Author Topic: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is  (Read 5182 times)

wet.and.wild

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Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« on: December 04, 2014, 02:35:42 PM »
I know someone else has a "what's with this forum" thread going about how people should all be encouraged to be more frugal, no excuses for high income people. I'm putting one up saying: sometimes there are excuse. Some expenses are unavoidable.

Example: Do we really have to pick on everyone with high car insurance?
I own my car free and clear. I bought it used, no loan. It has one hundred and sixty thousand miles on it. I pay for the cheapest liability only insurance--and I price check it once a year--and its 165 dollars a month. Red lining is real. Sometimes bills are expensive and you can't change them. That's why you have to work on what you can change.

klystomane

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2014, 02:50:44 PM »
I know someone else has a "what's with this forum" thread going about how people should all be encouraged to be more frugal, no excuses for high income people. I'm putting one up saying: sometimes there are excuse. Some expenses are unavoidable.

Example: Do we really have to pick on everyone with high car insurance?
I own my car free and clear. I bought it used, no loan. It has one hundred and sixty thousand miles on it. I pay for the cheapest liability only insurance--and I price check it once a year--and its 165 dollars a month. Red lining is real. Sometimes bills are expensive and you can't change them. That's why you have to work on what you can change.

What's the decision making process for how much liability/property damage you get covered for?

I'm a bit unsure of this one. I think to myself, god forbid if I hit somebody and caused a serious accident, if I'm only covered for 10k/30k, what happens if that's not enough to cover the damage I do?

wet.and.wild

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2014, 02:53:18 PM »
I have the minimum. And--before you ask--I have decent credit and no accidents. It's just where I live.

wet.and.wild

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #3 on: December 04, 2014, 02:53:58 PM »
#Detroit

klystomane

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2014, 02:58:07 PM »
#Detroit

So what happens if you do cause an accident and the damage is greater than the coverage?

wet.and.wild

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2014, 03:16:36 PM »
In Michigan all damage is covered. It's a state law that makes all insurance here a little more expensive than elsewhere. But Detroit is a special kind of red lining hell.

gimp

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #6 on: December 04, 2014, 03:29:25 PM »
When I moved, my insurance dropped from $2000 to $900. Sometimes you get fucked on zip code. Generally speaking: if your zip code contains the shitty part of town, and said shitty part has a fairly large population, you're going to be paying more in insurance.

(It's not a straight orange-to-oranges comparison, since I dropped liability and comprehensive [around $400 a year] but on the other hand picked up the maximum liability insurance [$250k property, $500k medical, $500k passenger] - I live in an area where I drive next to $200k+ supercars every week and $120k+ cars ten times a day; and the population density is far higher.)

klystomane

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #7 on: December 04, 2014, 03:33:43 PM »
In Michigan all damage is covered. It's a state law that makes all insurance here a little more expensive than elsewhere. But Detroit is a special kind of red lining hell.

That's weird...kinda defeats the purpose of having more coverage then I suppose?

I'm asking because I recently looked at the previous tenant's car insurance policy (same company...thought it was mine) and noticed that he had minimum coverage for everything on a 1998 Toyota. What stood out was the lowly $200 deductible on his comprehensive, which I found odd. For an old car with minimum coverage, I would've expected no deductible or a very high one.

Would it be safe to assume that he is scamming the insurance company? I.E. beat up his car a bit, get it repaired, pay $200 out of pocket and claim the rest?

wet.and.wild

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #8 on: December 04, 2014, 03:35:30 PM »
All damage to my car isn't covered, lol. All liability is covered. I have no compressive and no collision. If something happens to my car I'm screwed.

wet.and.wild

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2014, 10:24:07 AM »
It's just frustrating to read the posts sometimes and see people criticized for something they have no control over

gimp

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2014, 11:24:20 AM »
It's just frustrating to read the posts sometimes and see people criticized for something they have no control over

I think it's more like: your insurance seems high, why? If you don't know, maybe you should shop around to see if you can lower it.

gt7152b

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2014, 11:29:23 AM »
That is some costly insurance. I pay less than half that for 3 cars, 1 of which as full coverage. You do have control over it though. Sell the car and use a bike/public transportation/rental car when necessary. Easy for the guy with 3 cars to say, right?

NathanP

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2014, 11:39:24 AM »
The cost of car insurance should be bundled into the "cost of living" for an area. If insurance in Detroit is 3x or 5x the cost being in the suburbs or another comparable city then that is a factor that must be considered when choosing Detroit as a place to live. As others have mentioned you may be able to go car-less and bike or ride the bus.

Hopefully living in Detroit puts you close to work (time/fuel savings) and in an area with low cost housing. No one faults those living in San Francisco that their rent is higher than average, just as no one faults you for having higher than average insurance premiums. Every area has its advantages and disadvantages with respect to living frugally.

DeepEllumStache

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Re: Car insurance--sometimes it is what it is
« Reply #13 on: December 05, 2014, 12:50:34 PM »
How much of the cost is medical PIP coverage?  Michigan is unique in insurance because it's a pure no fault state.  If you have an accident you go directly back to your insurance and can't go to the other party's insurance if they are at fault.  MI then compensates by making your medical coverage for accident related injuries unlimited (and includes wage loss and other benefits).  Unfortunately that makes the PIP piece fairly expensive compared to a state where you choose a coverage limit.