Episode #8: How to find the right car insurance?

Episode #8: How to find the right car insurance? For our episode of the Breaking Down The Law Podcast we're joined by Tiffany Little, our intake and referral team manager who deals with the insurance on a daily basis. She's joined by Breaking Down The Law Podcast host, Ashley Rodriguez. During today’s episode, we’ll be addressing all topics related to how much car insurance you need and the different types of car insurance coverage.

• Single person vs family does it matter when it comes to car insurance?
• What type of insurance coverage is available?
• What should I look for when buying car insurance?
• What the heck is PIP?
• How much insurance coverage do I really need?
• When should I drop full coverage and maintain liability insurance only?

Tiffany discusses these points and so many more, so we hope you’ll join us for this episode! You can learn more about  Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers by visiting us online at www.attorneyguss.com Stay tuned for the next installment of the Breaking Down The Law Podcast with Stewart J Guss and Ashley Rodriguez! Contact Us: 281-783-3934 or  [email protected] If you want to subscribe to our podcasts on your favorite podcasts player click here for all the links to each one! Transcript [This transcript was created using an automated transcription service and may contain errors] Intro : 0:09 Breaking down the Law, Breaking down the Law a podcast hosted by attorneys and legal specialists discussing everyday law and how it affects regular people, regular people. Let's break down the law with our host, Stewart Guss and Ashley Rodriguez. They have the inside scoop on everything legal and newsworthy. Ashley Rodriguez : 0:34 Hey, it's Ashley and welcome to Breaking Down the Law. Today we have a special guest with us Tiffany Liddell. And we're going to talk about insurance. Tiffany's. You remember the first time you had to buy car insurance and what you thought and how you had to do that? Tiffany Little : 0:51 Yes, I definitely do. I'll start this story about seeing my mother is one of those people who says you can never have to Much insurance, so no amount of insurance is ever enough in our eyes. So as most young people, when you start dropping, you're normally are going to be on your parents policy. So I was on my mom's policy for several several years, even after I left the house, go to college, I just remained on her policy. So it came to the point when I was getting married, and my mom was like, okay, you need to go ahead and get your own policy now that obviously, I was getting married, I was gonna have a husband, so we were gonna have a policy together. And when I contacted the first insurance agent, it was somebody that my mom referred me to. And the person started asking me, Well, why do you have all this coverage? Why do you have all this coverage? And I'm like, What do you mean? Like, I just, it's insurance. I've always had insurance. And up to this point, I had never had to follow a plane other than one time that my vehicle got stolen, but other than that I'd had an accident or collision or anything like that. So I was kind of confused when they were asking me why I had so much coverage and I'm like, What do you mean I just have what I'm supposed to have and They're like, Well, no, there's like, do you use your car for business? I'm like, No, I'm just me, you know, now get married. And the guy was like, well, you ever really had policies like you have a commercial level policy? And then it made sense when I thought about my mother. And I'm like, Well, obviously, I would have. So that made sense. But at the same time, I'm glad because she made sure we had more coverage and what we would normally need on a typical basis. So it did allow me to really learn a lot about insurance and all the different types of coverages and what may be good for one person may be not so good for another. It really opened my eyes to that and really made me really want to learn more about the insurance industry. Ashley Rodriguez : 2:39 Yeah, of course, because I don't think we ever think about how a single person versus a family would want different types of insurance. Tiffany Little : 2:49 Exactly, exactly. And it makes a huge difference. Ashley Rodriguez : 2:52 So what insurance coverage types are available? Tiffany Little : 2:56 Well, in the state of Texas we have and most people they will hear when we say live Only, that's gonna be your basic minimum policy that the state requires any driver to have to be on the road operating a vehicle. So for Texas that's 30 6030, that first 30 is going to represent your bodily injury this for self, the 60 would pertain to any occupants that will be in the vehicle. And that 60 is not each, it's just one booking of 60 that will be splitting off, whether it's two or four additional people in the vehicle. And then the last number, the 30, that coincides with the property damage. So that would be the max amount that they would be willing to pay off property, then tier one would be your 50 150. And it follows the same rules. tier two would be your 100 300 100. And then tier three is going to be the max that you can have on a personal policy in the state of Texas, which is the 250 502 50. Now separate from it. There's also personal injury protection, and a lot of people always ask what's Difference like, what if I already have, you know, the bodily injury coverage? You know, I already have the 5100 policy. So I already have coverage, why would I need personal injury protection as well? Well, the benefit of the personal injury protection is that it will cover anyone in the vehicles, medical bills or treatment. Um, so it does help with it. And then it also does not matter who was placed at fault. So even me, if I was a driver driving my own vehicle, I was facing a fault. I could still if I was injured, I could still utilize those benefits that I have underneath PRP. Those I would say are the basic that's your basic tears. And then PIP is a big one that a lot of people at all. And then obviously other than that, it's all the other attitudes, whether you want rental car coverage, roadside assistance, you know, you can get into adding a lot of different things and what I call la carte, but that's the main thing is just making