[alexwhittemore]

I was doing the bills this morning and realized my geico payment was a good few dollars cheaper than last premium, so I went looking into what I can add for coverage. I already halved my comprehensive deductible (not all that expensive), and halving my collision would only pay off if I got in an accident within the next year. Property liability was already maxed at 100k, so I kicked up medical and uninsured liabilities.

Wait a minute, property liability was already maxed at 100k. What does that mean? If I am responsible for totaling a vehicle costing >$100k, my ass is hanging out in the open. Is that right? Where I live, MOST cars are much more expensive than mine. Speaking BMW alone (which is probably the most popular single brand here), most are probably comfortably under $100k, but the 6's, 7's, and M's here definitely have me scared. Not to mention the (very common) Porches and your occasional Lambo or Ferrari.

Realistically, the chance of hitting a car new enough and with an MSRP high enough that my liability would be >$100k is pretty low, but given the area, within 5 miles of home it's legitimately maybe 5-10%, which is sort of a scary lottery to play. I'm a clean driver with no collisions at-fault or otherwise, but statistically it'll happen sooner or later.

Anyone have any experience with this from either end, especially with liabilities at the end of what the insurer even offers?

[Tom K.]

Have you investigated an Umbrella Personal Liability policy?

http://www.geico.com/information/abo...ance/umbrella/

Tom

[NocturnalEVO]

I would like into an umbrella policy if necessary.
However, you can get higher PD (property damage) limits in some states. Call them and find out.

Also, you would have to TOTAL OUT a car to go over the PD100 limit. Most repairs should be waaaaaaaaayyyy below that. Even with severe impacts.

[alexwhittemore]

Ahh, yep, an umbrella policy looks like it'd be the ticket. Thanks!

Originally Posted by NocturnalEVO

Also, you would have to TOTAL OUT a car to go over the PD100 limit. Most repairs should be waaaaaaaaayyyy below that. Even with severe impacts.

That's a fair point, I suppose it would be proportionally harder to total such a car the more expensive it was in the first place.

[_Sinister_]

You should definitely swap to Esurance awesome coverage great customer service and cheap as hell! cheaper than USAA

[alexwhittemore]

Got a quote a few days ago, 2.5x what I pay now.

[_Sinister_]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

Got a quote a few days ago, 2.5x what I pay now.

That sucks!

[NoTempoLimitN54]

Somewhat off topic: Here's your friendly reminder that GEICO funded the development of LIDAR (laser radar) and then gave away free laser radar guns to police. Don't take my word for it, it's an easy web search to find the proof of this.

Warren Buffet may be unscrupulous but he's not a fool. He makes moves and uses influence at the highest levels to ensure that his companies are profitable.

Invest money to develop laser radar (to thwart radar detectors) -> give away LIDAR guns FREE to police -> they write more speeding tickets -> If they cite a GEICO customer, then GEICO gets to raise their insurance premium, even though the driver is no less safe than before --> PROFITS!!

OP, if you have a radar detector, let GEICO know and see how they respond. They used to ask customers if they had one and then drop coverage on the people that admitted it.

[yarviinn]

You can buy an umbrella policy for extra protection.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by NoTempoLimitN54

Somewhat off topic: Here's your friendly reminder that GEICO funded the development of LIDAR (laser radar) and then gave away free laser radar guns to police. Don't take my word for it, it's an easy web search to find the proof of this.

Warren Buffet may be unscrupulous but he's not a fool. He makes moves and uses influence at the highest levels to ensure that his companies are profitable.

Invest money to develop laser radar (to thwart radar detectors) -> give away LIDAR guns FREE to police -> they write more speeding tickets -> If they cite a GEICO customer, then GEICO gets to raise their insurance premium, even though the driver is no less safe than before --> PROFITS!!

OP, if you have a radar detector, let GEICO know and see how they respond. They used to ask customers if they had one and then drop coverage on the people that admitted it.

Okay, that's cool and all, but I totally don't care. You can bitch about stuff like this from every company whose business model is at odds with customer interests. I could rant for days about health insurance companies before geico even came up.

The bottom line is, Geico could more than double my premium before any other company even came close to competing on price, and of multiple friends with at-fault accidents under them, nobody yet has had any complaints. And no, I'm not going to search the web for examples of Geico sucking; selection bias, reporting bias, and emotional exaggeration abound.

[nightops]

Originally Posted by _Sinister_

You should definitely swap to Esurance awesome coverage great customer service and cheap as hell! cheaper than USAA

yea i dont know about that in LA. they were double what i pay with geico and besides they are Allstate which means rising premiums even without accidents...

