Warning: I chose the cheaper car insurance and it cost me $1,200

I had to pick between two car insurance plans last renewal. One was $85 a month from a big name company, the other was $55 from a smaller online-only provider. I went with the cheaper option to save $360 a year, thinking they all cover the same basic stuff. Then I hit a deer on Route 9 back in October, and that policy had a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive claims plus no rental car coverage. I ended up paying the full repair out of pocket plus renting a car for a week, which completely wiped out any savings. Has anyone else learned a hard lesson about picking a policy based on just the monthly price?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_harris1mo ago

Changed my whole mindset on insurance after something similar happened to me. Thought I was being smart saving that $360 a year but then I had a fender bender and found out my cheap policy had zero rental coverage and a $2,000 deductible. Now I always look at the deductible and what's actually covered before even glancing at the monthly price.

john6501mo ago

I gotta disagree with you on this one. That $360 a year you were saving is real money, and most people don't actually get into fender benders every year. I've been driving 15 years and only made one claim. A $2000 deductible is steep sure, but you could just put that $360 in a savings account each year and have way more than enough to cover any deductible down the road. Plus rental coverage is a joke half the time they only give you a crappy econobox anyway. The real scam is paying extra for stuff you might never use.