# What coverage to drop if car is paid off?



## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

My 2015 Mazda 3i Touring with 30,000 miles will be paid off next month. Mine's value is $10,000 to $14,000. I'm keeping comprehensive with $1000 deductible. 

There's probably a formula that considers payments vs value but I don't know. I'll be watching other's replies.


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## NicFit (Jan 18, 2020)

It depends on how much your willing to risk in conjunction with how able you are to replace the car while thinking about the cost of keeping the insurance versus dropping it, probably going to be complicated to figure out. Basically the savings from dropping the comprehensive has to save you more then the average you wreck a vehicle. If you wrecked one every 10 years then it might be worth keeping as you’d have to save let’s say your car is worth $10k then that’s what 10 years of payment difference would have to be. It sounds like you could easily replace it if it were wrecked but that’s something you also have to look at too. So if you know how much you’ve spent on insurance and how many claims you do and the claims are less then the cost then you could drop it, more then keep it. I’ve done one claim in the 28 years I’ve been driving, I’m thinking about dropping it although the one claim I did have to do was with Uber so I’m having to weigh that in the factor, also my car keeps getting to be more expensive so if I do mess it up then that’s a huge bill, not really sure myself once I don’t have a bank loan on it either


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

You didn’t state the value of the car which is most important. However, everyone is different but a car with over 200,000 miles is definitely a cancel in my book.


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## CarpeNoctem (Sep 12, 2018)

If insurance payments for full coverage for 2-3 years will be more than it's worth, I drop all but liability.

Of course, i could have a wreck the day after cancelling and I'm a bit screwed. YMMV


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

CarpeNoctem said:


> If insurance payments for full coverage for 2-3 years will be more than it's worth, I drop all but liability.
> 
> Of course, i could have a wreck the day after cancelling and I'm a bit screwed. YMMV


Collision is good to keep I guess. My insurance per 6 months is about $1100.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

Only way to tell.
Call you insurance. 
Ask them hey how much does this insurance cover if i get into a crash ? How much does it cover if the car is totaled ?
How much will basic or plpd insurance cost me ?
Usually the do nothing insurance will only save 5 or 10 bucks a month.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


It depends on how much money you have and how much they're charging you
Back in the 70's I bought a 61 Harley XLCH for 1800
Theft was 600 a year. 3 years it's a new one
I took my chances



Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


Your mileages are off the chart
No auction sales that high
I show wholesale at 3200
Here are the highest mile sales



Urbanappalachian said:


> Collision is good to keep I guess. My insurance per 6 months is about $1100.


I wouldn't pay that&#128514;
Car worth 3200
Unless I was dead broke without and credit 
I would pay myself and HOLD the cash


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

BTW... in my real career as an airline pilot I met some very wealthy people.
One guy on the Forbes 400 had a large original 1918 beach house. All wood. Wood shingles on the roof and house.

I asked who does his fire insurance and how much was it.
He said he doesn’t have any insurance😀If it burns down I’ll put up another one.
On everything he owns he carries no insurance except the legally mandated minimum car insurance.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

wallae said:


> On everything he owns he carries no insurance except the legally mandated minimum car insurance.


In effect he's self-insuring. He's risking assets if he's at fault in an accident and an injured person sues him for damages over the minimum liability limits. OTOH, he probably has attorneys on retainer.

Re the OP's question, if I understand correctly, Uber/Lyft only covers your vehicle while engaged in R/S by matching your physical damage coverage on your personal auto insurance. Assuming that your car is of low value, say $3,000, the deductibles for U/L are going to eat it up quickly. If you're able to walk away from a total loss, with enough money set aside to replace it easily, then carrying collision coverage is probably a waste of money, and a reasonable risk. If the premium and deductible are fairly low for comprehensive, (fire, theft, tree falling, etc) that might be worth keeping.

I don't do R/S, so my risks are quite a bit lower; limited miles driven annually, etc. But I carry comprehensive and collision on two older cars, a'91 Miata in decent shape and a super clean, low mileage, '02 Lexus. Each year at renewal time, (December 1) I think about it , weighing the premiums and deductibles against the value of the cars. This year, comprehensive for both cars is under $100, $250 deductible. Collision for both is about $360, $500 deductible. For now, I'm keeping things as they are, but one of these years it won't make sense.


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## Westerner (Dec 22, 2016)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


A 2015 with 200,000 miles? What do you do, drive across the country every week?


