Auto Insurance Question – Do I Just Need Basic Liability Coverage?

Reader’s Question:

I am a flight stewardess, and I travel a lot because of the nature of my work. So, I really don’t use my car that much, and I just leave it in Naperville, Illinois, where I actually live. When I am away for long periods of time, can I suspend my auto insurance?

Gayle

Naperville, IL

The answer to your question is not really that easy. You will have to take a lot of things into consideration.

When you we say automobile insurance, it does not necessarily mean that we are having ourselves and our vehicle protected from damages only when driving. The automotive insurance coverages that we may need if we constantly use our car are collision coverage, the basic liability coverage required by most states, uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist coverage, and the coverage for medical payments.

But what if your car just stays at home and gets damaged for numerous reasons, like vandalism or theft or fire? Comprehensive coverage is the one that is going to pay for these kind of damages which do not necessarily involve a collision. I think, what you can do is suspend just a part of your whole automobile insurance policy and not cancel it entirely.

Another matter that you need to be aware of is that all states in this country require vehicle drivers to carry a certain amount of insurance coverage. Most motorists avail of the basic liability coverage. If you are to suspend your auto insurance policy, they might also cancel your registration. If this happens, when you get back, you will be faced with all the troubles of having your car registered and reinstating your automobile insurance.

In any case, you will still have to correspond with your auto insurance carrier to be really sure about this. If you are 100% sure that your car is not in danger of getting damaged or stolen there in  Illinois, while you are away, you might want to suspend just a part of your coverage. But never just stop paying your premium without talking to your auto insurance company because this will just give you more trouble.

High Performance Car Insurance Coverage

There are several types of car insurance coverage, and one of the most necessary extra coverage categories for owners of high performance vehicles and muscle cars is the high performance car insurance coverage category for comprehensive insurance coverage. This covers such incidents as theft, be it of the entire vehicle or of just a part, like if someone steals your air bags (yeah, it happens, and a lot). It doesn’t cover things that you installed on your vehicle at some point. Like, I have a new sound system on my car, and if I got into a crash, then it would not be replaced regardless of how much I spent on it, simply because I didn’t buy the extra coverage for additions to my high performance car.

Comprehensive high performance car insurance coverage also extends its coverage to natural disasters. This means that if your car is damaged by a flood or a fire, or even by vandalism, then you will be able to file a claim under the comprehensive section of your car insurance policy for your muscle car.

Car insurance companies get the price for this type of coverage from how high a risk a certain vehicle is to incur costs that would result in a car insurance claim. For example, since we own high performance cars, we will pay more for comprehensive high performance car insurance coverage because these types of cars are more likely to get stolen. Components that are often stolen, such as xenon headlights or air bags, also increase the risk and cost and thus your comprehensive premium.

Prices in general for comprehensive coverage are going up, even though losses incurred from vehicle theft in the United States are going down (two percent in the last year). The reason for this is because the cars that are out on the road these days cost more, and thus replacing them and their components costs more as well. About four hundred and twenty one of every hundred thousand cars are stolen in this country. Most of the time, these vehicles which are stolen are gone for good, and only thirteen percent of car thefts or thefts of car components end up resulting with the thief being arrested.

Meanwhile, over the past ten years the cost of high performance car insurance coverage for comprehensive is rising, and has gone up by over ten percent in that time period. It is the worst in urban areas, where vehicles are thirty percent more likely to be stolen than they are in other parts of the country. However, thanks to no fault car insurance laws, states n the north east of the country where there are far more urban areas have in the same amount of time seen their prices remain pretty stagnant. As you can see, the rates are affected by where you choose to live, and if you live in an urban area then you are considered to be higher risk.