I work for one of the top 3 auto insurance companies in the country as a claims adjuster. I've seen a lot of pretty messed up stuff as far as accidents go and we got into a discussion about coverages we carry as we're in the business and see people get screwed from low coverages. Curious as to what people tend to carry as far as their policies go. I've seen people be upside down on auto loans, total their car, have no vehicle and STILL owe like 5k on a car they don't own anymore. I've seen people lose limbs in car accidents and only get 10k to cover the medical bills because that's the state minimum limits. I've seen people have their car destroyed by a hit and run driver and have no collision on their policy. Their SOL because there's nothing we as the insurance company can do if they don't carry the correct coverages. So, my question to you is what sort of coverages do you carry on your vehicle. A lot of times we don't even think about them, but there's times when it's not YOUR driving you have to worry about.
Coming from someone in the business let me make a suggestion:
If your vehicle is newer than 10 years, carry collision and comprehenive on it. No matter what you or someone else does to your vehicle, your covered with these two.
If you have family, carry Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage. This keeps you from worrying about some idiot nearly killing you and then leaving you stuck with the medical bills. This pays for when they don't have insurance, or when it isn't enough to cover the damage they might cause.
If you have assets like a house, 401k, own your vehicles... anything that is worth value, absolutely carry more than minimum limits for bodily injury and property damage. There's a million sleeze ball lawyers out there that would LOVE to sue you personally for the damage you caused. If you have more than minimum limits, it's very rare that your insurance company wouldn't cover everything that could/will occur in an accident. You can't get sued personally if you have proper coverage. They are required by law to sue the insurance provider, and not you!
If your hurt in an accident, Iwould HIGHLY recommend you do not obtain an injury lawyer until the insurance company has made you an offer. 99.99% of the time, a lawyer is NOT going to change the amount you would get from an injury you sustained from an accident caused by someone else. That lawyer will get at LEAST 33% of your settlement, and I guarantee you as someone that is in the business, your more than likely being treated fairly for your injuries. A lawyer will NEVER get you more than what they take from your injuries. Trust me, I see it everyday and I'm amazed at how much of a scam injury lawyers are for normal auto accidents. Now if your hit by a huge company vehicle, a schoolbus, a police car or some other vehicle that would carry a HUGE insurance policy, by all means go crazy with a lawyer!
Auto Insurance - how do you view it?
Moderator: TheMachine
Auto Insurance - how do you view it?
Last edited by Kryshade on October 11, 2006, 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hahaha, yeah that was my straight out of college "fun" job, since then I worked on fishing boats for about a year taking data on what they catch, then I ran a bodyshop my brother owned for 2 years. Now I'm actually trying to settle down with a career that will actually take me somewhere. Thus the claims adjuster thing. It's actually one hell of a cool job, I get out of the office A LOT, I'm pretty much my own boss, I get to do investigations, handle disputes, go to accident scenes etc. It keeps me busy as hell and keeps me challenged. Both thing I need to stay interested in a job for more than 5 months.