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figuring out if full coverage is worth it for high-risk drivers
I've been trying to sort out my car insurance lately, and honestly, it's a bit of a headache. I'm considered a high-risk driver (had a couple speeding tickets and one minor accident last year - yeah, I know, not my proudest moments). Anyway, I've been looking into whether it's smarter to stick with liability-only coverage or bite the bullet and pay extra for comprehensive coverage.
Here's what I've done so far: first, I compared quotes online from several companies. Liability-only is obviously cheaper upfront, but then I thought about what happens if my car gets stolen or damaged by something random like hail or vandalism. So step two was checking the value of my car - it's not brand new but still worth enough that losing it would hurt financially. Third step was calculating how much extra comprehensive would cost me per month versus how much I'd have to pay out-of-pocket if something happened.
Right now I'm leaning toward comprehensive just for peace of mind, but I'm still not totally sure. Maybe someone here has been in the same boat and found a better way to figure this out?
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2 replies
Since you’ve already compared the premium with the car’s value, I’d add one more measure: how much of a loss you could comfortably cover yourself. Compare a year’s extra premium and the deductible with what you could afford to pay for a covered repair or replacement without taking on debt. If a major loss would strain your budget, comprehensive might be worth the cost even if the likely payout after the deductible isn’t huge. If you could absorb that loss, paying to insure it may feel less worthwhile.
Comprehensive generally covers losses such as theft, hail, and vandalism, not damage to your car from a collision. For the minor accident mentioned in the opening, collision coverage is the part to look at; it typically covers crash damage to your car, subject to its deductible. So the choice about accident damage is whether collision coverage makes sense, not comprehensive alone.