Car Insurance help!

[aes421]

Hi all,

I am TERRIFIED of being under insured because my parents once sued someone for hitting and killing my grandmother.  She was underinsured and it really messed up her finances.  This has kept me always with State Farm.

That being said I feel like we pay way too much for car insurance.  I don't understand completely what all the coverage is for so I typically just take the max out of fear.

We drive 17.3 miles each way for work 5 days a week (we carpool though), plus a 600 mile road trip once a year for vacation.  We've got a large stash for our age (25 with $150k) and a $170k home.  I'm going to add an umbrella policy next week.

Cars - 100% paid off.
2015 Toyota Corrolla S - $90.43 per month
2015 Subaru WRX - $130.89 (husband is a car enthusiast, but he deals with all my frugal habits so this is our one comprise and I'm okay with that)

$100k $300k bodily injury
$100k property damage
$5k medical payments coverage (I have health insurance so do I need this??)
$500 comprehensive deductible
$500 collision deductible
$100k $300k uninsured bodily
$100k uninsured property

So help me save some money please!

[AMandM]

You could save by raising your deductibles, since you have plenty of savings. You may also find your premiums go down once you, and especially your husband, turn 26.

We have the same coverages on a 2012 Elantra and pay almost $750/6 months, so about the same as your husband.  We don't use the car to commute, but it's not as spiffy a car as his.
This is making me think I should raise our deductibles or drop the collision/comprehensive entirely. Dropping it would save almost $300.

[aes421]

Thanks AMandM! Husband turns 26 next week, so fingers crossed the insurance goes down!  I'll look at raising our deductibles as well.

[therethere]

Raise or remove your deductibles to the max and it should go down. Contrary to what you might think, some insurers see you as less risky if you choose higher limits (100k/300k) because they see you as being responsible. I usually find the jump from 25k/50k --> 100k/300k pretty minimal because of this.

[RWD]

I does seem like you're spending a lot on insurance. I agree with the others about raising your deductibles, that tends to give the best savings and doesn't have any bearing on your fear of being bankrupt. It just means you pay more in small accidents.

You can also reduce your uninsured property coverage as $100k is way more than the value of your WRX. You only need this to be roughly as high as your most expensive vehicle replacement cost.
"Uninsured motorist property damage coverage helps pay for repairs to your vehicle after a crash caused by an uninsured driver."

You may also be served well by shopping around for cheaper rates from other insurance companies. But you should figured out your desired level of coverage first so you can compare the same level from each company.

[aes421]

Thank therethere and RWD.  I'm going to look into raising our deductible.

RWD, I could be completely wrong about this, but the reason I went so high on uninsured property is because I thought it covered if our car hit and damaged road signs, stop lights, a building, etc when an uninsured driver hits us. Is that completely wrong?

[kpd905]

We cut our insurance premiums in half by switching from State Farm to Geico.  That was with the same coverage.

I'd also agree with the recommendation to increase the deductible.  Ours are at $2,000.

We pay about $50/month for a 2013 and 2014 car.

[therethere]

Wow $50 a month for two cars?! I can't get mine much lower than $90 and mine are 2005 and 2003.

[RWD]

RWD, I could be completely wrong about this, but the reason I went so high on uninsured property is because I thought it covered if our car hit and damaged road signs, stop lights, a building, etc when an uninsured driver hits us. Is that completely wrong?

I am pretty sure it only covers your vehicle. But you can read your own policy wording to be sure.