why are so many people hung up on this doctor thing? you don't have to hit a doctor to be held liable for a substantial amount of money. this is a case of a 50 year old bus driver that was awarded nearly six million dollars in damages:
2007 BCSC 993 Aberdeen v. Township of Langley

the driver was only partially at fault there, but the point is you can hit just about anyone (he didn't even hit the guy) and still exceed the basic 200,000 many times over. nowadays, there are some cars that exceed 200,000 in value.

you never know when you might be involved in an accident. that's why they are called accidents. as others have mentioned, these options are available so you can choose what you're comfortable with, unless you're comfortable with less than 200,000. in my case, a 200 dollar difference in premium on an annual basis is really not going to be noticed; whereas, a million dollar lawsuit will probably end up with me losing my home. it would suck to lose your home over 200 bucks.

What everyone has posted thus far is points I'm kind of curious about. I agree with everyone that even for someone who drives really safe, there's always the risk of you getting into an accident that you're at fault.

I notice that many people use what they are comfortable with to determine how much insurance they need. It might work for some, but I find it a little bit vague.

Would the amount of hours that you drive each day/week/month be a useful factor to consider when deciding how much insurance you need? Say for example, if you are on the road 1 hour each day, you should get $2 mil, but if you are on the road 9 hours each day, you should get $5 mil.

I see it as the opposite, the longer you are on the road daily the more in tune you are with the road conditions and such, and you are less likely to be in a rush because you would have a route or such. People who take shorter trips/commutes always try to find ways to make their commutes shorter, thus are less attentive to whats going on around them ( i would assume ) so more likely to get into an accident.

If you would like to use that as a metric for determining it, then its your choice, it is whatever you are comfortable with but you have to cover your ass all the time.

Wow, I'm honestly surprised how many people have already said this in the thread...scary people think this way. I've _seen_ the cars at Vancouver meets, and know there are a million ways from Sunday a good lawyer can find a person at fault for at least some portion of an accident.

I have coached high performance driving, I've raced multiple disciplines, and driven professionally for a wide variety of purposes. While I too believe I am not likely to cause an at-fault accident, I'm smart enough to know there is a reason they are called "accidents". If you can honestly tell me you've never, in your entire career of driving, had:

1. a close call
2. gotten to your destination and realized you don't remember part of the drive
3. driven while tired AND/OR
4. read a map, your phone, a billboard, advertisement or checked out the hottie on the corner

Then you've either never driven a vehicle, or you're lying.

For my own vehicles, I rate my 3rd party liability coverage based on the vehicle and what I use it for.

The rally bug has 3mil coverage, and I'm considering extending it to 5mil...simply for the fact that even I am parked and some idiot hits me, I guarantee you I will be on the defensive due to driving a car with "racing decals". So, in any case where I'm moving and accident happens, I fully expect that I'll need to be defending my driving, and cover appropriately.

The pickup truck has 3mil coverage, because I use it for mountain biking and towing project cars. You never know what bikers are going to do on the mountain, and it's certainly possible one will pop out of a trail just as I'm coming around the corner. Towing project cars occasionally creates great adventures and stories, but also increased insurance risk. I've towed through hurricanes on the east coast, and heavy snow in the mountains...it's amazing how quickly things can change behind the wheel.

My '68 VW single cab, and now the '58 Beetle, carry 2mil coverage...based on the use of the '68 as an around-town, very little highway, pleasure vehicle and the '58 will be the same. Besides, chances are if I'm in a serious enough accident that I'm looking at paying out more than 2mil, the victim is suing my estate. Google crash photos of classic Volkswagens if you don't want to sleep tonight. In anything more than a light in-town fender-bender, I'm going to be going six-feet under, not onto RS that night to tell my tale.

Insurance is one of those things that sucks to pay for, right up until the moment you need it. That's the moment you want to have more of it than you need.

-D

Yup, ICBC says the other driver is 100% at fault, but she's still suing. As a result, ICBC has to retain a lawyer to defend my relative, have them rack up the billable hours, possibly get dragged out for years, and maybe go to court.

Part of the reason why rates keep going up.

That only controls your behavior. I'm more line with reamemiya's train of thought. The longer you're on the road, the longer you're exposed to the risks associated with driving. You're right that being out out there longer makes it a less rushed drive for you, but it puts you at risk from other drivers for a longer time. ie. Your drive to work is 15 mins, you leave 15 minutes early rather than 5, so you don't rush. You're exposed to the road hazards for 30 minutes rather than 20.

