7 ms·

Many years ago I upped my liability coverage from $15k/$30k to $100k/$300k, and I was surprised how little it increased my premium. It was a few bucks a month.

Many years ago I upped my liability coverage from $15k/$30k to $100k/$300k, and I was surprised how little it increased my premium. It was a few bucks a month. A no-brainer. I’m starting to wonder if it’s time to go higher.

jemmyw 3y ago
I've never seen an option to choose the liability cover on insurance, I didn't know it was a thing. I just checked my policy and it is up to $20 million NZ ($12M US) per event. How much do you pay for car insurance in the US? Mine is 1,200NZD per year, about 730USD
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  You need to specify how many miles per year to somewhat compare since the risk is directly proportional to amount of time on the road. I pay ~$50 per month for 5k miles per year for $500k liability coverage and uninsured/underinsured coverage. But I also have a few million in umbrella coverage, so not sure if it’s even comparable.
  - smaccona 3y ago
    I pay ~$440 a month for two vehicles. My buddy in PA thinks it’s because I live in New York.
    - zdragnar 3y ago
      Some states have weird laws that affect prices, too. I once got hit while in MN, and the insurance company had to pay out for the cost of a new body panel. The shop gave me the option of a new panel, or a refurbished one off of a scrap car. It looked identical when they were done, but I ended up getting a check cut for half the value of the new panel because the used one was so much cheaper. As I was in college at the time, a free $800 made my day.
      - bombcar 3y ago
        I could see the state requiring new parts because of unscrupulous insurance companies insisting that shitty used parts were fine: but it’s nice you had the option of taking the cash. Best of both worlds, really.
        zdragnar 3y ago
        Really, in the long run all it does is make your premiums more expensive. > insurance companies insisting that shitty used parts were fine That's not up to the insurance company, because they aren't the ones sourcing the parts or doing the repairs. You go to a body shop that either works directly with the insurance company, or the company cuts you a check in the shops name for the quoted work. It makes no sense whatsoever to put a brand new body panel on a car that's already lost 70-80% of the MSRP value to depreciation... IF the used parts are not damaged already, and the paint matches. Again, though, that's in the hands of the mechanic, not the insurance company.
  - jemmyw 3y ago
    About 8000km a year, so just under 5k miles too.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    Also you'd need to iterate everything about the insurance regulations in that location since the types of events that insurance pays out on can vary quite a bit between US states, let alone across oceans. Some places have insurance laws that will make people say "wait, car insurance pays for that?" Also, most of the reason US car insurance is so expensive is due to the cost of healthcare, which is paid for in other ways in many other countries.
- anthomtb 3y ago
  About $1900/year, for two ICE vehicles (no liens), 300k/500k liability (per person/per incident maximums). Maxed out deductibles for Collison/Comprehensive on both. I just added a $1,000,000 umbrella policy at $500 a year though it would be nice to double the coverage there. I use Geico and they give a breakdown of the cost per vehicle. My full size pickup is double the cost of my wife's mid-size SUV, which I cannot argue against.
  - federalauth 3y ago
    When you say maxed out deductibles for collision and comprehensive, do you mean you picked the highest deductible? Or lowest deductible which would mean max coverage but also premium? I’ve always wondered about the value of collision and comprehensive, since it seems to be one of the more expensive parts of car insurance
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Maximum deductible is taking on more of the risk yourself. The first dollar in any claim is always paid, the last dollar hardly ever, so the first dollar is worth more. Maximum deductible also reduces the chance you’ll involve insurance at all. Why report a $200 fix when your deductible is $1000? Comprehensive insurance is for when you CANNOT afford to lose the car. If it would be painful but you’d survive, you probably don’t need it.
    - astura 3y ago
      > I’ve always wondered about the value of collision and comprehensive, since it seems to be one of the more expensive parts of car insurance As a general rule - You should buy insurance on something when you both 1) have to have it and 2) can't afford to replace it. Once you can afford to comfortably absorb a loss equal to the value of your car, you should consider dropping collision and comprehensive. For me that's when the car is worth less than around $5k.
lr4444lr 3y ago
Do it. Then get personal liability for your net worth on top of it. The peace of mind knowing that no one can sue you for more than you're worth is priceless.
