Do you have the type of insurance that covers the damages to your car in case of accidents caused by yourself? I've never bought that kind of insurance. If I bash my car into something I'll have to pay out of pocket to fix it. Is it worth buying such insurance?
I do not know what you are, but that is called "collision", and all cars that are financed must have collision and "comprehensive" which covers flood, fire and vandalism. I always have all of them together called "full coverage". Whether it is worth it to you depends on the value of your car, and how much insurance costs. For example, if your car is only worth $1500, but the collision will cost you $400 per year, you might not want it. However, most people who have newer cars find it helpful. And if the damage it too great, it provides you with the full value of your vehicle
Yes, I do have insurance that covers accidents caused by me, I believe that it is something to the effect of "forgiveness policy". Anyhow, my insurance costs me roughly over $2,000 US a year, which is very high! hopefully, in the next two years or so, It will decrease to below $1,500. I haven't checked to see if my insurance covers flood and vandalism. May be it does, may be it doesn't. But I'm not worried about flooding 'cause that never happens where I live, and vandalism is really remote in my area.
$2000 US is not that high where I live. For full coverage, State Farm wanted to charge me $5000 per year--- with NO accidents, tickets or violations. Geico charged me $2500 for 2 Mustangs for full coverage. In my state, New Jersey--- the worst in the nation---it is not uncommon for young men to pay $4000 per year until they turn 26. then it can drop to $1500-2000.
If you don't have a loan on the car which requires you to have full coverage, then the decision is up to you. The financial advice I have heard from Dave Ramsey, which I like, is that no matter what your car is worth, if you can't pay cash to replace it or fix the damage from an accident if you drive without full coverage, then it is worth it for you to pay for full coverage, even on a cheap vehicle. If you are doing good financially though and have some cash stockpiled, then wrecking your car and having to pay out of pocket is not as big of a deal for you, so then you might decide to skip the collision and comprehensive coverage since you could afford to pay for the repair or a new vehicle if you total it. Also, If you have a cheap vehicle and are strapped financially, that might also be a good idea to pay the extra for full coverage. If you rely on that car to get to work and can't pay for a new one or repairs after an accident you cause, then you risk losing your job if your car gets totaled and you have no other way to get to work, and then you would be even worse off financially.
Here in my house we have 2 vehicles. One is relatively new while the other is an older car that we don't drive as often. What we do is keep full coverage on the newer car that is driven more while we only keep the most basic coverage on the other one as we can afford to lose the car if we have too. Of course if you are making car payments on your vehicle then you have to have full coverage but if its paid off its up to you. As long as you think you can afford the repairs if you have an accident you could always choose not to have full coverage on the vehicle.
