[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

I was afraid my insurance company would not declare the car a total loss and instead seek to have the car repaired.

Which I did *not* want done.

And seeking a quick settlement can work against one. He might accept a lower settlement amount than he might get by being patient.

The settlement didn't take too long. Accident happened May 4 and by June 19 I was driving the Cayman's replacement, a 2003 996 Turbo with <10K miles in pristine condition with a 2 year/100K mile warranty.

Why would your insurance be less willing to declare the car a total loss than the third party's insurance? I would expect the other party's insurance to be focused on low balling as much as possible to keep their costs low and not needing to factor your customer relationship into it (as you're not their customer).

You don't have to accept a quick settlement from your insurance either...

I've always gone through my insurance and let them duke it out. Just wasn't understanding if there is something I'm missing on the other path. So far, people usually just tell me they worry about their rates going up. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me (your insurance goes up on an at fault accident).

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Why would your insurance be less willing to declare the car a total loss than the third party's insurance? I would expect the other party's insurance to be focused on low balling as much as possible to keep their costs low and not needing to factor your customer relationship into it (as you're not their customer).

You don't have to accept a quick settlement from your insurance either...

I've always gone through my insurance and let them duke it out. Just wasn't understanding if there is something I'm missing on the other path. So far, people usually just tell me they worry about their rates going up. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me (your insurance goes up on an at fault accident).

Subrogation:

The insurance company pays the insured for a covered claim.

The insurance company seeks reimbursement from the at-fault party or their insurance company.


The problem is the at fault driver hit a $62.6K car with just $50K of liability insurance.

So my insurance company would have to make up the difference. If it could get the car repaired for less than $50K (and it would probably find some shop that would have fixed the car for that) then it saves money.

I had more leverage with the at fault driver's insurance as it had accepted responsibility for the accident and was to some level obligated to make me whole.

I persisted and was made whole. Besides getting $45K settlement check I was given the totaled car -- with a salvage title. Through a contact at a large auto auction facility I was able to sell the car at a salvage car auction for not the $17K the car was valued at but a bit over $20,000.

Also, I was being advised by a body shop owner who I had met when his shop fixed my Boxster after it was hit two different times. A body shop owner who had spent some number of years in the auto insurance business prior to opening a body shop. I followed his advice and was quite pleased with the outcome.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

Subrogation:

The insurance company pays the insured for a covered claim.

The insurance company seeks reimbursement from the at-fault party or their insurance company.


The problem is the at fault driver hit a $62.6K car with just $50K of liability insurance.

So my insurance company would have to make up the difference. If it could get the car repaired for less than $50K (and it would probably find some shop that would have fixed the car for that) then it saves money.

I had more leverage with the at fault driver's insurance as it had accepted responsibility for the accident and was to some level obligated to make me whole.

I persisted and was made whole. Besides getting $45K settlement check I was given the totaled car -- with a salvage title. Through a contact at a large auto auction facility I was able to sell the car at a salvage car auction for not the $17K the car was valued at but a bit over $20,000.

Also, I was being advised by a body shop owner who I had met when his shop fixed my Boxster after it was hit two different times. A body shop owner who had spent some number of years in the auto insurance business prior to opening a body shop. I followed his advice and was quite pleased with the outcome.

I'm aware of what subrogation is and how it works.

I've always taken my cars to the OEM certified body shop or dealership without any issues with insurance between my BMW and Mercedes. My insurance also has a feature to ensure a totaled car under 1 year old is paid out of sticker price.

Too much leg work for me to deal with to end up where I'd be if my insurance totaled the car and recovered what they could through subrogation (my maximum liability via subrogation is my deductible). Getting a salvage car, auctioning it, etc.

Glad it worked out to your satisfaction, of course.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

I'm aware of what subrogation is and how it works.

I've always taken my cars to the OEM certified body shop or dealership without any issues with insurance between my BMW and Mercedes. My insurance also has a feature to ensure a totaled car under 1 year old is paid out of sticker price.

Too much leg work for me to deal with to end up where I'd be if my insurance totaled the car and recovered what they could through subrogation (my maximum liability via subrogation is my deductible). Getting a salvage car, auctioning it, etc.

Glad it worked out to your satisfaction, of course.

Seems like you are missing that he ended up with $65,000 rather than the $50,000 if he had gone straight through insurance.

[Race_Doc11]

In my area I pass both Ferrari and Mclaren dealers daily and yet to see one driving by. The odds of hitting such an explosive car is very low. But I guess it depends on where he lives and if he gets triggered if he sees one.

Originally Posted by ppointer

I agree with other posters - that liability max is way too low. Typically is 100k/300k, and I think that is too low these days. What if you hit a new Lamborghini?