sergers 3y ago
In bc Canada, where insurance is probably too expensive, the normal coverage is 1million cad, with 2million being the new norm ( I have had 2 million coverage past few years).
- b112 3y ago
  In Quebec, the license plate cost ($230 per year) also covers all injury. This means that the private part of insurance, only covers damages to things, which is rarely millions. This blend of private/public insurance results in super cheap rates, while keeping injury insurance in place. Both BC (full public) and Ontario(full private) have higher rates for the same coverage. 2x as much per year.
  - andy99 3y ago
    I've heard that before but did not notice a material difference in my insurance moving between Ontario/Quebec. Is it mainly for new drivers or those otherwise more expensive to insure? I do know that I pay almost $400/year* between my license and registration in Quebec which would be ~$0 in Ontario. As well as a lot more for gas. * I have a "luxury" car because it cost > $50k CAD (about $38k USD) and therefore is so-defined by the province (a Volkswagen). And Montreal imposes extra fees.
    - b112 3y ago
      Interesting, re:Ontario. They dropped the fees during the pandemic. I am not sure it will be a forever thing. But the insurance fees were 1/2 the price when I moved here. I don't know if that has changed a lot?
- jeromegv 3y ago
  Yeah the gap between 1 million and 2 is so small that you might as well get 2.
hipadev23 3y ago
I carry $1M on my vehicle plus an umbrella policy of $4M.
- balderdash 3y ago
  Yeah I have $500k/$500k liability that (no collision - my car isn’t worth much) and it costs $100/mo and another $5m liability with $1m UM and that costs $25/month so I’m a little confused about the comments around liability being expensive - in my experience it’s the collision coverage that is so expensive I think the annual premium for it was going to be like ~10%-15% of the insured value of the car
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    And the liability premiums aren’t linear. Most claims are for the smaller amounts, not common to have multi-million dollar claims (though it does happen), so that fifth million of coverage is cheap. The thing is, say I get sued for $100m. It’s great for my victims that I paid extra all these years for $5m in coverage, but I’m going bankrupt either way. Indeed collision on an older vehicle often doesn’t make sense. And could result in your vehicle prematurely salvaged.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      The dollar amount is basically “how hard will the insurance company’s lawyers fight for me?” If you have many millions you need much different insurance than normal plebeians.
      - balderdash 3y ago
        Not really - if you’re involved in a bad auto accident you are going to be sued - ending up with a large judgement against you (because your insurance only covered $300k of a $1m judgement still leaves you on the hook for $700k) is a horrible outcome, rich or poor. You want liability protection such that your assets (whether small or large) are unlikely to be impacted by a reasonably foreseeable outcome I.e. $300k of liability covers 55% of likely outcomes vs $3m covering 85%
benatkin 3y ago
I think the system (adjusters and courts) might be used to $15/$30k which may limit how often and how much they need to pay above that. If a lot of policies went up to that level, maybe the system would adapt, the payouts would increase more, and so would the premiums.
beej71 3y ago
My insurer tops out at some lower figure, like 350 or something. Does anyone know how to get higher limits?
- bruckie 3y ago
  Umbrella insurance. Most umbrella policies require you to carry a certain amount of homeowners and auto liability coverage, and then they add additional coverage on top of that. It's relatively cheap (hundreds of dollars per year for millions of dollars of coverage).
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    Hundreds? I think most umbrellas would be thousands in a year.
    - nrmitchi 3y ago
      My umbrella policy is ~240/year (either 1M or 2M coverage; can’t quite remember which). It also scaled fairly linearly.
    - seattle_spring 3y ago
      They're not. I've been getting many million dollar umbrella insurance every year, as well as quotes from different providers each renewal cycle, and they're consistently in the "few hundred bucks" category for a married couple. I'm also not a super attractive insurance customer, so it likely can be cheaper for others.
    - FireBeyond 3y ago
      Definitely hundreds, mine is $372/yr for $1M/instance, atop my auto/home coverage (250/500 for the auto). The thing about it is: your risk doesn't change because you have extra coverage. All that actuarial work is priced into your base coverage. In fact, they may even have factored in that people willing to voluntarily buy umbrella coverage are a little less risky than their model predicted.
    - 3y ago