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

I’ve gone 26 years with only having the minimum required by law no collision no theft. No wrecks 
Saved 59,000?
Just saying


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

wallae said:


> I've gone 26 years with only having the minimum required by law no collision no theft. No wrecks
> Saved 59,000?
> Just saying


Saved over $2200 per year? Wow! For 15 years I insured three cars for around $1800, including high limits and comprehensive and collision.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Older Chauffeur said:


> Saved over $2200 per year? Wow! For 15 years I insured three cars for around $1800, including high limits and comprehensive and collision.


Using his 1100 per 6 months


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

wallae said:


> Using his 1100 per 6 months


I think he was listing total premium, not just comp and collision. Still, he's paying more for that one car(?) per six months than I pay for a year for two cars. Holy cow! And here I thought So Cal insurance rates were high.
If the OP is paying $2200 for comp and collision on that car, I would definitely say "drop it."


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

Older Chauffeur said:


> I think he was listing total premium, not just comp and collision. Still, he's paying more for that one car(?) per six months than I pay for a year for two cars. Holy cow! And here I thought So Cal insurance rates were high.
> If the OP is paying $2200 for comp and collision on that car, I would definitely say "drop it."


My comprehensive per 6 months is $52 (I'm surprised). I thought it would take a huge chunk cost-wise from the total premium.

I still don't get why Collision is different from Property Damage Liability but below is how my total premium looks:


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Urbanappalachian said:


> My comprehensive per 6 months is $52 (I'm surprised). I thought it would take a huge chunk cost-wise from the total premium.
> 
> I still don't get why Collision is different from Property Damage Liability but below is how my total premium looks:


PDL is for damage you might do to property belonging to someone else. Collision damage is for your car if you are at fault.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


Toyota has the least depreciation, so protect your Toyota ...any thing else with 200k miles is not worth much.


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## MasterAbsher (Oct 16, 2019)

Long ago I had a real nice Jag XJ. When I paid it off I asked myself the same question. I went down to bare bones. One day headed home on a rural highway a driver approaching me made a last second u-turn. I t-boned him at full speed. Somehow he didn't get hurt. My Jag was totalled. That was my first time in an ambulance. Turns out he too had bare bones insurances and had no assets. I got $15k. Didn't come close to value of Jag. Medical costs were hefty. Thats a mistake I will never make again.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

MasterAbsher said:


> Long ago I had a real nice Jag XJ. When I paid it off I asked myself the same question. I went down to bare bones. One day headed home on a rural highway a driver approaching me made a last second u-turn. I t-boned him at full speed. Somehow he didn't get hurt. My Jag was totalled. That was my first time in an ambulance. Turns out he too had bare bones insurances and had no assets. I got $15k. Didn't come close to value of Jag. Medical costs were hefty. Thats a mistake I will never make again.


You can't look at the insurance on a one time basis.
I went to a casino and I won...


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## MasterAbsher (Oct 16, 2019)

wallae said:


> You can't look at the insurance on a one time basis.
> I went to a casino and I won...


Wow, that is great but has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

MasterAbsher said:


> Wow, that is great but has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.


BS
I've gone since 1996 without a claim 
Total all those years of wasted insurance payments and what do I need to come out ahead on my next claim


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## BigJohn (Jan 27, 2016)

wallae said:


> BS
> I've gone since 1996 without a claim
> Total all those years of wasted insurance payments and what do I need to come out ahead on my next claim


Brownie button and a self pat on the back to you...

For the rest of us, insurance (of any type) is for what if, not what did or did not happen.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

BigJohn said:


> Brownie button and a self pat on the back to you...
> 
> For the rest of us, insurance (of any type) is for what if, not what did or did not happen.


You own too much car then


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Insurance companies sell insurance because it makes them money to sell insurance. That means they collect more than they pay out.

That alone tells me that if I have the money to self-insure, I am statistically more likely to come out ahead.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Trafficat said:


> Insurance companies sell insurance because it makes them money to sell insurance. That means they collect more than they pay out.
> 
> That alone tells me that if I have the money to self-insure, I am statistically more likely to come out ahead.


Exactly 
And why some pay more than others


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

Trafficat said:


> Insurance companies sell insurance because it makes them money to sell insurance. That means they collect more than they pay out.
> 
> That alone tells me that if I have the money to self-insure, I am statistically more likely to come out ahead.


Well because insurance companies sell in volumes.

