If you have collision, get rid of it. You only need liability on a car of that value. Look for a good used car also. I never buy cars new, because I drive them forever. Our newest car is a 4 year old lexus, which we got with 7000 miles on it. The rest of them are over 10 years old. Find a serviceable camry or something like that with reasonable insurance.

sleeper is 100% on target.

Unless you're in an extremely high premium area, this sounds MUCH too expensive. With info in hand that contains your policy coverage levels, make two calls to get comparable quotes. Also, call your agent and ask how pruning your policy might change the cost.

It may be the area, it may be the insurance company you use, it may be you're overinsured for a lightly used, older car owned by two lightly used, older people. You can find out what it is with 15 minutes of investigation. Differences from one to another, with each of these factors, can have a significant effect on coverage costs.

As to suspending the insurance while you're away, what would happen if the car was stolen or set on fire, for instance? Would it be covered or not?

Although we're in Canada and I don't know if your insurance is different, but we are going through something right now that surprised me. My husband and son have been restoring a 1951 pick up and had it parked in our garage. As we couldn't get it certified to drive as we cant find anybody qualified to do it, it couldn't be driven, so it was insured for fire and theft only. Then hurricane Louise hit and was coming home from grocery shopping driving our brand new loaded Jeep Cherokee. I guess I accidentally arepped on the gas instead of the brake and crashed through the garage door and hit the pickup. I also damaged a lot of other things. Everything is covered by our insurance except the truck. I am just sick over it. I never thought this kind of thing would happen, let alone be uninsured.. they said that if we'd had collision coverage, it would be..

And if DS gets into the car to "warm it up", it still needs to be insured.

Our cars are all fully insured (USAA), even though one of the four is currently not running. Carrying only liability would be foolish - in the event of fire, theft, etc.

We drop our collision while in Florida, but keep the comprehension.

I got a comprehensive USAA quote about 5 years ago and it was more than 30% higher than what I had with a name brand company. Also, not everyone qualifies for USAA (if they still adhere to their categories of ex-military as a requirement).

Many say Geico can be good. Love its commercials.

I was an AAA claims adjuster, (I worked for USAA once. Yes they were higher even w/ my employee discount. Yes you have to have military service to enroll) So I have a LOT of opinions on this you may or may not agree with. :0) Take it or leave it...

Keep ALL vehicles insured for the whole year, lots of reasons listed above, ALL are valid! Collision for an older vehicle is fine, so you can keep your Med pay, which is not available for liability only policies. I really like buying high Med pay, for instance if your in an accident that requires multiple surgeries, over the course of years, then it pays your medical insurance deductibles until the 3 yr end-of -claim period, when the entire medical bill is paid in full. Keeps your out-of-pocket low. $1k a year to insure a Jag...so what? :0) You can afford it. I also like uninsured motorist coverage and an umbrella policy.

Thanks, all.

Sleeper and Rob, this IS an old, used car. It's an 'every option' 2005 Jaguar X-type 'dealer-driven' (2700 miles) car that we bought in mid-2005 for $32K. We still *like* driving it. (If I really want to enjoy a CD, I play it through the car's Alpine sound system. LOL) I know it will eventually die of old age -- or old 'soft parts' -- but we will miss it.

Is 'Collision' only for damage to MY car -- not another driver's?

Colleen, if it catches fire or is stolen for parts, we've lost a car we might sell for south of $8K. I'm spending 1/8th of that a year to insure it.

Diane, good point. Maybe DS does NOT 'drive' it, just starts it up and lets it run in the driveway for a few minutes to circulate the oil. Should that be sufficient?

Elmer, maybe it's *because* two Seniors are driving it, or maybe it's because we are only 30 miles from Chicago? Here are the larger amount charges on our recent semiannual bill from State Farm, which totals $475:

Liability...$218 (Bodily injury 100,000/300,000; Property 25,000

Comprehensive...$36

$250-Deductible Collision...$180

We supposedly have deductions of $385 for multiple policies, safe drivers, etc.

Nicole, are you saying policies are not available without collision?

We do have an umbrella policy. (I don't know why you would say we can 'afford it'. I don't want to be "penny wise" though. That's why I'm asking the KT.) This policy does have Uninsured for bodily injury (100,000/300,000)...$8 semiannual.

Shop around a bit once you decide what coverage you want. I assumed they were all the same but switching from State Farm to All State reduced my premiums about 50% for the same coverage. I was shocked, and mad that I hadn't checked earlier. I could have saved thousands.

No....you can buy "only" liability and pick and choose which car on your policy carries collision. ONLY liability is needed legally and insures "the other" car in an accident. Collison covers damage to YOUR car, but certain options won't be offered on liability only policies. (Note: I carry $500-1M)

I covered a claim once where the guy hit the gas instead of the brake. He backed up going 60mph into a duplex. Crashed through the garage, into a BMW, hit the water heater and electric panel. Caused about $150k damage.

