Car Insurance - Liability vs. Full

[Flyingstache]

Hello!

I hope this finds everyone enjoying the start of the new year & I hope everyone had an excellent holiday season!

I have a quick question about what is the best kind of auto insurance to carry, liability or full coverage. My insurance agent is an independent agent & we currently have our auto insurance through progressive.

We currently have 3 vehicles but that will quickly change as the 3rd was just purchased within the week so I will be selling one of the cares. I would love to know your thoughts on if we should carry only liability insurance or full coverage on the vehicles. This is what we have

2009 Honda Odyssey - 127k miles - this van was just purchased this week. This van will be used mostly by my wife to transport our kids (4yr old, 2yr old, & baby #3 coming in March). Will be used for taking kids to the baby sitter & then also for any road trips.

2013 Honda CR-V - 125k miles - This is what my wife has been using (prior to van purchase) to transport the kids & also for road trips. It currently has full coverage. Now this will be used by me to drive to work & practice (teacher/coach - typical day less than 10 miles) & an occasional longer trip.

2004 Toyota Corolla - 198k miles - This has been my vehicle for day to day use. It has liability only. I will be selling this vehicle now that we have the van.

Again, just curious on your thoughts on liability vs. full & what we should have on the Odyssey & the CR-V. Thanks for any insights!

 

[seattlecyclone]

Buy insurance for things that would cause you great financial hardship. Skip it for the rest. None of these vehicles sound terribly expensive. If you have enough money that you could pay out of pocket to replace one of them without really setting your financial plans back in a significant manner, in the long run it's better to assume that risk yourself instead of paying the insurance company a premium to take that risk for you. Buy plenty of liability insurance. That's the piece that could ruin you financially if you don't have enough insurance. Eating the cost of another used car with 100k+ miles...not so much.

[GilesMM]

It depends on both your financial ability to fix or replace smashed vehicles and the risk of a crash. Who is driving them? What does their record look like? 10 years trouble free? Do they drive after dark or in snow? Etc.

[mavendrill]

Buy insurance for things that would cause you great financial hardship. Skip it for the rest. None of these vehicles sound terribly expensive. If you have enough money that you could pay out of pocket to replace one of them without really setting your financial plans back in a significant manner, in the long run it's better to assume that risk yourself instead of paying the insurance company a premium to take that risk for you. Buy plenty of liability insurance. That's the piece that could ruin you financially if you don't have enough insurance. Eating the cost of another used car with 100k+ miles...not so much.

I would pay my thoughts, but these are them. Completely.