[moonsault270]

You have 3 options:

Buy higher property damage limit. Not sure about Cali but in NY we can buy more than $100k

Buy an umbrella as someone mentioned. Probably your most expensive option but it does give additonal liability over your homeowners as well.

Buy combined single limits (csl). You should be able to buy up to $500k that would cover bodily injury and property damge together.

Property damage is not limited to vehicles remember. You can be involved in an accident with a $30k car that can crash through a store front or something. $100k in damage can be reached very easily.

[FL335]

GEICO is garbage….if you have AAA, call the insurance group over there. I had Progressive…the only ins. company as bad as GEICO…and no one could touch their rates. AAA put me on a year cycle with Safeco…saved a grand. I'm sure your demographics have something to do with it but I have 3 cars and A LOT of coverage and it's 2400 for the year...

[pruettfan]

I had Allstate for 20 years, had an accident and they doubled my insurance so I went to Geico and they gave me a rate equal to my pre-accident status for the same coverage, only had a glass claim but I have no reason to not like them. 8 years ago when we had a car stolen Allstate implied we had the car stolen because I had three cars for 2 licensed drivers, they never complained when I paid the insurance for three cars. I should have dumped them then but let it go.

[John 070]

I found that Geico gave me a hard time about replacing a cracked windshield, they wanted me to repair it. After 1 hour of arguing, they agreed to replace with OEM. I posted my experience and someone replied I should have told the bi*** to make me a sandwich when I was done with her.

I left them after that experience--what good is insurance, if they fight you when you have a legitimate claim? That's why it's funny to say, I saved 20% on my insurance. Sure, did you ever try to use it? I decided to get it through a full-blown agent instead, and I told him about my experience with Geico. supposedly won't happen. I will say this, I said I was switching, and suddenly the price came down so low, nobody was willing to match the hands people. In other words, in the various ways I have tested the agent (never a claim knock on wood), he has always come through. It's his job.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I had Allstate for 20 years, had an accident and they doubled my insurance so I went to Geico and they gave me a rate equal to my pre-accident status for the same coverage, only had a glass claim but I have no reason to not like them. 8 years ago when we had a car stolen Allstate implied we had the car stolen because I had three cars for 2 licensed drivers, they never complained when I paid the insurance for three cars. I should have dumped them then but let it go.

My friend had an accident with a BMW loaner and had Geico. They specified used parts on a brand-new loaner, which he didn't care about since it wasn't his car, and I suppose those who lease could care less as well since it's not their car. Geico ended up fixing with aftermarket. Geico spends so much money on advertising it's not surprising they minimize on the claim payouts.

[spicytofu]

Geico had the lowest quote when I got mine brand new. They gave me all these new car discounts. Now, my 6 month term has increased by $50. I had no faults or claims of any kind. I thought I was supposed to reduce my premium if I was a good driver. Insurance companies just like to suck you dry lol.

[Thp4]

Regarding the Umbrella Policy: be aware that most umbrellas require the underlying liability policy limits to be set at highest levels. So in order to get an umbrella, you may be required to up your prop damage liability anyway.

[jt335i]

Umbrella coverage would probably be your best bet as what others have said, but I'd investigate it further just to be clear it's the right thing to do.

I’ve been with Geico for about 6 years and made the switch to the little green Gecko after Nationwide decided to increase my premium by $500 due to some kind zoning change which I didn’t understand and figured is some kind of BS to raise my rate so I said HASTA LA VISTA BABY!

Now contrary to what others have said, I have not had any issues filing any claims with them. In October of last year, my other car (2005 Mustang GT) was in an accident and so, based on my trusted mechanic’s recommendation, I took it to a local reputable body shop that does repairs on Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, Lexus, Jag, and Volvo and the damage/cost of repair, after negotiating using only OEM Ford parts, totaled $4600. The car was fixed in a little over a month and I paid $500 from my deductible while Geico paid the remaining $4100. A month or two later, they contacted me to let me know that they were taking the insurance company of the other driver to arbitration court to get back the $4600. After about 4 or 5 months of investigation, including recording and diagraming my account of the accident, the arbitration court finally ruled the other driver was at fault and therefore their insurance will reimburse the $4600 including the $500 I paid. With that, I’m happy with how I’ve been treated with Geico.

On another note, depending on many miles you drive per year, you can reduce your premium a little bit by using a lesser known “low mileage discount”. My pops told me about this and reduced his rate and so I called Geico because I own 4 cars. I definitely drive each of my 4 cars less than 12,000 miles a year, and one of them less than 4K (1983 380SL), and so after a series of questions my 6 month premium was reduced and I saved about $106.