jemmyw 3y ago

I've never seen an option to choose the liability cover on insurance, I didn't know it was a thing. I just checked my policy and it is up to $20 million NZ ($12M US) per event. How much do you pay for car insurance in the US? Mine is 1,200NZD per year, about 730USD

lotsofpulp 3y ago
You need to specify how many miles per year to somewhat compare since the risk is directly proportional to amount of time on the road. I pay ~$50 per month for 5k miles per year for $500k liability coverage and uninsured/underinsured coverage. But I also have a few million in umbrella coverage, so not sure if it’s even comparable.
- smaccona 3y ago
  I pay ~$440 a month for two vehicles. My buddy in PA thinks it’s because I live in New York.
  - zdragnar 3y ago
    Some states have weird laws that affect prices, too. I once got hit while in MN, and the insurance company had to pay out for the cost of a new body panel. The shop gave me the option of a new panel, or a refurbished one off of a scrap car. It looked identical when they were done, but I ended up getting a check cut for half the value of the new panel because the used one was so much cheaper. As I was in college at the time, a free $800 made my day.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      I could see the state requiring new parts because of unscrupulous insurance companies insisting that shitty used parts were fine: but it’s nice you had the option of taking the cash. Best of both worlds, really.
      - zdragnar 3y ago
        Really, in the long run all it does is make your premiums more expensive. > insurance companies insisting that shitty used parts were fine That's not up to the insurance company, because they aren't the ones sourcing the parts or doing the repairs. You go to a body shop that either works directly with the insurance company, or the company cuts you a check in the shops name for the quoted work. It makes no sense whatsoever to put a brand new body panel on a car that's already lost 70-80% of the MSRP value to depreciation... IF the used parts are not damaged already, and the paint matches. Again, though, that's in the hands of the mechanic, not the insurance company.
- jemmyw 3y ago
  About 8000km a year, so just under 5k miles too.
- kube-system 3y ago
  Also you'd need to iterate everything about the insurance regulations in that location since the types of events that insurance pays out on can vary quite a bit between US states, let alone across oceans. Some places have insurance laws that will make people say "wait, car insurance pays for that?" Also, most of the reason US car insurance is so expensive is due to the cost of healthcare, which is paid for in other ways in many other countries.
anthomtb 3y ago
About $1900/year, for two ICE vehicles (no liens), 300k/500k liability (per person/per incident maximums). Maxed out deductibles for Collison/Comprehensive on both. I just added a $1,000,000 umbrella policy at $500 a year though it would be nice to double the coverage there. I use Geico and they give a breakdown of the cost per vehicle. My full size pickup is double the cost of my wife's mid-size SUV, which I cannot argue against.
- federalauth 3y ago
  When you say maxed out deductibles for collision and comprehensive, do you mean you picked the highest deductible? Or lowest deductible which would mean max coverage but also premium? I’ve always wondered about the value of collision and comprehensive, since it seems to be one of the more expensive parts of car insurance
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Maximum deductible is taking on more of the risk yourself. The first dollar in any claim is always paid, the last dollar hardly ever, so the first dollar is worth more. Maximum deductible also reduces the chance you’ll involve insurance at all. Why report a $200 fix when your deductible is $1000? Comprehensive insurance is for when you CANNOT afford to lose the car. If it would be painful but you’d survive, you probably don’t need it.
  - astura 3y ago
    > I’ve always wondered about the value of collision and comprehensive, since it seems to be one of the more expensive parts of car insurance As a general rule - You should buy insurance on something when you both 1) have to have it and 2) can't afford to replace it. Once you can afford to comfortably absorb a loss equal to the value of your car, you should consider dropping collision and comprehensive. For me that's when the car is worth less than around $5k.

lr4444lr 3y ago

Do it. Then get personal liability for your net worth on top of it. The peace of mind knowing that no one can sue you for more than you're worth is priceless.

