Car insurance

I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage. The
accident was her fault and she had a passenger in the car that had her
leg broken up pretty bad. Her car was totaled but the car she hit in
the rear wasn't severely damaged and the driver was uninjured.

1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
of everyone else?
2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
others? How much?
3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
if the cost of the accident is more?

"Terry" > wrote
>I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
> kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage. The
> accident was her fault and she had a passenger in the car that had her
> leg broken up pretty bad. Her car was totaled but the car she hit in
> the rear wasn't severely damaged and the driver was uninjured.
>
> 1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
> of everyone else?

Varies by state.

> 2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
> others? How much?

Varies by state.

> 3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
> if the cost of the accident is more?

Varies by state and insurance company.

FloydR

Terry wrote:
> I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
> kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage. The
> accident was her fault and she had a passenger in the car that had her
> leg broken up pretty bad. Her car was totaled but the car she hit in
> the rear wasn't severely damaged and the driver was uninjured.
>
> 1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
> of everyone else?

Varies state to state. Depending on age/driving record you can often
substantially bump-up your PI (personal injury) per incident
limitations for a small increase in premium.

> 2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
> others? How much?

Varies state to state.

> 3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
> if the cost of the accident is more?

Depends on age/driving record. You can usually be found "at fault" for
one crash (the first) without an increase in rate.

The second crash, whether at fault or not, will increase your rates.
The third crash or incident will find a driver searching for a new
insurance company that specializes in providing high-risk coverage at a
rate that reflects the exceptional risk the company is incurring.

If the injuries you inflict exceed the coverage limitations (typically
about $300K, I think) then your personal assets become under threat, if
you have any. It doesn't take very long for a seriously injured person
to top $300K these days with a surgery or two, an MRI or three and
physical therapy. If they have some permanent physical disability you
might find that you're claiming them as a tax exemption until the day
they die.

All of which a wise person might consider the next time they think
"taking a chance" to save 5 seconds getting from Point A to Point B
looks "worth it".
-----

- gpsman

On 7 May 2006 06:59:32 -0700, "gpsman" > wrote:

>If the injuries you inflict exceed the coverage limitations (typically
>about $300K, I think) then your personal assets become under threat, if
>you have any. It doesn't take very long for a seriously injured person
>to top $300K these days with a surgery or two, an MRI or three and
>physical therapy. If they have some permanent physical disability you
>might find that you're claiming them as a tax exemption until the day
>they die.

Looking here
http://info.insure.com/auto/minimum.html
no state has a $300k per accident minimum liability requirement, let
alone per person.
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

Bill Funk wrote:
> On 7 May 2006 06:59:32 -0700, "gpsman" > wrote:
>
> >If the injuries you inflict exceed the coverage limitations (typically
> >about $300K, I think) then your personal assets become under threat, if
> >you have any. It doesn't take very long for a seriously injured person
> >to top $300K these days with a surgery or two, an MRI or three and
> >physical therapy. If they have some permanent physical disability you
> >might find that you're claiming them as a tax exemption until the day
> >they die.
>
> Looking here
> http://info.insure.com/auto/minimum.html
> no state has a $300k per accident minimum liability requirement, let
> alone per person.

I didn't mean to imply the minimum coverage was $300K, just that that's
what I thought the average policy limitations are, and I'm not willing
to bet on that. Minimum liability coverage is practically like setting
your money on fire in a state like MS... $35K total liability is
practically no protection at all.
-----

- gpsman

In article .com>,
"Terry" > wrote:

> I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
> kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage. The
> accident was her fault and she had a passenger in the car that had her
> leg broken up pretty bad. Her car was totaled but the car she hit in
> the rear wasn't severely damaged and the driver was uninjured.
>
> 1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
> of everyone else?
> 2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
> others? How much?
> 3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
> if the cost of the accident is more?

Your friend would do well to ask her insurance agent these questions and
read her insurance statement. Her insurance carrier probably also has
information about such things on its web site.

