When to drop full coverage insurance
Most experts suggest dropping full coverage insurance when the combined yearly premium amount plus your deductible amount is equal or great than the actual cash value of the vehicle.
A real-life example would be if your car is worth $1400 and your yearly premium for insurance is $800 with a $500 deductible then the maximum amount you would receive from the auto insurance company in the event of a covered accident would not make it worth keeping full coverage insurance going. There would be not benefit of paying for full coverage insurance in this situation.
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If your vehicle value has not reached this threshold yet than the decision is not as clear cut. A good question to ask yourself is can you afford to replace the vehicle in the event of a total loss? Or could you arrange a temporary means of transportation during the claims process. We recommended not dropping full coverage if you answer is no to both of these situations.
Here are some additional situations that may point to you being ok with doing liability only insurance:
- You can afford to replace your vehicle if it was stolen.
- If generally you have a high tolerance for financial risk.
- You do not drive the car often or have alternate transportation options.
- You are not at risk for being involved in an accident (an example would be someone who works at home and just doesn’t get out on the road much)
- You are not at risk for your car to be stolen (an example of this would be your car is kept in a garage)
It is important to remember that if your car is financed then in most all cases you will be required to carry full coverage regardless of the vehicle value. Most auto finance companies require you to carry full coverage so they protect their investment in case your car is totaled in the event of an accident.
If you do decide to drop your coverages to the cheapest liability policy available it is wise to keep an emergency fund available and ready to use in case your car is needing repairs. Some companies will allow you to carry state minimum liability limits and comprehensive coverage. That way you still have coverage for theft, hail, and hitting a deer for a fairly cheap price. Not many companies offer this but the ones who do really offer a nice perk for the customer.