sergers 3y ago

In bc Canada, where insurance is probably too expensive, the normal coverage is 1million cad, with 2million being the new norm ( I have had 2 million coverage past few years).

b112 3y ago
In Quebec, the license plate cost ($230 per year) also covers all injury. This means that the private part of insurance, only covers damages to things, which is rarely millions. This blend of private/public insurance results in super cheap rates, while keeping injury insurance in place. Both BC (full public) and Ontario(full private) have higher rates for the same coverage. 2x as much per year.
- andy99 3y ago
  I've heard that before but did not notice a material difference in my insurance moving between Ontario/Quebec. Is it mainly for new drivers or those otherwise more expensive to insure? I do know that I pay almost $400/year* between my license and registration in Quebec which would be ~$0 in Ontario. As well as a lot more for gas. * I have a "luxury" car because it cost > $50k CAD (about $38k USD) and therefore is so-defined by the province (a Volkswagen). And Montreal imposes extra fees.
  - b112 3y ago
    Interesting, re:Ontario. They dropped the fees during the pandemic. I am not sure it will be a forever thing. But the insurance fees were 1/2 the price when I moved here. I don't know if that has changed a lot?
jeromegv 3y ago
Yeah the gap between 1 million and 2 is so small that you might as well get 2.

hipadev23 3y ago

I carry $1M on my vehicle plus an umbrella policy of $4M.

balderdash 3y ago
Yeah I have $500k/$500k liability that (no collision - my car isn’t worth much) and it costs $100/mo and another $5m liability with $1m UM and that costs $25/month so I’m a little confused about the comments around liability being expensive - in my experience it’s the collision coverage that is so expensive I think the annual premium for it was going to be like ~10%-15% of the insured value of the car
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  And the liability premiums aren’t linear. Most claims are for the smaller amounts, not common to have multi-million dollar claims (though it does happen), so that fifth million of coverage is cheap. The thing is, say I get sued for $100m. It’s great for my victims that I paid extra all these years for $5m in coverage, but I’m going bankrupt either way. Indeed collision on an older vehicle often doesn’t make sense. And could result in your vehicle prematurely salvaged.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    The dollar amount is basically “how hard will the insurance company’s lawyers fight for me?” If you have many millions you need much different insurance than normal plebeians.
    - balderdash 3y ago
      Not really - if you’re involved in a bad auto accident you are going to be sued - ending up with a large judgement against you (because your insurance only covered $300k of a $1m judgement still leaves you on the hook for $700k) is a horrible outcome, rich or poor. You want liability protection such that your assets (whether small or large) are unlikely to be impacted by a reasonably foreseeable outcome I.e. $300k of liability covers 55% of likely outcomes vs $3m covering 85%

benatkin 3y ago

I think the system (adjusters and courts) might be used to $15/$30k which may limit how often and how much they need to pay above that. If a lot of policies went up to that level, maybe the system would adapt, the payouts would increase more, and so would the premiums.

beej71 3y ago

My insurer tops out at some lower figure, like 350 or something. Does anyone know how to get higher limits?

bruckie 3y ago
Umbrella insurance. Most umbrella policies require you to carry a certain amount of homeowners and auto liability coverage, and then they add additional coverage on top of that. It's relatively cheap (hundreds of dollars per year for millions of dollars of coverage).
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  Hundreds? I think most umbrellas would be thousands in a year.
  - nrmitchi 3y ago
    My umbrella policy is ~240/year (either 1M or 2M coverage; can’t quite remember which). It also scaled fairly linearly.
  - seattle_spring 3y ago
    They're not. I've been getting many million dollar umbrella insurance every year, as well as quotes from different providers each renewal cycle, and they're consistently in the "few hundred bucks" category for a married couple. I'm also not a super attractive insurance customer, so it likely can be cheaper for others.
  - FireBeyond 3y ago
    Definitely hundreds, mine is $372/yr for $1M/instance, atop my auto/home coverage (250/500 for the auto). The thing about it is: your risk doesn't change because you have extra coverage. All that actuarial work is priced into your base coverage. In fact, they may even have factored in that people willing to voluntarily buy umbrella coverage are a little less risky than their model predicted.
  - 3y ago