Low resale value

[Banned_imp]

"Basic" and "Have to have in the state" are not very accurate terms, actually. I believe that all 50 states have mandatory vehicle insurance laws in place. To me, "basic" means the minimum limits of liability allowed in a particular state. Is that what you are saying you do, Houtman and W/R?

Close but not quite although I think the difference is the definition of basic, as you identified.

Here the term "basic" is as I stated - public liability only, nothing else - but you can different levels of liability coverage. The "bare minimum" and up.

I have basic coverage but I pay for a higher level of liability. Again, I have no idea if these are the technical terms used by the ins industry or local slang.

[Houtman_imp]

"Basic" and "Have to have in the state" are not very accurate terms, actually. I believe that all 50 states have mandatory vehicle insurance laws in place. To me, "basic" means the minimum limits of liability allowed in a particular state. Is that what you are saying you do, Houtman and W/R?

Yes , that is what I mean with basic :the minimum the law in my state requires.

[emptysea]

Thanks W/R. I am an insurance agent and was a little concerned because it appeared that advice might have been provided in this thread that encouraged carrying minimum limits of liability. In most US states, that minimum limit is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident with $15,000 of property damage (of others) liability. Many people refer to this as "Basic" coverage. Advising someone to carry coverage limits that meager would be irresponsible.

The above was posted prior to my seeing Houtman's response:

Carrying the state required minimum limit of coverage is stupid and irresponsible. It is, of course, your prerogative to do so, but you are putting those assets you accumulated by not financing your purchases at risk. Worse, in my opinion, is that if you happened to injure someone severely, you may not have enough assets to pay for the injuries you caused. It doesn't even have to be THAT severe of an injury, either. For example, my wife broke her leg in a motorcycle accident and the total medical cost ran about $60,000. The cost of repairing the bike was about $3000. I don't know what NC's minimum limits are, but it's safe to assume they are similar to IL's. If you had caused her injury, that would leave you with a bill of about $35,000 due pretty much immediately. If you had put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, your bill would be, ohhh $2,000,000 maybe?

[Houtman_imp]

I fully understand that as an insurance agent you have to give the best advise for that particular person.
Right or wrong I am willing to take some risks but also have a million umbrella policy.

[emptysea]

Your million umbrella will not kick in (in most cases) until you or the underlying insurance vehicle insurance policy pays $500,000 (sometimes it's $300,000). If you are carrying, say $25,000 liability on your motorcycle policy, you will be personally responsible for the $475,000 difference.

[LongRanger_imp]

MTC, I fully agree. $250k/$500k liability on all of my vehicles, plus a $2mm umbrella. I would also recommend similar limits for uninsured / underinsured coverage.

[Banned_imp]

I would have to dig out my ins files but my liability coverage is in the neighborhood of $3-5,000,000. I can't remember the minimum but I think it is around $500,000. Also liability laws are different in Canada than the US.

I should add that most of my vehicles are older and not really worth very much so full coverage just doesn't make sense to me.

[emptysea]

Insuring the value of your vehicles is optional (except if you're financing) and, if you can afford to fix it immediately out of pocket or live without the vehicle while you save up to pay for the repairs, it could be prudent to go without this coverage. The key thing is that you know the cost of the potential loss. It is impossible to quantify the cost of the damage you could cause to another person.

[Houtman_imp]

I do take your point !

[paulw_imp]

Your million umbrella will not kick in (in most cases) until you or the underlying insurance vehicle insurance policy pays $500,000 (sometimes it's $300,000). If you are carrying, say $25,000 liability on your motorcycle policy, you will be personally responsible for the $475,000 difference.

My umbrella kicks in as soon as the limit for the individual liability has been reached.