It's still best I think to have someone else pay out (in any case scenario). I'll just keep mines as is till it's time to switch insurance company. I think Progressive insurance's online algorithm is not calculating my stats precisely that's probably why my premium is a bit high for a car that's paid off and for a driver that's been driving for about 17 years. Been with Progressive for about 10 years.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> Well because insurance companies sell in volumes.
> 
> It's still best I think to have someone else pay out (in any case scenario). I'll just keep mines as is till it's time to switch insurance company. I think Progressive insurance's online algorithm is not calculating my stats precisely that's probably why my premium is a bit high for a car that's paid off and for a driver that's been driving for about 17 years. Been with Progressive for about 10 years.


I buy cash cars.Last 4000
And have enough to buy another if it blows up.
If I didn't have enough cash I'd probably carry insurance until I Uber it enough that I had savings
Then drop it.
I find it very hard to pay the value of the car in three years to an insurance company

As I said, bought a 61 Harley in 72 for 1800
Just fire theft was 900 a year.&#128514;
I didn't get it. Guess it was that new math
Still had it in the 80s


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

Depends on the ratio between the cost of comp/collision and the value of the car.

And don't forget to factor in your deductible.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/drop-collision-comprehensive/
I recently dropped comp/collision and rather than pocket the money, I put it towards doubling my liability coverage. You might consider doing the same.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

As I think about this we’re debating a math equation where everyone is using different numbers

What if it was 20,000 a year? 40,000
At some point it’s going to be overpriced...the question is what is that point for you.
What’s it worth to you


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> Depends on the ratio between the cost of comp/collision and the value of the car.
> 
> And don't forget to factor in your deductible.
> 
> ...


So what you're saying here is if my car's value is in the negative double my liability instead? So if my car gets totalled does liability alone pay out enough to get another car (assuming the liability coverage was doubled)?


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So what you're saying here is if my car's value is in the negative double my liability instead? So if my car gets totalled does liability alone pay out enough to get another car (assuming the liability coverage was doubled)?


If you owe more on your car than it's worth you have to get gap


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So what you're saying here is if my car's value is in the negative double my liability instead? So if my car gets totalled does liability alone pay out enough to get another car (assuming the liability coverage was doubled)?


Liability insurance has nothing to do with the value of or damage to your car or replacing it if it's totaled. It's sole purpose is to pay other parties for bodily injury and property damage when you are at fault in an accident. Your policy probably has an explanation of each type of coverage. You might want to familiarize yourself with just what it is you're paying for in your premium.


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So what you're saying here is if my car's value is in the negative double my liability instead? So if my car gets totalled does liability alone pay out enough to get another car (assuming the liability coverage was doubled)?


No. I'm saying that it's an option if you feel your liability coverage is too low. For example, in CA minimum property damage liability is $15,000. If you t-bone someone's Porsche and do $50,000 worth of damage, you're on the hook for the extra 35k. Liability has nothing to do with the cost of replacing your car.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Good luck collecting from an Uber driver😂😂
Better hope the Porsche guy has underinsured coverage


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> No. I'm saying that it's an option if you feel your liability coverage is too low. For example, in CA minimum property damage liability is $15,000. If you t-bone someone's Porsche and do $50,000 worth of damage, you're on the hook for the extra 35k. Liability has nothing to do with the cost of replacing your car.


Well said.


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

wallae said:


> Good luck collecting from an Uber driver&#128514;&#128514;
> Better hope the Porsche guy has underinsured coverage


So if the Porsche guy has underinsured coverage is the uber driver off the hook for the remaining owed or is his insurance company out to pursue the uber driver for being liable?


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So if the Porsche guy has underinsured coverage is the uber driver off the hook for the remaining owed or is his insurance company out to pursue the uber driver for being liable?


They could go after you.
Usually a https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/home.page search is done to see that going after you will be productive. They don't want to bother suing a 90 year old rock.
More likely if you are a 20 year old in med school driving Uber nights


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> Well because insurance companies sell in volumes.
> 
> It's still best I think to have someone else pay out (in any case scenario). I'll just keep mines as is till it's time to switch insurance company. I think Progressive insurance's online algorithm is not calculating my stats precisely that's probably why my premium is a bit high for a car that's paid off and for a driver that's been driving for about 17 years. Been with Progressive for about 10 years.


Your rates are high because you don't shop around and Progressive knows this.

Get a local insurance agent that can quote you coverage from multiple companies. They will also requote it through Progressive and most likely your rates will come down. My agent quotes mine out every year. At first I had to ask, bit now he knows I will ask and does it automatically. Before I started doing this my rates went up every 6 months. Magically when I went with an agent my rates dropped several hundred dollars and either stay the same or go down slightly.


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## amazinghl (Oct 31, 2018)

Can you afford to have the car totaled and buy another one? If not, keep the full coverage.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

amazinghl said:


> Can you afford to have the car totaled and buy another one? If not, keep the full coverage.