sure you have that coverage for the you know, bodily injury and for your property damage. Ashley Rodriguez : 4:55 Yeah, I think a lot of people misunderstand what pip is, though. Why they would really need it? Tiffany Little : 5:03 Well, and that's why I said, that's the biggest difference, because if I'm in a car accident, and it's my fault, I can't fall underneath my bodily injury on my regular first party insurance because it's my fault. You know, that's my insurance Now, if the other vehicle that I was in the accident with, and I personally thought they can obviously follow my insurance underneath my 5100 plan that I have, in order to make sure their injuries and their cars taken care of and all that the benefit of PIP is even if I'm at fault, at least I still have some money there that can help go towards my medical bills. Now those policies differ. Some people might have 20 $500 in fibs, some might have 10,000. That all depends on the person and what type of protection they want to add to their insurance account. Ashley Rodriguez : 5:52 Yeah, I mean, it's really important if you need that extra money to cover your medical bills for that unexpected accident that I mean, let's be real Nobody wants to be in fall of an accident. But sometimes things happen. Tiffany Little : 6:05 Here, sometimes things definitely do happen. So, when it comes to insurance is trying to prepare for the unknown is the best way I can describe you because you don't know, we don't know, we can't plan how the accidents gonna happen, you can't plan who's gonna hit you. So you're just preparing as well as you can with some of the potential issues or different things that may come about with if you had somebody that wasn't insured or something like that. You just want to be as prepared as you can, given the situation that it hasn't even happened yet. Ashley Rodriguez : 6:36 So what should I look for when buying car insurance? Tiffany Little : 6:41 In my personal opinion, I think what I normally look for is, okay, well how often do you drive the car, you know, because that has a different rating as far as does it put you at more risk for an auto accident or less so obviously, if I have someone who drives their car only one day a week, she only drives too much Each way, so her weekly driving is four miles, then I have another person who they commute every day back and forth 30 miles each way. So that's 60 miles a day, times five. So that's 300. So, when you look at those numbers, who has a higher risk of getting into an accident, Ashley Rodriguez : 7:20 obviously someone that's on the road all the time Tiffany Little : 7:23 that's on the road more, right? So that's why it's that's the type of thing so if it's a car that you drive, or say you only drive it on Sundays, a lot of people don't know that if you let the insurance know, okay, this is a garage kit car that I only drive this me miles a week. I mean, you can probably get a lower rate for that car because it's not a car that you're driving every day. It's not your everyday car. So it's very important to communicate with whoever your insurance agent, or if you're using the online app, make sure you put all that information in there. Another thing to think about is what is the value of your car. You know, if you're buying brand new cars, it are $100,000 I'll make sense for you to get an insurance policy that's a 50 150. That 50,000 in property damage is not going to cover your hundred thousand dollar car doesn't really make sense. You know? So depends on that. And then also whether or not you're making loans, because I know most lenders that I know that if your car's under payments, or you know you're paying a loan off on your car, then they require you to maintain full coverage, so that in the event that that happens, and you get in an accident, they want to make sure that that car, they're going to be able to get the car fixed or get reimbursed or you know, whatever might happen as the end result, but they just want to make sure that they're not going to be just out of work when you get into a car accident, and you don't have any insurance on the car what they go on. Ashley Rodriguez : 8:44 Yeah, I mean, I guess even if you had gap insurance, you could put that into there and on kind of what you would need. Tiffany Little : 8:51 Yes, definitely. And that can kind of help to fill it in. Because we all know with vehicles the minute we drive them off the lot they depreciate. So that's another thing that's like hey, Having get make sure whatever that insurance doesn't cover, then I have my get to pick it up. And especially in instances where you might have somebody that they're not only insured, they're just under insured. So say for instance, they only had 236 30. And your car's totaled in your car cost you 65,000. Well, if you have the certain under insured is certain other things you can add to your policies that may end up helping you in the end to where you don't end up having to eat all that money in there. Like we said, the gap insurance that wouldn't be there to fill in that gap. Ashley Rodriguez : 9:32 So how much insurance coverage Do you think I really need? Tiffany Little : 9:37 Well, as I stated earlier, based on what my mom always taught me, my first response is no amount of insurance is ever too much. But I am also one of those people that have multiple insurance policies and supplemental insurance just because that was always drilled into me that you pay on in our case you needed later. But in this instance, we can never predict an accident or what type of car Someone else might have. So I think it's best to always plan for the worst, or operate underneath the assumption that many drivers don't maintain insurance. And that's the reality of it. So although you may have a really good insurance policy, depending on the situation, or what happens, you need to make sure you prepare yourself for that person who may not have any insurance, or maybe they just don't have enough coverage to cover whatever needs or maybe the amount of your property damage or whatever. So he always shut up for me, I would say always shut up prepare for what is even though that's kind of cliche, because you can't prepare for everyone if, but if you look at some factors and say, Okay, I know I drove my car this much. I know my car's worth