Another claim. A guy hit a corvette convention. Smashing about 10 cars which took out a transformer for the city.

It's good to plan on being THAT person. If it means spending another $200?....it's worth it is alI I meant.

Our auto insurance is up for renewal now, I've been pricing different companies. USAA is a couple hundred dollars more then other companies, exact same coverage.

I spoke to our agent and have these options:

1) I can suspend collision for three months at $6/mo. ($18).

2) I can suspend collision for the other nine months at $49/mo. ($441).

3) I can buy $2000 deductible collision for nine months at $70/mo. ($630).

Arguments, please, on combining 1) and 2) and paying $459/yr.

(Current policy with 250 deductible is $79/mo. Would be 729/yr. w/Option 1.)

Suspend the coverage. By doing so you will only have comprehensive coverage which means no driving. If the car is stolen, the neighbors tree falls on it or the garage burns down, you will have coverage. I suspend all my snowbirds coverage's. They have my email and know to let me know when they are leaving and returning. Your son can start the car he just cannot drive it. If it saves money then do it however, make sure the inexpensive coverage you get through AMEX has the same liability limits as your primary insurance otherwise you are opening yourself up for problems. Also, if you have an umbrella you will want to double check your companies policy on that.

Be careful with your terminology. Suspension of coverage usually implies all coverage's but the comprehensive coverage. If you don't want collision coverage then you would just drop it and go liability only. There's a difference.

If the $8k your car is worth is nothing to you if lost...then discontinue collision coverage. It's a one in a million chance anything will happen to it and the insurance money saved means a lot to you....right?

I'm really surprised at those of you who've received high quotes from USAA! We've never been quoted higher than anything offered by their competitors (Geico was higher, as was State Farm).

We've also been with USAA for about 30 years. We have our mortgage through them, as well as a credit card and our homeowners' insurance. My car loan is through USAA, as well. And they're our bank. Maybe we get better quotes since everything we have is through them?

In New York state, you must remove your license plates and turn them into the DMV. There is a fine per day for everyday the plate is on an uninsured vehicle. Not sure if you receive a credit for the unused time paid for on the registration. Check out the rules in your state.

Whoops! Kelley says our car is only worth $4300 max. I think it becomes ridiculous to pay for collision. IF our car were TOTALED, regardless of whether we or another driver was at fault, we'd get less than $4300.

marcopolo5 -- Interesting. I'm not removing insurance, just collision coverage. Would that suit the powers that be in NY?

Yes, collision is an option if your car is paid in full. If you are making payments you must keep the collison. I think the book value of the car would be the deciding factor. If you feel it would be a bundle to replace your main car, probably the insurance is justified. Sometimes you can lower your rate by raising your deductible. Most all claims will insure a higher rate next renrwal. A very one sided romance

I have $7,000 deductibles on my homeowers policy, would not consider making a claim for less. Once a claim is made and paid, cancellation and denied claims within 5 years can be an issue.

I agree w/ marcopolo in that, I have a $5k ded on my primary residence. Cars...I try to carry more than is usual w/ a $250/$500 ded.

The 10% deductible I set on our homeowners insurance came back to bite me when we were burgled about ten years ago. Unscheduled jewelry valued at $20K was stolen. I got *nothing* on anything that wasn't covered by my Personal Articles insurance. Beware!

We've always bought our cars outright because we buy 'nearly new' and keep them a LONG time. This just happens to be The Longest Ever -- and why I'm thinking twice about keeping the collision coverage.

A little longer, and we will be leasing a self-driving whatsis or calling a taxi.

If your car is truly worth that little (from an insurance standpoint), I think you'd be better off putting the "extra" insurance money away for its eventual replacement. Especially since your insurance rate means you're actually paying for your car's replacement every four years... That eventually will turn into a year's premium equaling the replacement cost. :/

As for homeowners, we have a $500 deductible (which our insurance company is suing our burglar for, and will give it back to us when it's recovered from him). We also have riders for valuable property, but relatively little jewelry left the house, and our firearms were locked in a gun safe (thank heavens!!!). I also had my valuable jewelry in the safe, along with our backup server and our important papers, such as passports and birth certificates.

USAA had $2,000 in our bank account by 5am the next day (less than 12 hours after we notified them of the burglary), so we could replace computers, alarm clocks, and televisions.

chisue, here in NJ, if the key is in the ignition, it is being "driven".

I use USAA as well. I thought my prices were high with them so I started calling around to see if I could get better rates. I called Progressive, Geico, Liberty Mutual who we get an employee discount through and AAA no one could even come close to what I pay for my USAA insurance.

