I am paying a lot for insurance on my Leaf and I think it has to do with the coverage limits 100/300K for both liability and uninsured motorist and 50K property damage liability. Seems to me that I was told that these were minimum requirements for a leased vehicle, but I can't find that written anywhere. Does anyone know what minimum requirements are and who sets those? Nissan, the insurance company, the State?
Minimum Insurance Requirements
- Thread starter SLONomad
- Start date
Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
The state has minimum coverages that must be met. In California, it's 15/30/5, or $15,000 per person, $30,000 per incident, $5,000 property. There are no requirements for self coverage (C&C or comprehension and collision, full coverage) although almost all financing companies will require it in the interest of the loan.
100/300/50 are pretty high limits. I'm not aware of your situation, ideas, or financials, so I won't comment on what you should have. Your driving history, age, and gender play large roles in your premiums as well.
Personally, I have 50/100/25 limits, with $2000 deductibles for C&C. This costs me $770/6mo for both vehicles on the policy.
Again, without knowing your information, I can't really say what you should expect or have.
100/300/50 are pretty high limits. I'm not aware of your situation, ideas, or financials, so I won't comment on what you should have. Your driving history, age, and gender play large roles in your premiums as well.
Personally, I have 50/100/25 limits, with $2000 deductibles for C&C. This costs me $770/6mo for both vehicles on the policy.
Again, without knowing your information, I can't really say what you should expect or have.
I have read this in more than one place on the internet so I am surprised you are not required to have more coverage:
"Car lease companies require you to carry comprehensive and collision coverage. This is because the lease company wants to recover the cost of replacement of the vehicle, should you damage it. Comprehensive and collision coverage pays for losses caused by fire, theft, vandalism and collisions with animals. You're required to have comprehensive coverage and collision insurance with a maximum $500 deductible.
Liability Coverage
Car lease companies require you to carry personal liability coverage. The company might be involved in liability issues if someone seated in the leased car is hurt at the time of an accident. To avoid this, the amount of coverage required is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. You are also required to carry minimum liability coverage of $50,000 towards property damage.
The cost of insuring a leased vehicle is at least 4 times higher than the state's minimum requirement. You can compare quotes from different insurance companies, ask for discounts that you may qualify for and adjust your coverage to protect yourself."
"Car lease companies require you to carry comprehensive and collision coverage. This is because the lease company wants to recover the cost of replacement of the vehicle, should you damage it. Comprehensive and collision coverage pays for losses caused by fire, theft, vandalism and collisions with animals. You're required to have comprehensive coverage and collision insurance with a maximum $500 deductible.
Liability Coverage
Car lease companies require you to carry personal liability coverage. The company might be involved in liability issues if someone seated in the leased car is hurt at the time of an accident. To avoid this, the amount of coverage required is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. You are also required to carry minimum liability coverage of $50,000 towards property damage.
The cost of insuring a leased vehicle is at least 4 times higher than the state's minimum requirement. You can compare quotes from different insurance companies, ask for discounts that you may qualify for and adjust your coverage to protect yourself."
SLONomad said:
Nissan has no financial interest in your vehicle. Unless you financed through NMAC, which is not quite the same as Nissan. Some financing companies will require C&C only, and will actually be just fine without having the liability insurance. Not sure about the deductible limits, if any. Some financing companies have a max of $1000 deductible. I haven't encountered any, though.
If you don't elect to carry C&C through your insurance provider, the financing company can, and will, elect to purchase their own coverage at your expense. This is normally significantly more expensive than comparable coverage through your insurance company.
SLONomad said:
I've never seen this in any contracts. These limits are also very high.
Is this from the internet, or from the terms and conditions of a financial agreement?
Edit:
I checked mine. There was no mention of any limits, only that C&C must be carried, with NMAC as the loss payee. This is in CA through NMAC.
