As I have written before, I recently paid off my van. In the past whenever I have paid off a vehicle, especially one that is more than 7 years old, I have cancelled the collision and comprehension part of the coverage. That is what covers damage to my vehicle in the event I'm at fault in an accident or if there is damage from hail, hitting an animal, something like that. It does not affect my coverage for the other person should I be at fault in an accident or should I be in an accident cause by an uninsured driver. This van is now 9 years old, and frankly, while my rate is low, I was looking forward to a nice big drop in premium. My insurance agent, of course, is trying to convince me to continue the coverage. The premium for 6 months would drop from $203 down to about $120. As I see it, I have three options:
1. Continue the coverage as is with no changes.
2. Continue the coverage as is UNTIL I save and have an emergency fund equal to or greater than the value of the van (which is approximately $2100 right now) plus the current deductible ($500), then cancel the coverage.
3. Cancel the coverage and hope that I continue to be a safe driver.
I am leaning toward option #2. Should I be in an accident that is my fault and the damage is more than the value of the vehicle, the insurance company will total it anyhow and only pay up to that dollar amount. Should something terrible happen and the van is no longer driveable, that $2600 would be a decent down payment on a replacement vehicle. I am still rebuilding the emergency fund from the repairs I had done last month, so I don't think I would be able to increase it by $2600 this year. Next year the van will be 10 years old, and I will be starting a replacement fund anyhow.
Is there something I haven't thought of? I have shopped around for insurance in the last 6-8 months, and no one comes close to my current premium (I have been with this company for about 8 years and so am getting a good longevity discount along with several others.) I do intend to drive this vehicle for at least 3-4 more years, unless it decides to retire itself before then. Oh decisions, decisions..... ;-)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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