I was doing a random auto insurance review when I discovered that my uninsured motor coverage only had a $40k maximum pay out if someone without insurance were to hit my Porsche. That's great, except that my car is worth $85k. My agent said that the $40k'ish max payout is normal and he apologized for not offering me more. Needless to say I changed it immediately to $80k pay out and the increase in premium was like $30 per year....a joke really.

Just an fyi for my 911 kin......

 

You might want to check the specific wording of your policy when it comes to uninsured/underinsured coverage. My M5 was hit a few years ago by an uninsured driver (no injuries) and the claim was filed under my collision, not uninsured-that part of the insurance is for injury, as I understand it, not to further protect your vehicle. That should be covered under your collision/comprehensive.

 

Yea I specifically laid out the scenerio and he checked and had to increase my uninsured motorist reimbursement to cover the cost of my car should I be hit and it be totaled. I was pretty shocked. Hence the thread post.

 

You would have to check your own policies on what is covered.

Its a shame, but in the US we have to insure ourselves against criminals because the states are very lenient on uninsured drivers (vs Germany where you cannot get license plates without first having insurance and you are not allowed to drive a vehicle without plates).

Uninsured is primarily to cover injury to yourself (frequently) when you only have liability insurance in effect (which only covers damage to OTHERS in an accident, but doesn't cover yourself or your vehicle). If you have collision, that would typically cover damage to your car, and the un/underinsured damage to your/passengers in your car. However, it may be the un/underinsured covers damage to your vehicle, so its important to make sure you understand what YOUR policy says in your state.

 

I have had to show proof of insurance to register vehicle in WA, LA, and NC.

 

Very useful post, thanks. I just checked with AAA, I am insured for the 'Trade In' Value of my car (they would run an analysis, based on year, mileage, location etc).......obviously that sucks, with mods etc adding significantly to the value in my eyes.

 

I think this is correct as well. I would be careful about misinformation that might be passed on by an agent. This explanation also explains why, if you have adequate health insurance, you really don't need uninsured motorist coverage. Collision/comprehensive covers you for damage or theft - no matter what the cause. If your car is stolen, it doesn't matter if the driver was uninsured, the company will pay, minus the deductible.

 

Yes, but then what. In WA, when its time to renew, you only need to provide a drivers license number, and they mail you new sticker. Heck they just mailed me new plates (every 5 years we are force to get new plates due to the reflectivity of the plates diminishing, but WA still has no safety inspections and no validation of insurance after registration)

If you are caught without insurance, they impound the vehicle, they issue you a citation.

If you drop insurance they don't come take your plates.

There are too many ways for the irresponsible and foolish to get around the requirement of having insurance to drive on the roads.

 

I've never had to show insurance to register a car in Washington State.

 

With my insurance comapny (USAA) there are two separate coverages - uninsured/underinsured bodily injury ($300,000/$500,000) and uninsured/underinsured property ($100,000) - make sure you have both.

 

Right, uninsured property is what I was referring to. Mine was waaaaay under what my car is worth. Anyway, just fyi for everyone. It's never a bad thing to do a quick Insurance eval. Better to find out now with a chance to fix it then after the fact.

 

So the question is, if you get in an accident with an uninsured person, it does 80k damage. Your collision should cover it, yes? Why would you need the uninsured property.. does it just cover above what collision covers?

 

You have to show proof of insurance to get tags/renew tags and get you car inspected here in Texas. But there are plenty of places that get caught on the news every year that don't follow the rules.

 

This is from my insurance agent....

Currently you have Uninsured Motorist (UM) property damage coverage of $50,000 per accident. Since your cars are valued over this amount if you were to have an accident with an at fault uninsured driver that totaled more than $50,000 your current Collision would apply rather than your UM coverage. Your collision ded is $1000 and your UM ded is $250.

I suggest increasing the UM property coverage to $100,000. It increases your premium by $2.90 per car per six months. Minimal amount for the increase in coverage. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your business!

 

Ahah. So they likely stack, but do cover the same. The difference being the deductible and 'fault'. So your collision coverage would cover you with the lower or non-existant uninsured motorist, just with higher deductible. In neither case will you get more than the adjusters determination of the value of the vehicle in the marketplace. (ie you don't get actual replacement cost, just the typical un-atainable hypothetical replacement cost)