Uninsured Motorist Coverage-is It Worth It?

[victrelis]

Hi, I know the insurance coverage depends on each person's needs and situation, however I figure since I am very unfamiliar with car insurance terminologies, I should ask for more clarification. Our family lives in Florida. We have Allstate car insurance policy for 3 cars, and we look to save some money on the premium. The uninsured motorists coverage is $10000/$20000 per person/accident per car, and it costs us $150 in total every 6 months (btw, the total premium for 3 cars is a little over $1100). Our agent advises that since we have health insurance, we should drop the uninsured coverage, since it only covers injuries, not property damage.

Both me and my mother have $5000 deductible on our health insurance, so if we got hospitalized it is quite a bit of money. However, I don't even know if we ever need to utilize that uninsured motorist thing, what kind of hassle insurance companies like Allstate would cause us. Either way, I don't think I get the complete picture here. It would be great to save some money, but I am not sure it's worth it. Can you share with me your opinions? Thank you very much!

 

[FullAuto]

In your case, you'd be stupid to drop it. But opinions will vary.

 

[Guest]

Your stupid NOT to have it, and secondly, I would add $5,000 of medical payments

 

[BlockO]

I would not drop the coverage but I would shop around.

$150 is way overpriced for only 10K/20K worth of UMBI coverage.

 

[Bob Klee]

I haven't written Auto Insurance in FL, but it seems to me that if you only have Uninsured of 10k/20k that you most likely only carry 10k/20k of liability coverage, am I correct?

Medical Payments. Personally, I see no reason to carry more than your deductible, if any at all, UNLESS you are the neighborhood taxi for all the other kids/families. Why? Because medical payments coverage pays anyone who gets hurt in your car first. [passengers & you/your family] So little Susie gets her finger slammed in the door. Take her to the emergency room & your medical payments coverage is primary coverage [comes in handy if mom/dad have no medical insurance]

I had a client [this happened before they were my client, mother told me the story] whose son was in another car, driver at fault in a singel car accident. No insurance. Mom had $100k med pay on her car with Allstate plus a smart attorney. [yes, good to have a smart attorney when you need one!]

Long story, but $100k got put in a trust for son's care, medicaid ended up paying medical bills. Mom used $100k to assist in caring for her now permanently disabled son. Sad story.

She had to get a creative attorney to get med pay to do what Un/under insured motorists already does. Because it pays for More than medical bills. What if you lost the use of your arm/leg/etc. when hit by a un/under insured driver? You have coverage now for partial/permanent injury, NOT just medical bills.

Why carry More than State Minimum Liability when you have few assets? [you can't have higher limits of Un/Under than you carry in Liability to pay the other party] Because YOU want HIGHER limits of Un/Under Insured Motorists coverage! I told my kids the Minimum coverage they could have when they went on their own was 100k/300k/100k. Why? Because They needed coverage when some *** hit them with no/poor limits of coverage.

Okay, that is my rational for why you Always want HIGH limits of liability & un/under insurned coverage.

but hey, I'm just an old insurance guy...seen/read about lots of claims over the years...what do I know?

*Cost of Insurance in FL: Liability/Un/Under insured coverage tends to be more expensive [I've been told] because lots of Illegal folks driving around with no insurance, and perhaps a few legal ones to boot. At least that's what I've heard from agents. Allstate agents write a lot of auto coverage in FL so I assume they must be competitive?

 

[gambrinus]

If you can't afford to be properly insured, you're driving a car you can't afford.

RW

 

[victrelis]

Thanks for all the replies, including some distasteful ones. Coming back to Bob Klee's very detailed answer, I understood it as I should have my Liability insurance limits raised to 100K person/300K per accident/100K property damage per accident because then I can increase the uninsured's limit? (by the way my liability is set at 25/50/100K). Also, I should have add another coverage called medical payment of at least $5000? (I thought uninsured motorist IS medical payment?).

I am not sure about whether or not I am paying too much - all I know is we try to afford enough coverage and don't just drop whatever just because it costs a few bucks. Thanks.

 

[djs]

There is no single answer to these questions. It depends a lot on you, what your financial situation is, how you use your car, where your personal risk factors are.

If you don't haul other people around in your car and if you have decent health insurance, medpay is almost redundant. On the other hand, if you have a high deductible on your health plan, medpay might be a decent coverage to hedge against the deductible for relatively minor accidents.

Liability coverage tends to cover the same thing, but pays at different times and different circumstances. Liability coverage also won't cover you if you are at fault for the accident, where medpay usually will.

I get medpay claims all the time, from little things (i.e., little hands in the door), to more routine things like getting checked after an accident. The most recent claim was from a drive by shooting where a passenger in the car got shot. Yes, strange things can happen!!! (don't insure cars in Oakland!)

Talk to your agent. Tell him honestly what you can risk and what you can't. He'll work with you to fit your budget.

Dan

 

[Bob Klee]

I agree with Dan here.

It drives me "nuts" that there are so many agents that only think the client is concerned with the lowest price insurance/coverage! Progressive ads perpetuate this stupid assumption that Auto Insurance is a commodity! "Give me how much you want to spend & we'll give you a policy."

A Good agent will start by asking you questions that have nothing to do with your current policy. Kind of like risk analysis with a financial advisor, they should explain how a policy works in YOUR state.

I have had customers transfer in from KY to TN in the past. KY has Zero deductible on Auto glass claims, even if one has $500 deduct for comprehensive coverage. So what happens when an agent has a customer transfer in from KY that doesn't do his job? They get a glass claim in TN & think it works the same way as KY & are Pissed when they find they have to pay $500 before the insurance kicks in! Could have been avoided IF the agent had done his job.

Victrelis, if you have to be the expert in determining how much coverage you need, change agents and/or companies. Allstate does a Great job insuring folks in Florida. Unfortunately there are too many agents that are order takers vs. being Professionals. You are paying for the service & deserve a good agent.

When I had customers moving to another state, I always told them how to find a good agent vs. an order taker. Doesn't matter what brand the company is so much as you get the service/advice you deserve.

Report back to us what you end up doing.

 

[itstheinsurance.com]

Hi, I know the insurance coverage depends on each person's needs and situation, however I figure since I am very unfamiliar with car insurance terminologies, I should ask for more clarification. Our family lives in Florida. We have Allstate car insurance policy for 3 cars, and we look to save some money on the premium. The uninsured motorists coverage is $10000/$20000 per person/accident per car, and it costs us $150 in total every 6 months (btw, the total premium for 3 cars is a little over $1100). Our agent advises that since we have health insurance, we should drop the uninsured coverage, since it only covers injuries, not property damage.

Both me and my mother have $5000 deductible on our health insurance, so if we got hospitalized it is quite a bit of money. However, I don't even know if we ever need to utilize that uninsured motorist thing, what kind of hassle insurance companies like Allstate would cause us. Either way, I don't think I get the complete picture here. It would be great to save some money, but I am not sure it's worth it. Can you share with me your opinions? Thank you very much!

I would drop Uninsured Motorist Coverage and add Medpay/PIP. Medpay/PIP is typically cheaper than Uninsured Motorist Coverage. You can purchase coverage for $5000 since you have a $5000 deductible on your health insurance policy.