this, maybe I want to get the 5100 But okay, I have my car. I drive it every day also with my three or four kids. So and even because I have more occupants, I might say, Oh, well, maybe I want to do the higher tier which is the 100 300 is just you have to look at your own life in this Some of what you're going to be comfortable with, obviously, as far as payments, because insurance costs us money. So that's the other factor, but also shopping around shop shop shop around, you'd be surprised how insurance changes just from one digit in your zip code to where you live to different addresses. And there's so many factors. So I would say always do your research and shop around before you just go with the first coat that you get from the first insurance company. Ashley Rodriguez : 11:25 And it's just one of those things like planning for that unexpected like Seward always says, No one puts their pants on in the morning, or their skirts and plans get an accident but then you know, it happens and we don't know what that person's doing or if it's a hit or run or whatever. We always want to protect ourselves. Tiffany Little : 11:43 Sure it always want to protect yourself. And like I said, it's not even what you make, per se we have to protect ourselves because we don't know what other insurance that the other person that you get into accident may or may not make 10 so that's the biggest thing is preparing yourself because although you will Wish that everybody would do the right thing and not drive if they didn't have insurance. Being in the job we are today in the industry we are today personal injury. We know that's just not factual. Ashley Rodriguez : 12:11 Yes, we see some sad things. Tiffany Little : 12:13 Uh huh. Ashley Rodriguez : 12:14 So when should I drop full coverage and only maintain liability? Tiffany Little : 12:20 I would say never, never draw full coverage. Because the minute you go down a liability, say for instance, your car gets stolen, your insurance doesn't cover that your car gets flooded. Your insurance doesn't cover that it covers liability, meaning if you're liable if you hit somebody else, or you were the responsible party, in an accident, you have enough coverage just to make sure you get you're going to take care of the other part. It does not cover any of those other things that could potentially happen to your vehicle. In also, as we discussed earlier, look how many people don't maintain insurance at all. So if you get into an accident and somebody hits you and you only have liability, you're still not Going to be able to do anything underneath your own insurance policy because you only maintain liability. Now I do know this some people do maintain liability coverage because it is the cheapest and most economical. So if that's the only thing that you can afford, I just highly suggest adding uninsured motorist as well. So the least you have some coverage because that is an option. You can have liability but add the underinsured motorist solo lease. If somebody gives you this uninsured at least you will have some coverage. Ashley Rodriguez : 13:30 Oh yeah, that's a good idea. But yeah, we are always trying to protect ourselves and you have to find that balance for yourself between your payments and what you're doing. But it's definitely shop around I mean, there's so many different companies out there so you can kind of bargain shop but get the most coverage that you can. Tiffany Little : 13:52 Yes, ma'am. I agree that 100% you don't want to pay more than what you're comfortable with. But at the same time, it goes back to anything else when you say you get what you get For, that's the truth, they'll just make sure you shop around and get the best deal for what you're paying for. But you're still going to get whatever you pay for when it comes to the amount of coverage that you're seeking. Ashley Rodriguez : 14:11 Alright, Tiffany, do you think there's anything else that we need to share with the audience about insurance tips? Tiffany Little : 14:18 Nope, I think that's it. Like I said, Just do your research. Don't allow any gaps in your insurance because that will cause your rates to go up. Obviously, if you're a bad driver, but over the net if you're the typical person who abides by the law, you drive you haven't had any accidents. For the most part, you should be able to get a very comparable rate and like I said, I would at least at a minimum check three or four different insurance companies before I really go with one and then also double check what all they're offering you within not just the coverage but are you getting rental car coverage, are you getting tow coverage, like a lot of them will add like little extras in and that may be why the price goes up and you have a right to say no, I don't want it like maybe you don't want to maybe you don't want roadside assistance, that's all your option to where you can take some of those things away that'll maybe help to get to a more reasonable number that you're comfortable with as far as your monthly premium. Ashley Rodriguez : 15:11 So if there was one thing that was extra besides the regular, like, let's just say we had the tier one, not the liability, but the tier one policy, and we had to add on those extra what is the number one that we should add? Tiffany Little : 15:26 I would definitely say PIP, I will definitely say the personal injury protection because it's just an extra layer. That's something that they can pay directly to the insurance company. If you went to the hospital and and now you want to doctors, they can either pay it like that or if you have an attorney, then all that is normally sent over to your representative and you will get that payment, you know with whatever settlement you may be receiving, but I would definitely say it never hurts to have extra personal injury protection or any type of bodily injury or anything that's going to go towards if you get hurt. How am I going to be able to pay these medical bills are having to worry about paying medical bills because that's the last thing we want anybody worried about that you're dealing with an accident or a loss, something like that? Ashley Rodriguez : 16:10 Definitely I agree. Well, thank you all for listening to Breaking Down the Law. Till next time. 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