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Is Raising Auto Insurance Deductibles Worth It in Indiana?
I’m comparing Indiana auto insurance quotes for a vehicle driven about 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year, including occasional trips to home-improvement stores for lumber, flooring, tools, and other supplies. The current comprehensive and collision deductibles are both $500. One quote lowers the premium by roughly $150 to $250 per year if I raise each deductible to $1,000, but I’m unsure whether that savings justifies the extra out-of-pocket risk.
The hauling would be occasional, not commercial use, but those trips mean more loading, parking-lot exposure, and highway driving than normal errands. I’m thinking about realistic claims such as:
- A windshield replacement or hail damage under comprehensive
- Theft or damage to the vehicle while tools are inside
- A parking-lot scrape or collision while carrying materials
- A larger crash repair where the deductible is only a small part of the total
For anyone comparing these numbers, how do you weigh the annual savings against keeping enough emergency cash for a $1,000 claim? Does the vehicle’s age and market value change your answer?
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4 replies
Tools or lumber left in the vehicle usually shouldn’t drive the auto deductible decision. Comprehensive and collision generally cover damage to the vehicle itself, while personal property may be covered, if at all, under homeowners or renters insurance with its own deductible, limits, and exclusions.
The main question is whether you can comfortably absorb a $1,000 vehicle claim. At $150 to $250 in annual savings, raising the deductible takes roughly four to seven claim-free years to make up the extra $500 out of pocket, before premium changes or investment returns.
Vehicle value matters too. If the car’s actual cash value is low enough that a major repair claim would have limited payout after the deductible, it can make more sense to reconsider comprehensive and collision altogether. For a newer or more valuable vehicle, keeping the coverage and choosing the deductible based on emergency cash is usually the cleaner comparison.
The $150 to $250 savings comparison may look different once glass coverage is separated from the regular comprehensive deductible. In Indiana, do the quotes specify a separate glass deductible, or whether a repair is covered with no deductible while replacement uses the comprehensive deductible?
That matters for a vehicle making frequent trips around lumber and home-improvement materials. If a common windshield claim is handled under a lower glass deductible, the $500 versus $1,000 comprehensive choice may mainly affect hail, theft, and animal damage rather than the glass risk. I’d also check whether using the repair option avoids a deductible and whether replacement requires a particular glass shop or has calibration coverage for driver-assistance sensors.
The sensor-calibration point is especially important for newer vehicles. A windshield replacement may have a low or zero glass deductible, yet recalibrating the forward-facing camera can still be billed separately or subject to the regular comprehensive deductible. I’d compare the quotes for explicit coverage of post-replacement calibration, not just the glass deductible. A $150 to $250 annual savings can disappear quickly if a replacement windshield plus calibration leaves a substantial out-of-pocket cost. Also check whether the insurer requires a particular glass provider and whether that provider handles calibration correctly.
Becky’s point about calibration could make the $150 to $250 savings look less attractive, but did the quotes also differ in rental-car reimbursement or towing coverage? If a covered repair leaves the vehicle in a shop, a higher deductible may be easier to accept when transportation costs are covered. I’d compare the daily rental limit, maximum number of days, and whether towing applies only after a breakdown or also after a covered collision. Those limits could matter more than the deductible during a larger claim.