Stoaty
Well-known member
High limits? If you wreck a Tesla (I see one daily) you could hit $50,000 or more. What if you lose control of your car and crash into a store front or take out someones kitchen? $100,000 is probably about 30 days in the hospital. A major accident could easily lead to that. Personally, 100/300 is the lowest I would want to go.mctom987 said:
TomT
Well-known member
Actually, those limits are nothing these days... Badly damage a Tesla and you will already be over your limit... If a person in the other car suffers even moderate injures, you are already over your liability limit... I consider them to be entry level limits at best. I also carry a liability umbrella that covers me for everything (house, car, boat, personal, libel, slander, etc.) at a much higher limit beyond that of my individual policies.
mctom987 said:
If you're an apartment-dweller with no significant savings, you might be able to get away with the state minimums for liability. But if you have assets of any sort, whether through property ownership, investments, pensions/annuities, liquid funds, etc. I strongly urge you to reconsider going on the cheap with your liability coverage. As mentioned already, it's not difficult to cause $50k or more in damages, especially if personal injury is involved. Just look how many TV ads and billboards you see for personal injury attorneys.
You may want to consider increasing your deductible instead. NMAC I believe allows up to $1,000.
Also, have you shopped around? When I got my Leaf, and even a year later, I was getting quotes from as little as $700/6 months all the way to $3k/year for the same coverage.
You may want to consider increasing your deductible instead. NMAC I believe allows up to $1,000.
Also, have you shopped around? When I got my Leaf, and even a year later, I was getting quotes from as little as $700/6 months all the way to $3k/year for the same coverage.
LTLFTcomposite
Well-known member
300/500 isn't all that much in terms of what a jury award would be but at least it's enough the insurance company would hire a lawyer to defend you.
apvbguy
Well-known member
I believe that the leasing agreement might call for those coverage levels, check those papers that you signed when you initialized the leaseSLONomad said:
MikeinDenver
Well-known member
TomT said:
Exactly. I work in the insurance industry and I see claims every day. Anything less than the maximum offered is too low if you have any sort of assets. An umbrella is a good idea as well and aren't really that expensive.
As others stated you could save money by raising your deductibles but how much of a hit is it going to be to pay $1,000 out of pocket? I personally won't go higher than $100 comp and $250 collision because that is the most I want to have to pay out of pocket at any one time.
If you have not shopped the policy I would recommend that. Many companies and offer widely different prices for the same vehicles and coverage. Insurance isn't something to cheap out on because when you need it you can really need it. Cheap out on coffee or something less ass saving when it hits the fan.
TomT
Well-known member
The money I have saved over the years with a 500 or 1,000 dollar deductible will pay for the deductible many, many times over...
MikeinDenver said:
This is especially true on my motorcycle. By not having C&C at all (effectively cash value as deductible), I save 50% of the market value per year. Not quite the same as with cars, as the rates are significantly better, and the vehicles are worth significantly more.TomT said:
Sure, I'll be screwed if I total it or it gets stolen, but that hasn't happened in the 4 years I've had them, so I've already bought myself 2 new motorcycles by not paying for the C&C.
MikeinDenver
Well-known member
TomT said:
That depends on the policy. The difference for me was negligible and it is all personal preference. Here in CO the chance of a comp claim is very high so I don't feel like paying a $500-1000 deductible multiple times.
MikeinDenver
Well-known member
mctom987 said:
Your rates must be astronomical or the bike worth nothing.
I know they're astronomical!MikeinDenver said:
It's just the type of bike it is. The 4-wheel equivalent would be something like a Rolls Royce or Aston Martin. I wouldn't expect full coverage on those to be cheap.
It's considered a hyper sport motorcycle, and it's the kind teenagers and young adults (like me) buy and total in a month (not me). Full coverage was like $4800/yr = $400/mo. So I said, screw that.
Edit: I was off a little… here's the actual quote, with $1000, and $100 deductables
Total Policy Premium After the Change: $3,713.00
Total Policy Premium After the Change: $5,830.00
Total Policy Premium Before the Change: $340.00
MikeinDenver
Well-known member
mctom987 said:I know they're astronomical!MikeinDenver said:
It's just the type of bike it is. The 4-wheel equivalent would be something like a Rolls Royce or Aston Martin. I wouldn't expect full coverage on those to be cheap.
It's considered a hyper sport motorcycle, and it's the kind teenagers and young adults (like me) buy and total in a month (not me). Full coverage was like $4800/yr = $400/mo. So I said, screw that.
Edit: I was off a little… here's the actual quote, with $1000, and $100 deductables
Total Policy Premium After the Change: $3,713.00
Total Policy Premium After the Change: $5,830.00
Total Policy Premium Before the Change: $340.00
Jeez. My superport bike is only ~$430 a year with $500 deductibles. Yours a Ducati 1199?