Fuck disconnected my ABS just for pedal feel


I always ask for 0 third party but they make me take 200k

Haha yah don't skimp on the third party just because people are assholes. I had a guy drive his Civic on the wrong side of the road and hit me head on in my MR2 Turbo me 2 years later he tried to sue me to get me blamed saying my car was faulty etc because he couldn't claim any injuries since he was at fault. Such an asshole.

I had to go to court and everything, it was ridiculous given the circumstances and witnesses but his lawyer wouldnt budge, it took the judge all of 10 seconds to decide it was bullshit and tell the lawyer off but all the mental trauma and thinking there was some small chance it could go wrong and he was suing for everything saying the accident made him fat (he was already fat at the accident scene) and he couldn't work etc... His car was actually okay mine got totalled+airbag went off and I wasn't even hurt and never claimed anything!

Such a fucker and such a scumbag lawyer for taking a ridiculous case trying to get paid out with their liar client. After the court decision a month later before Christmas, I sent him a Christmas card wishing him a merry Christmas (sarcastically) and advising him he could always use his supposedly newfound weight to find work as a Santa at the fucking mall.

Sure you were just sitting there at a stale red and the guy plowed into your rear end because he was texting and not paying attention... but it's still your fault for leaving home in the first place. If you'd just stayed in the kitchen where you belong, the accident would have never happened!

$5 million liabilty on all vehicles in the household for peace of mind. It's an extra $12/month over $2 million but worth it I believe. Also, Excess underinsured motorist protection to protect myself from you $200,000 and no insurance people. :)

:thumbsup:

This thread is making me think about upping my excess underinsured :P

peace of mind. not sure how you find that strange

Good drivers make mistakes too. Look away for a second and the vehicle in front slams on their brakes. BAM! 100% your fault. You never know what's going to happen so why not protect yourself?

a good driver would have left enough room to not be 4 feet into the car infront if they looked away for a second.

That said, I have 2 million, just because I can't afford not buying it.

What you're describing is a perfect driver, smoothie.

good drivers are exactly that. good, but not perfect.

maximum liability. always.

given enough time, an accident will happen.

1 million is NOTHING. don't be fools. always get maximum liability unless you're a second rate poor ass citizen that has to choose between the next few meals or a slightly higher premium.

millions are not excessive when it comes to the medical and legal side of this argument.

if you cause any permanent bodily damage, they will be awarded a minimum of 1 million dollars.

just think about that.

risk mitigation, risk control. whatever you want to call it. the cost is nothing. NOTHING. you shouldn't even bat an eye at the extra premium.

1000 dollar deductible for me.

i know two people awarded 1 million because they suffered permanent bodily damage.

i had a woman sue me cuz i hit her going 10km/h, 9 people involved. only she complaint. she said her neck hurt and had to miss work. she chased hard and sued back, and eventually icbc awarded her 75,000 dollars.

75,000 dollars just for a sore neck and missing work (all bullshit of course). you think about what 200k can cover if its even slightly serious.

5 million bros. 5 mill. if they had 10, i'd do 10 for sure.

^Out of curiosity then, at what amount would you consider excessive?

I actually had to re-new my insurance just last weekend, and I reviewed my coverage for my FX, and as it turns out I carry 2 mil liability.

I didn't ask what the price difference was between 1mil and 2mil, I just left it where it was.

i can't answer that because i don't have all the information.

lol i would give the information to a statistician. bell curve or something and 4 standard deviations away. lol or something...

i dont know. i would see what the highest lawsuit that went through was, and then that would be it. the cost shouldn't be that much more than 5 million.

but 5 million isn't excessive. i've heard of 9 million dollar accident lawsuits.

Death is cheap, permanent disability is not. Hate to sound morbid but that's the truth.

5 mill is the max for a normal person although ICBC does offer 10 mill and 25 mill but I believe those are for passenger vehicles like limos, buses, etc.

So I was in the insurance office renewing the insurance on the 1958 Beetle. I don't have collector plates on it yet, as it's still a project car. So for the sake of this discussion it's still a "normal" car...just old. I currently have 2mil liability on it, and just for fun asked what the price difference was between 1mil and 2mil liability.

$30.00

PER YEAR

That's right, per year. So now I REALLY don't understand you guys who think you're saving so much money by not having good liability coverage. You probably spent more money in liquor and dinner last weekend then your liability insurance will cost you in a year. Hell, that $30 is a tank of gas in the '58.

-Dave

And yet if your tire blows and it results in an accident you will be the party at fault. Good luck with that.

The other thing in this discussion I think everyone lost sight of was multiple passengers. We've all just talked about a single driver incident. Look at Ulic's case. If all 9 people had sued, and ICBC awarded $75k each, it totals $675,000.