I just got my coverage selections plan from my insurance company. The price quote is $2,470!!!! I am 19 years old, step 13, never had any tickets, been in 3 accidents in which none were my fault...why are my rates so rediculously high? I thought I was paying 2500 last year, but it had to have been more then that. I was a step 14 last year, and because this year I'm a step 13, it dropped $288 over last year. So that means my insurance was almost $2800 last year. The first year when I got my license I paid $1500. I was on my parents insurance but this is still rediculous. My coverage is like this:

Bodily injury to others...20k/40k
Personal injury to others...8k
Bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto, 20k/40k
Damage to someone else's property...100k
Optional Bodily injury to others...250k/500k
Medical payments....5k
Collision...$500 deductible
Comprehensive....$500 deductible
Towing and Labor.....$50 for ea disablement
Bodily injury caused by an underinsured auto...20k/40k


Is the reason my insurance is so high because I have that much coverage? Do you think I have the right coverage or should I get rid of some things?

 

thats about right for 3 accidents, even tho they weren't your fault it is points against you.... according to the insurance companies ALL accidents are avoidable. So any accident is automatically counted againt you,

 

If you increase your deductable to $1,000 your rates will drop. If you have access to the cash, most insurance companies have a high deductable of $2,000 or $2,500 in which circumstance rates become very reasonable - the majority of claims by younger drivers are for sums at or lower than $2,500 - If no claim for this amount is possible, the company will reflect that in your premium.

Theo.

The information herin was supplied by my State Farm Agent, a close friend.

 

Get used to it. Number one, what are you driving? Model, make, year, engine, etc. #2 Where are you driving? City, suburbs, or country? If you are driving a certain type of vehicle you will pay a big premium for it. Your insurance could be high merely because of the accident rate or claim rate in your zip code. Ins. companies go by zip code. Example; in 1989 we moved from 19020 ( edge of Philadelphia and alot of traffic problems), to 19030 8 miles north and a little less congested. We saved about 400 dollars a year on my car and my wifes'.
You need to pay more attention out there. I have been driving for 25 years now and have never been hit or caused an accident. It has been mostly suburbs and country roads though. I do feel pity for you if you are in a city everyday, it is a madhouse in there. It can be done, over the years I have had to do some evasive manuevers to avoid accidents, I was lucky sometimes, and sometimes I was just good.
Also, if it makes you feel any better, I was paying 2400 dollars a year in 1987 ( I was 24 then) for a New Mustang GT. The price dropped to about 1300 dollars a year as soon as I hit age 25. I wonder about what insurance companies are doing for 25 year olds now,, because my stepson just turned 25 and we only saw a 100 dollar difference in his premium.
Also, the insurance companies took a big hit when the stock market caved in, and they have raised our house and car insurance alot this year. Stay safe or walk is the solution, or get a high paying job so you won't have to worry about money so much. Good Luck

 

Well the vehicle I drive is in my signature. I don't understand how they can charge me money for an accident I didn't cause and which didn't cost them any money. One accident was somewhat my fault, I was not cited but I was surcharged, but won the appeal. The 2nd accident someone ran a red light and totalled my truck. The 3rd accident an old lady decided to make her turn right infront of me, it was unavoidable. That's just plain rediculous.

 

#1) You're a guy.
#2) You're a young guy.
#3) You have been in an accident, theythink you are accident prone.

This is a fact of life, Young guys, especially if you have been in a fender bender(regardless of fault) are prime targets for outrageous insurance premiums.

One way to get arounis to Shop for insurance, just like you were shopping for the best price on say a car stereo. You can get insurance from Credit Unions very cheap. My insurance dropped almost 1/3 when I purchased it thru my credit union.

Nothing in life says you have to stay loyal to any one insurance company, they won't be loyal to you until you are older and have other insurance requirements they can work on. So shop around. Right now, you are just a "dumb kid with a questionable driving record and a big fast truck".

Check rates on line. Competiton is the great equalizer.

Getting older, you should make sure they give you periodic discounts for "maturity". You should also look into student discounts, good grades, non smoker etc. Later, when you get married and have kids the rates will drop a lot since they know they got you then.

Keep your nose clean and try not to let anyone else hit you, you accident waitng to happen ;^)

Life is a beach for young guys, some good some bad, it's all a beach.

Jim Henderson

 

man i'm only 18 and my insurance is awful too, all i had was a fender bender ( my cost of repair 0$, other fellas cost $1500cdn) it was my fault ( damn canadian winters ) and one warning for speeding, both of these when I was 16, my insurance use to be $230cdn a month now it's $343 cdn a month wich really bugs me cause gas prices went down to 74.5 cents a liter compared to a few days ago 82.5 cents a day ( that gas drop sure made my day ) anyways i hate the way insurance companies will treat me, but at least i'm not alone

 

Over 2400 is pretty steep. I remember driving in Boston and thinking the rates there must be high with all the dented cars I saw.

Don't worry, the older you get the cheaper the insurance gets. Then you get married and it goes down again. After a while you use homeowners insurance add-on as leverage for another cut.