In article .com>,
says...
>
>
>I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
>kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage. The
>accident was her fault and she had a passenger in the car that had her
>leg broken up pretty bad. Her car was totaled but the car she hit in
>the rear wasn't severely damaged and the driver was uninjured.
>
>1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
>of everyone else?
>2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
>others? How much?
>3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
>if the cost of the accident is more?

Have you considered asking the insurance company that covers your friend?
They can give you the best answers to your questions.
--------------
Alex

[Executive summary: yeppers!]


I personally would rather doubt that most people carry
one-three-and-one (or better) insurance. But they should. If you
aren't living hand-to-mouth, and *especially* if you have been doing
pretty well and therefore have some assets that could be attached and
future income that could be garnished, you need to talk with your
insurance agent about the cost and benefit of upping your coverage into
that class... or more.

Aside from the excellent points others have made about the cost of
medical care for yourself, your passengers, and other drivers, it is
pretty easy these days to imagine several tens of thousands of dollars'
worth of property damage being legally laid upon your doorstep just
through a moment of bad luck even if you are a skilled and conservative
driver. Just price some high-end cars and you will get religion.

For sure the minimum auto coverage required in a lot of states leaves
you not wondering whether to laugh or cry. Don't hit that Porsche too
hard because you aren't covered much past its bumper! And as others
have pointed out in this thread, most insurance companies have some
intramurally standardized level of coverage that's better -- often a
lot better -- for only a slightly more money.

A good agent might also want to lay before you some options for a
million dollars' or so worth of umbrella liability. Here again this is
a number that we reflexively think of as being high, but is actually on
the same order of magnitude as what a middle-class family has to lose
these days.

The discussion should be frank and detailed regarding what perils are
covered and how the policies fit together with one another.


--Joe

PS. Make sure the various parts of your insurance portfolio have your
back in case you're hit by one of the scary proportion of completely
uninsured, never mind underinsured, drivers, who in many cases do not
and will not have any assets worth going after.

In article >,
Bill Funk > wrote:
>On 7 May 2006 06:59:32 -0700, "gpsman" > wrote:
>
>>If the injuries you inflict exceed the coverage limitations (typically
>>about $300K, I think) then your personal assets become under threat, if
>>you have any. It doesn't take very long for a seriously injured person
>>to top $300K these days with a surgery or two, an MRI or three and
>>physical therapy. If they have some permanent physical disability you
>>might find that you're claiming them as a tax exemption until the day
>>they die.
>
>Looking here
>http://info.insure.com/auto/minimum.html
>no state has a $300k per accident minimum liability requirement, let
>alone per person.

300K is a fairly typical value for someone with greater than the
minimum, though.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

Terry wrote:
> I have a friend who has just had a wreck in GA. I am not sure what
> kind of coverage she has, but I do know that it is full coverage.

LMAO! The bogus term "full coverage" means nothing, except that the
person using it doesn't know jack about insurance. Chances are she has
only the state minimum liability coverage, but has been fooled by her
insurance agent into thinking it's enough.

> 1) What is the minimum coverage you have to have to cover the injuries
> of everyone else?

This is really two questions.

a) What coverage does the state require you to have?
Answer: Ask your state DMV.

b) What coverage do you need to have, to be sure you won't get bankrupted
and become homeless if you cause a major wreck?
Answer: There's no upper limit, but I would suggest having at least as much
coverage as your total savings plus the value of your house and any other
major possessions, because that's what you're trying to protect from the
other side's lawyers.

> 2) Doesn't liability insurance have a mandatory minimum that covers
> others? How much?

Same as question a) above.

For example in California, you're required to have coverage of $15k per
person, $30k total per accident, for others' medical expenses, plus $5k
total per accident for property damage. But if that's all you have, when
the other side's insurance co (or attorney) hands you a bill for $200k of
medical expenses and $70k to replace two new cars that got totalled, what
do you think your insurance company will do? It's not worth their while
to defend you; they'll write you a check for $35k and walk. But if you
had $300k of coverage, you can bet they would have a "Dream Team" of
lawyers defending you, and do a good job of it.

> 3) After an accident your insurance premiums go up. Do they go up more
> if the cost of the accident is more?

Depends on the insurance company. Ask them. Nobody else can answer this.