What he said ^^^^^

I have worked in insurance related businesses for 10 years. Insurance is intended to protect you from a low probability event that has high consequences.

If you are willing to take the hit (no pun intended) financially, then you don't need that coverage. It just depends on how much risk you're willing to take for yourself, versus paying someone else to take the risk.

The term is "risk management."


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## amazinghl (Oct 31, 2018)

Christinebitg said:


> What he said ^^^^^
> 
> I have worked in insurance related businesses for 10 years. Insurance is intended to protect you from a low probability event that has high consequences.
> 
> ...


Yup. I have $100k reliability only on my $1500 car. I can replace my $1500 car easily, but I can't afford to take on $100k claim.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


Very easy question to answer.

If your car gets stolen, would you want to receive a payout from your insurance company, or would you prefer to buy a replacement vehicle with your own money?

a) I would like my insurance company to pay me: keep comprehensive cover.

b) I would be ok using my own money: drop comprehensive cover.

If you get into an accident and it's your fault, or if it's a hit and run, or if there's some other problem getting the other driver's insurance to pay, do you want your insurance company to pay for repairs or replacement vehicle or do you want to pay?

a) I would like my insurance company to pay me: keep collision cover.

b) I would be ok using my own money: drop collision cover.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

The Gift of Fish said:


> Very easy question to answer.
> 
> If your car gets stolen, would you want to receive a payout from your insurance company, or would you prefer to buy a replacement vehicle with your own money?
> 
> ...


But also include the amount of the deductibles and premiums in the equations.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So my car is finally paid off. It's a 2015 Mazda 3 isport, 2.0 with over 200,000 miles already. Should I get rid of comprehensive coverage or something else?


6 years old with 200,000 miles
Drop comprehensive


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Older Chauffeur said:


> But also include the amount of the deductibles and premiums in the equations.


Agreed, it is sensible to weigh premiums and deductibles against 1) the potential payout in the event of a loss and 2) the level of risk.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Older Chauffeur said:


> But also include the amount of the deductibles and premiums in the equations.


Yep. After a hurricane here the guys who had boat US Insurance were all shocked.
If you lost $100 cushion overboard they said it's a used cushion worth 50 and then 75% of 50 is&#129315;
Allstate was great to me 27,000 for repainting all the colored areas and new glass


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

wallae said:


> you lost $100 cushion overboard they said it's a used cushion worth 50 and then 75% of 50 is&#129315;


"Actual cash value" versus replacement cost value.

Replacement cost value policies are available for some kinds of policies last I checked, but they cost a bunch more.

I'm not sure you could even get them on the value of a car.


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## wallae (Jun 11, 2018)

Christinebitg said:


> "Actual cash value" versus replacement cost value.
> 
> Replacement cost value policies are available for some kinds of policies last I checked, but they cost a bunch more.
> 
> I'm not sure you could even get them on the value of a car.


I've had a bunch of old mint cars
70 gto convert
98 ss convert
Pre divorce &#129394;
I always got "stated value" for a number we both agreed on.


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

FLKeys said:


> Your rates are high because you don't shop around and Progressive knows this.
> 
> Get a local insurance agent that can quote you coverage from multiple companies. They will also requote it through Progressive and most likely your rates will come down. My agent quotes mine out every year. At first I had to ask, bit now he knows I will ask and does it automatically. Before I started doing this my rates went up every 6 months. Magically when I went with an agent my rates dropped several hundred dollars and either stay the same or go down slightly.


In person agents from my experience tend to cost more $ than doing the quote online. But I'll try what you suggested.

What insurance companies cover ridesharing?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> In person agents from my experience tend to cost more $ than doing the quote online. But I'll try what you suggested.
> 
> What insurance companies cover ridesharing?


If they are costing you more find a better agent. Some agents don't get you the best rates because they get better commissions on your higher rates. Some agents get you the best rates knowing you will share with your friends and family and they will get more business meaning more commissions. That is the case with my agent, he takes full advantage of word of mouth leads.

You can always still get an online quote and compare it to your agents quotes.

Right now I am with Progressive and my agent gets me a better rate than I can get online with Progressive.


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## Urbanappalachian (Dec 11, 2016)

So I can actually call a local progressive agent and hope to get a better rate than the online rates I got?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Urbanappalachian said:


> So I can actually call a local progressive agent and hope to get a better rate than the online rates I got?


I use an independent insurance agent that can quote out multiple companies. They take your information and ask questions about what coverage you want. They give you quotes from several companies and point out the pro's and con's of each.


