Certainly, it is a very valuable component to protect a vehicle against accident related losses. Under normal circumstances, it is a must when the automobile still has some value. And yet sometimes you may be justified to drop it, as it may be waste of money. We will look at when is the best time to leave it out or keep it in. This will be a good exercise in knowing when to hold or fold, as keeping the maximum protection may just be an idle practice.
Generally, automobile insurance Collision and Comprehensive coverage would be sold together. They are almost inseparable. However, there are acceptable circumstances and companies can be flexible to allow motorists to pick and choose within reason. For example, you may be able to buy Comprehensive without Collision or stop it at a later date. But usually you cannot have the latter alone. This would be too much in terms of picking the high risks and choosing not to pay for low exposures.
– When to Give It Up?
A few companies would allow dropping Collision and keeping Comprehensive if the car is parked at a garage and not being driven. If it is not taken out on the roads there is hardly any chance of a crash or liability claim. However, you would want to protect it for possible fire, theft and buildings collapsing on it. You can also drop liability coverage. This should save you money because the risks are much lower when a vehicle isn’t being driven.
Also, it is a good solution for collectible automobiles, which are locked in the garage. This arrangement is acceptable when you decide to store the vehicle for a while. Usually, they only allow 30 days minimum storage car insurance. Also, you must activate both collision and liability covers if you ever take them out on the roads.
One distinction you have to know is that you probably have to keep liability auto insurance if the vehicle is left on public roads because it can still cause damages to others even it is stationary. Local DMV office would want to make sure that it is either taken off the road completely or insured.
It should be noted that few companies don’t offer standalone Comprehensive. You need to find the one that does and offer competitive rates.
– When to Stop Both C & C Covers?
You can drop both Collision and Comprehensive on an automobile that has lost its value to be worth insuring. Usually, owners of older cars give them up at some point. General view is that when a car’s value goes below $4,000 you can save money by giving up the protection on it.
Once you take deductibles and additional costs into account it becomes clear that you are not taking a big risk by not having these two otherwise very valuable components. There are times you’d better scrape to buy more and there are times it is just waste of money to keep it.
Better Storage Policy
There may be other practical solutions for people who often store their vehicles for long periods of time. For example, arranging mileage based or pay as you go policies may be more practical than each time making changes to it. With such solutions you would only pay for the miles you travel. If you don’t drive much the premium is adjusted accordingly so that you can economize.
If you search and manage to buy cheap vehicle insurance online you may not be pressured to drop coverage for a short period since the premium doesn’t put pressure on your budget. You can save money in several ways but shopping for the best quotes is the easiest one and it can be the fastest if you use the Internet.