Why do I have to insure teen driver for tow vehicle?

[terrapin]

Like my insurance agent explained it to me... little billy never seems to wreck the 1992 Buick he is registered on... he always wrecks Dad’s new Porsche. I have two teenage boy drivers and a wife who drives by Braille. I could buy a new boat every three years for what I pay in insurance. For those of you that are playing fast and loose with declaring potential other drivers on your cars, I recommend a $2-$3 million dollar liability rider on your policy.

[FishinFreaks]

Originally Posted by terrapin

Like my insurance agent explained it to me... little billy never seems to wreck the 1992 Buick he is registered on... he always wrecks Dad’s new Porsche. I have two teenage boy drivers and a wife who drives by Braille. I could buy a new boat every three years for what I pay in insurance. For those of you that are playing fast and loose with declaring potential other drivers on your cars, I recommend a $2-$3 million dollar liability rider on your policy.

It's this. You can blame the situation the insurance companies are in on all of the dishonest people out there who claim that the kids do not drive the more expensive vehicle. Or you can blame the actuaries who look at the overall risks and realize that whether it's your son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, or even roommate, they have access to your car. It only takes one drive (and often that's the reality) for it to get wrecked.



I remember my sister wrecking my dad's Lincoln Continental the first time she drove it as a 17 year old. Totalled it.



Now, as an agent, we hear the stories all the time. The actuaries know. The math isn't wrong.

[Custom Eyes]

Originally Posted by terrapin

Like my insurance agent explained it to me... little billy never seems to wreck the 1992 Buick he is registered on... he always wrecks Dad’s new Porsche. I have two teenage boy drivers and a wife who drives by Braille. I could buy a new boat every three years for what I pay in insurance. For those of you that are playing fast and loose with declaring potential other drivers on your cars, I recommend a $2-$3 million dollar liability rider on your policy.

I am waiting to see how many 10's of thousands of $$$ doing it the right way saved me. We inquired about how to get around having my daughter insured on all three vehicles. Agent said don't even risk it. Good advice. She ended up veering for a deer in the car that we let her use as her daily driver, and rolled it into a ditch. Two of her friends had minor injuries(sprained wrist and bruised foot), which after both visited the same attorney, suddenly turned into life altering injuries. The first thing our insurance company did when their attorney filed notice was to check to see if my daughter was within what we claimed were her uses and distances for the vehicle. Don't even lie about what your kid will be using the vehicle for. We had the option of for work and school only, but told them she would be driving for non-school or work related activities occasionally also within 100 miles. They wanted to know where she was driving at the time (to a haunted house at Halloween time) and how far the accident was from home, to confirm she was within the 100 miles. Don't know if the claim would have been denied if she was not within her parameters, but I do know that I am covered for doing it the right way!!!

[terrapin]

After having been through similar litigation in Minnesota, I am very cautious to be adequately and accurately insured. The dollar amounts on personal injury cases can be staggering.

[FishinFreaks]

Insurance is one of the those things that none of us want to pay for but are required to have. We're pissed about our rates until the unfortunate accident happens where we were more concerned about monthly premium than coverage. We cabitz and moan at our agents trying to get our premiums down..."do we really need this or that?" "Why should I pay the extra $9 per month for UM/UIM on my umbrella policy?" But then our wife and daughter get hit by the driver without insurance. Long hospital stay and rehab. Big deductibles and co-pays on our health insurance because we were trying to save premium, so we reduced our auto insurance liability and UM/UIM to $50,000. Now our out of pocket expenses are huge, and we're asking ourselves..."why, oh why didn't I pay the $9 per month?" and have a million dollars of relief from that umbrella policy with UM/UIM to help. Or it's the guy whose kid borrows Daddy's Tahoe and when driving to the mall doesn't see the family of four in their blindspot and runs them off the road into the ditch at 70 mph on the interstate and rolls them over in the ditch. The lawsuit comes back over $1 million. But we were saving on premium and didn't list them as a driver in the household or didn't want them listed on all of the cars. Nope...more concerned by saving $21 per month and went with $100,000 liability and no umbrella. Now dude is filing for bankruptcy...but wait, bankruptcy doesn't protect from that judgment...


Let me tell you guys to make sure your coverage is the best, not the lowest premium. Shop for that. Yes, it's stupid to overpay on insurance for the longterm. But I'll also tell you that every company has its actuarial data that keeps them in business by charging the correct premium for their clientele. Find a good agent that will help you find a company that has a good claims reputation and pricing. Buy the best coverage and ask for their best premium. Then stick with them until you think their pricing is out of line for the product you want.


Just like a car dealership...you know the truck you're buying. How do you choose where to buy it? Price alone? Well, don't count on much help come time that you've got issues with your truck. If it's a combination of pricing and reputation for good service with that dealership, yes, you may pay a little more, but when you need help with that truck, you know who you've got standing behind you to help.

[EasternWashingtonBoater]

I just went through all this for my now 16-year-old daughter. Had to insure her for all my cars - turns out to be less expensive due to the inclusion of house, all cars, etc. but still it's $125/mo. Ouch!

One overlooked insurance is for motorcyclists not having underinsured motorist coverage. Insurance only covers what you have them cover - so if you're injured, when the perp's company runs out of the coverage, you have to sue to get the remaining funds needed - maybe take and sell their home if there is one all from the sickbed.

I pay about $200 more per year on my motorcycle insurance for underinsured motorist coverage so I'll be taken care of when the other party's money runs out.

[FishinFreaks]

Originally Posted by easternwashingtonboater

i just went through all this for my now 16-year-old daughter. Had to insure her for all my cars - turns out to be less expensive due to the inclusion of house, all cars, etc. But still it's $125/mo. Ouch!

One overlooked insurance is for motorcyclists not having underinsured motorist coverage. Insurance only covers what you have them cover - so if you're injured, when the perp's company runs out of the coverage, you have to sue to get the remaining funds needed - maybe take and sell their home if there is one all from the sickbed.

I pay about $200 more per year on my motorcycle insurance for underinsured motorist coverage so i'll be taken care of when the other party's money runs out.

wisdom!!!!

[CKM]

always remember that insurance companies only get away with writing policies the state insurance commission allows them to write.