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## Legalizeit0 (Jul 26, 2017)

My vehicle has been paid off for several years, but I keep full coverage. Every time I think about dropping it, I wind up giving a ride to someone who has just totaled their car or had it stolen and didn’t have any coverage. I know insurance is a racket and they are making money off of me, but I just feel better knowing that I might get a small check if my vehicle disappeared for one reason or another.

One thing that I do every six months, is reevaluate my coverage and switch companies to whoever has the best deal. I feel bad for people that have stuck with the same company for 10 years and haven’t even looked around, they are probably paying twice as much for the same coverage they could get somewhere else. I think insurance is the only business swear the company penalize you for being a loyal customer.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

Legalizeit0 said:


> I just feel better knowing that I might get a small check if my vehicle disappeared for one reason or another.


I think the key word there is "small."

Keep in mind that about the best you can hope for is Blue Book value. They won't give you replacement cost value.

How big is your deductible?


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## IthurstwhenIP (Jan 12, 2018)

@Christinebitg I always figured any claim would mean higher rates and get slowly clawed back over the next few years. Thoughts>


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

IthurstwhenIP said:


> @Christinebitg I always figured any claim would mean higher rates and get slowly clawed back over the next few years. Thoughts>


Yes and no. It depends.

There is potential for rate increases, although the insurers (my understanding, anyway) don't manage rates on a policy by policy basis.

Many insurers have instituted "accident forgiveness," meaning that your FIRST accident after years of no claims, doesn't cause you to get an automatic rate increase. The second one very well might though.

All of that is just more reason to carry as high of a deductible as you can justify based on your personal financial situation.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

It depends on the nature of your claim as well,

certain claims won't increase your rates.

Also something that isn't your fault won't increase rates either. Like getting hit by an un/underinsured motorist and or a hit and run.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

I have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan with 135K miles, book is about $4200, I pay $45 for collision so $90 a year with a 1K deductible. So $90 would get me back $3000 if I caused the accident. That seems reasonable to me, I check each year and if it drops below about 20 to 1 I would cancel the collision.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

Westerner said:


> A 2015 with 200,000 miles? What do you do, drive across the country every week?


Ummmm

Ride share. That is what this forum is.

Are you lost?
Looking for the ballerina forum perhaps?

My two years of RS part / full time I averaged 42,428 miles.


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## Westerner (Dec 22, 2016)

Amos69 said:


> Are you lost?
> Looking for the ballerina forum perhaps?


Yes actually, do you know where I can find one?


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Some great information in this thread. You never know it all when it comes to insurance.

The cost of full coverage vs cost of repairs analysis aside...

I am at a stage in life where fixing costs has great appeal. So in addition to having full coverage on my leased 2019 Bolt used for rideshare I also have full coverage on my 1996 Toyota Corolla station wagon. It's a $2500 car, IF you can find one. With only 100K miles on it, the car is actually in my will. Rideshare income covers the premium.

Conversely, I keep the deductibles for both cars as high as possible. This is based on the theory that it is the OTHER GUY who is going to cause the accident, and HIS/HER INSURANCE will be paying to fix my car. Naturally you want uninsured motorist protection on your policy.

*Little known fact tip:* Along with the uninsured motorist rider I suggest you also carry the "*collision deductible waiver*" if available in your state. The cost is nominal. This little understood rider means that your deductible is waived if someone without insurance hits you.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

_Tron_ said:


> It's a $2500 car, IF you can find one.


Okay, but watch out for a couple of issues:

First, since you (appropriately) carry high deductibles, you're only insuring the amount above that.

So if you have a $1,000 deductible, you're effectively insuring $1,500 of the value of the car. (I have a $1,000 deductible of the one car that I carry collision and comprehensive coverage on.)

Second, that $1,500 in value that you're insuring depends on the willingness of the insurance company to agree on that figure. If (and that's a big "if," of course) they only believe it's value is $2,000, then you're only insuring $1,000 of the value of the car.

Yes, you might be able to sue them for the rest. But IF you win the lawsuit, and IF you can get attorneys' fees in your state (it varies from one state to another)... THEN you get to ask yourself if it's worth your time and effort and uncertainty to fight them for that.

As important to you as that Toyota is... And I get that it is. I've owned a few Toyotas, and am currently a Toyota shareholder as well. But if you separate the emotional issues from the financial ones, and compare that to how much you're paying for that coverage, then you can decide if it's worth it.

So far, you've decided that it's worth it to buy that coverage. But there WILL BE a point in time when it's not.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Thank you Christine. Good points.


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