Right now I'm paying $70 a month for both my Bronco and the wifes car. When I was 18 my rate was $60 per YEAR for liability for a Torino GT fastback with a 351C 4V. Of course minimum wage was less than $2.60/hr then and I thought I was paying too much.

Funny how you don't hear about the Insurance Co. going broke. I think if the goverment mandates that everyone that drives has to use a privately held insurance company, then those companies that wish to participate should be, Not For Profit, or Non-Profit and be required to give the profit back to safe drivers in the form of a quarterly dividend.

A big deductable would probably be the way to go. Auto insurance is really nothing more than a high interest loan that you pay for your whole driving life. The bigger down you can make, the better.

 

IMO, Jim H's assessment of your situation is honest and accurate. He lists the three strikes you have going against you. Being (1) young and (2) male automatically puts you in the car insurance doghouse. Throw in (3) an accident or two, regardless of fault, and you are toast (sorry , but it's the truth).

As far as your coverage goes, it seems at a glance that you have quite a complete package. In fact, I notice you have chosen the "Optional Bodily injury to others...250k/500k" which I suspect is costing you some big $$$.

Like Jim said, hang in there, shop around, and keep a look out for others while out on the road.

 

My parents raised all of our coverage after my 2nd accident. They thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea because it got them to think, hey someone almost died here. I hate this...that is SO much money for someone my age.

 

Something else to remember as you get older is that most ins. companies give you a long-term customer discount. I got mad a few years ago becuase my rates kept going up and I started shopping around.

Noone could come near my current rate becuase I had been with this company for about 20yrs. Most of them said my rates would drop after a few years but right off the bat it was alot higher at every other outfit I checked.

 

Another thing to think about.......generally the party whose insurance co pays is the party responsible for causing the accident. Get and KEEP copies of any accident reports. Also, the real gravey is when the person that caused the accident get's a ticket since that tends to cinch up any doubt about who's at fault.

I used to shop for insurance co's EVERY time around, but not anymore. I've got three rigs, own my house F/C, and have $1M in liability; they reward me for not costing them money. They are all insured by the same co and have full coverage, total cost of about $1500 or so per year (not inc house). Odd, but it has actually paid me to not shop around. However, in your case, I def would. I don't doubt that three accidents in three years is gonna raise some eyebrows, but if you have those accident reports and have an agent that is willing to go to bat for you and personally talk to the underwriter, you just may win. I know I have. Don't be afraid to speak up!!!!!!!!

 

I also have to find some information about having two vehicles. I want to buy a 94-95 Mustang GT which I'd only drive in the summer time. How does insurance work with something like that? I can't drive two vehicles at once they shouldn't charge me $5000 for two cars.

 

Hey, just make sure your insurance company does what it said it would do -- PAY YOUR CLAIMS!!!

I used to have ALLSTATE insurance. During that time I rear-ended a brand new BMW Z3. I was just idling forward at a stop light not paying attention and BANG!!

Anyway, I told the guy to call my agent and get what he needed, etc etc. Allstate sent him to a band-aid and bondo shop to get an estimate. Thier estimate was $350 to bondo and spray a few coats of paint on this guys brand new car. He took it to his dealer and got a different estimate...$750. He needed new bumper shocks, and they were going to replace his bumper and give it like 14 coats of paint or something (BMW factory job).

ALLSTATE refused to pay him, so he sued me. TO make a long story short the judge told me (and ALLSTATE) that we could not tell the guy where to get his car fixed, and I lost. After the gavel hit the desk, my ALLSTATE agent was all smiles and said that the check would be in the mail to the guy ASAP. But they never told the court that they sent it. Anyway, I now have a judgement against me (ruins your credit) and it looks like it was unpaid for a while (even worse credit).

 

I'm 40 years old. I have 1 1999 F-150 with a V-6. I have $10,000 combined single limit coverage and $1,000 deductibles. For this coverage I pay $2200 every six months. I have had a few accidents in my time though. In 1985 I totaled a Honda motorcycle, in 1989 I rolled a 40 Ford pick up a few times while extremely inebriated, in 98 I was test driving a Camaro SS and drove it into a bridge abuttement at approximately 90 mph while attempting to use the hand brake for a J-Turn. Boy was the dealer ******. In 2002 I spun a government van and rolled it across 4 lanes of traffic and put it upside down in a drainage ditch. My insurance company doesn't know about the last one. I have no speeding tickets just the 3 accidents on my record. However I have noticed that insurance companies run a credit check and I have less than stellar credit. A bunch of repos, 3 bankruptcies, and a whole bunch of other bad stuff. Interestingly enough though when I wrecked that Camaro and the van the airbags and seatbelts allowed me to walk away. I was wearing a helmet on the Honda and spent 12 weeks in the hospital and then when I rolled my 40 Ford that thing didn't even have lap belts and it crumpled like a beer can. They had to cut me out and everything. I broke my left leg in 3 places, my right leg in four. Broke my pelvis in 6 different places. 4 broken ribs, 3 ruptured discs, a skull fracture, 2 broken arms, a collapsed lung, bruised liver, a concussion and a partridge in a pear tree. I'm a firm believer in seat belts now.