When I lived in MA my yearly insurance bill was $900 for a 2005 grand am with 50,000 miles. Moved to Florida and WOW insurance down here OMG I pay $1000 every 6 months. I have yet to find anyone who can beat USAA down here. I am surprised people being quoted so high from them. I carry full coverage even though my car is old and I have high coverage amounts because as others have said accidents do happen and I have seen people go bankrupt from an accident for not having enough coverage.

I am finally looking to buy a new car the ol grand am even though has low mileage is starting to look her age. I called for a quote again from different companies and they still can't beat what I got quoted at USAA the kicker is my insurance payment with a new car will go up $100 more than I pay now ugh. Add that to the new car payment and it makes me want to run the grand am til she dies.

diane -- Thanks for the information. I think DS can be 'invisible' if he justs backs out of the garage and lets it run to warm up the oil/vary the tire weight. I will check to see if there's an option for him to actually drive it. I appreciate your warning! I have to admire the clarity of that 'no arguments' law.

We have used a trickle charger for maintaining a battery on a garaged car that isn't being driven for several months. That would solve the issue of having to start it periodically.

Thanks for that tip, Amy. I've heard of that, but never pursued buying whatever is necessary. Actually, the car has always started right up even when nobody touched it for three months. The car battery is only a two years old.

Charging batteries can explode. I think the benefit of periodically starting a stored car is to keep the engine lubricated and moving parts moving. Starting a car and running it for 10 minutes isn't going to recharge a low battery. Besides, a dead battery is easily dealt with using another car, a $15 jumper cable and then taking a 20 minute drive.

If in a garage, park the car so that the battery is easily accessible. It should be happy to sit for a few months at a time without problems.

Why even consider the unique laws of New York or Massachusetts if you don't live there? Kind of silly in my book. And the paranoia of someone else "driving" your car is moot too since I don't know of a state where insurance isn't reciprocal. I'm insured on your car and you're insured on my car (with permission of course). So as long as you OK him coming and using your car, you're covered. Check with your agent of course for your local laws but that's probably the case.

Having collision insurance is for one reason. If the benefit of paying the insurance offsets what you could get out of it if something happens. I think you should drop the collision altogether. I don't think $4k would break you to lose it if it's totaled out. You're better off putting that money toward higher liability, higher uninsured and underinsured coverage and maybe an umbrella so it benefits you.

There's really no down side to suspending the coverage when you're gone. Why pay for it when there's no way you'll use it? You'll keep the comprehensive which is all you really need under those circumstances. Again, check with your agent but I don't know of a place this wouldn't apply. And you wouldn't need liability since you're not driving it. Even if your son DOES drive it while you're gone, it's usually covered by his insurance (again, check with your agents to be sure).

As Elmer said there's benefits to running a vehicle but a few months sitting likely isn't going to be an issue with the caveat that I don't know how fragile or sensitive Jags are. I've had vehicles sit for a year or more without being started. The biggest issue is your upper level lubricant is usually gone so it'll take a few seconds to get the oil back up there, pressure to build in the engine and tranny, etc. If you're leaving it a long time you might want to prep it, but check with your mechanic. I'd bet they'll tell you 3 months is no big deal.

Any time you use a charger you should be using it in a well-ventilated area as a charging battery does give off gasses. Nothing to be paranoid about but something about which you should be educated.

Oh, and here, there's also a rental car coverage that has to be dropped if you drop collision. So there's an additional saving. If you have a good agent, and why do business with them if they're not, they should be able to explain this and help guide you on your decision.

Couple months ago I had a sit down with my agent and we went over my coverage. Got back my fogey class discount, tweaked coverage and he encouraged me to consider dropping collision soon. I will on the next renewal since I already paid it when we met. Put on a $1 mil umbrella, upped the liability/un/under and a couple other tweaks and the net result was actually about break even or even less and when I drop collision/rental it'll be more savings.

As a side note, I've always said there's 4 things you want the best you can get and in no particular order they're doctor, lawyer, mechanic and insurance agent. You'll benefit big time in the long run if you keep that in mind.

Some cars have sealed batteries, cynic, I don't think those give off gases. The ones that do, I think it's hydrogen gas and it is very combustible/explosive which is why your "well ventilated" advice is wise. Sealed batteries being charged can explode all the same.

I agree with 3 of your 4 "need the bests" but disagree with the last one. I think most insurance agents operate on a very short leash. Whether they're independent agents or represent one company, I think most have limited leeway in what they do and too many have a limited understanding of their field in general when it comes to giving advice. There have been times with my own agent (who I've had for > 30 years) that I've needed to push back a bit or give him extra motivation to explore or consider information or flexibility I want to have. It's usually successful but I'd say the outcomes were more a function of me than of him. Overall, I think he's pretty good for what he does, but like real estate agents, they sometimes need help from customers to get to desired answers.