I have cars in 2 states. My FL rates are insane right now, and I have one of my cars insured for liability only. My G30 is in Ohio and costs about $200 per month. If I had that car in FL, would be 50% more. I’m a senior with excellent history.

[Vindicator3]

The real liability question isn't whether you hit an expensive supercar, it's whether you cause an accident that kills someone or leaves them with permanent debilitating injuries. That's when having a million in liability with another million or three in an umbrella comes in handy. And (because such events are rare) it's usually not that expensive (relatively, and at least in most states, I can't speak for FL) to bump the limits up.

A risk which is rare (but not so rare that one can ignore it) but catastrophically expensive is the best use case there is for buying insurance.

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by Vindicator3

The real liability question isn't whether you hit an expensive supercar, it's whether you cause an accident that kills someone or leaves them with permanent debilitating injuries. That's when having a million in liability with another million or three in an umbrella comes in handy. And (because such events are rare) it's usually not that expensive (relatively, and at least in most states, I can't speak for FL) to bump the limits up.

A risk which is rare (but not so rare that one can ignore it) but catastrophically expensive is the best use case there is for buying insurance.

****The above is very true. Like in statistics class - the chances of you being killed by a cow falling from the sky are very very low but never zero.

A risk that is rare but catastrophically expensive is a great reason for buying insurance. I'm not so worried about hitting an exotic super car, nor dating/marrying an exotic super girl, yet am insured against the former and have a great attorney on retainer for an iron-clad pre-nup for the latter.....

[Rafichicago]

I did not read the whole thread however. I’d advise OP to raise deductible to 1k or more than raise policy limits. I’d rather be responsible for first 1 or 2k and I understand buying G90 it wouldn’t be an issue rather than if something really bad happens and not having enough coverage. I keep higher deductible for that reason. I rarely have to use insurance so I’d take my chances with high deductibles. I keep low deductible for comprehensive part of policy.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

I did not read the whole thread however. I’d advise OP to raise deductible to 1k or more than raise policy limits. I’d rather be responsible for first 1 or 2k and I understand buying G90 it wouldn’t be an issue rather than if something really bad happens and not having enough coverage. I keep higher deductible for that reason. I rarely have to use insurance so I’d take my chances with high deductibles. I keep low deductible for comprehensive part of policy.

Not raising the liability limits is incredibly bad advice. Higher limits of liability coverage is ten times more important than a higher deduction. Did you mean to use the word “then” instead of “than”?

[Rafichicago]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Not raising the liability limits is incredibly bad advice. Higher limits of liability coverage is ten times more important than a higher deduction. Did you mean to use the word “then” instead of “than”?

Yes I’ve ment to raise liability limits. If OP would want to keep the premium he could raise deductible. I advised to raise both to keep premium on similar level. I’d never sacrifice limits. The best is to raise deductibles and raise the limits at the same time. It’ll keep insurance premium lower.

[pbonsalb]

Look into a $1 million or preferably greater umbrella. Often you can lower some of the other limits if you have an umbrella, which reduces the total package cost. Costs surprisingly little, but that may depend on your age, record and where you live.

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Look into a $1 million or preferably greater umbrella. Often you can lower some of the other limits if you have an umbrella, which reduces the total package cost. Costs surprisingly little, but that may depend on your age, record and where you live.

***The above is good advice, especially if you have significant assets. Having the umbrella policy knocked my other insurance rates down noticeably, but I have a very good driving record, multiple vehicles, and also my homes are insured under the same company.

Bundling everything no question saved me significant money.

[pbonsalb]

It could be good advice even if you don’t have significant assets. Probably anyone leading or buying an M5 has or hopes to have significant assets.

A court judgment is good for 20 years in my state. I sued a lot of people and sometimes they had little to no ability to pay, but owned real estate. Usually the real estate was mortgaged, but I could still place a lien or attachment that was after the mortgage in priority. In my state, the lien had to be renewed every 10 years, but would survive indefinitely if you renewed. Years later, the property might be refinanced or sold and the lien would be paid. Judgment holders can also hire collection agencies that will hound you, or check for assets periodically over the life of the judgment. A judgment can also be reported to credit agencies and impact your ability to obtain credit or loans or financing.

Another thing to consider is that the insurance company owes you a defense if you are sued, but there have been cases where the company settles by paying out its policy limits. Does it have a duty to continue paying a lawyer to defend you after that? Probably not, since it has given you the benefit of the coverage you paid for. Maybe some states have further protection for the insured?

So you could be left, in a worst case situation, with paying a lawyer to defend you. If you don’t have a lawyer, chances are greater the other side will get a judgment against you, which could be good for 20 years, more or less depending on your state laws.