lawsuits, the worst being if you injure or kill somebody.

I would NOT lower the limits of Liability and UM/UIM.

But since you bought Collision coverage I don't see the need for UIM-PD.

Emergency Roadside Service - If it's not more than a couple of bucks a year, keep it.

AD&D $5000. Dump it if you have group life insurance through your employer or any other kind of life insurance.

I see you list Underinsured Motorists coverage but not Uninsured Motorists coverage. You should have both.

Personal Injury Protection is optional. WA state law requires your insurance company to offer it. If you don't want it you have to reject it in writing.

Personal injury protection (PIP) | Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner

If you have good medical insurance that doesn't limit or exclude vehicle related injuries, you can get rid of PIP if you like. Just make sure you carefully and thoroughly read your medical insurance policy.

Deductibles - I DO NOT recommend increasing your deductible to $1000. For one thing, the premium savings is often negligible. For another, how fast can you come up with $1000 cash if your car is damaged with nobody else to pay for it. That can be quite painful for most people.

Before you make any changes I suggest getting your insurance agent to show you the price differences for any tweaking you want to do and then decide if the tweaking is worth making the changes.

And, of course, at your next renewal shop around and see if you can get the same coverage at a lower price.