Auto Insurance USA, Australia, and UK

[NETWizz]

How does auto insurance work in different countries?

In the United States for example, it is complicated. I have to buy a separate insurance policy on each and every vehicle I own though they are on the same policy.

Here is the strange part... the Liability follows the driver and covers me driving any eligible vehicle.

Comprehensive stays with the vehicle and has specifics for who can drive the vehicle to be covered. Comprehensive is basically what pays for the vehicle itself when it is damaged by the driver or a freak hail storm.

The States set the minimum coverage. In California that minimum is only $15,000 per person (i.e. injury) and $30,000 per accident. Ironically, minimum property damage is a mere $5,000!

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Then there is uninsured and underinsurred. Basically, if YOU hit my $40,000 vehicle destroying it having only $5,000 coverage, I have to insure against you not having adequate insurance.


WE do NOT have agreed upon values of vehicles, either. Hence, that $40,000 car above would probably result in my own insurance offering me $25,000 as a first offer, and to get the full amount, I would probably need to sue you and collect a judgement of $40,000 of which your insurance company would then pay $5,000 and mine $35,000. Then mine would demand you repay them $35,000 or they would garnish your wages, put a lien on your house, or reposess your other property! They would not likley need another court order in most jurisdictions because they by paying me the $35,000 they now have subrogation rights to collect that order.

 

[GTP]

Not sure about all the legal dross you stated above , but here you can get comprehensive care insurance that offers new vehicle replacement if your car is written off within the first two years.
Comprehensive Car Insurance here also adds benefits like unlimited windscreen replacements, theft of goods from your vehicle (as long as you had it locked) unlimited towing in case of breakdowns, full roadside assistance for the life of the vehicle etc, etc.
It s an offence punishable by law to drive an uninsured vehicle.
If you don't want/can't afford full comprehensive insurance- IE pay $1000+ p/y for insurance on a $40,000 car - you can get "3rd Party Insurance" which covers the other vehicle comprehensively, but your car is not covered. If you are the victim of a collision, the other party's insurance, whether comprehensive or third party, covers you.

Example: My old Commodore is only worth wrecker money of about $300~$500. So it makes no sense for me to pay $478 per year for full comprehensive insurance. So I pay ~$125 p/y for 3rd Party, which covers any vehicle I may collide with, whether it's a Datsun or a Lamborghini or a A310 AirBus, , but my old girl gets fixed at my expense or a trip to the wrecker (if damaged beyond repair).

 

[NJW]

The UK is broadly similar to @Barcelona's Australian examples. You must have a minimum of third-party cover (from a UK registered insurer if you're UK resident), which will cover third-party risks – there is no such thing as under-insured in this respect.

 

[ChrisTech]

Also many UK insurers do a multi-car policy, where more than one car is covered under your main policy and you get a discount (allegedly) - although the additional vehicles get their own Insurance Certificate.

Plus there's what's called "No Claims Discount" where the more years you have claim-free, the bigger the discount, although you can pay extra to protect this. In reality it can pay you to pay out of your own pocket in an accident rather than claim, as they hike the premium a large amount if you do claim.

I'm glad the UK is simpler that the US - it sounds like a nightmare!

 

[GTP]

Plus there's what's called "No Claims Discount" where the more years you have claim-free, the bigger the discount

Yeah, we have that here as well. It goes up to 60% I think?
Multivehicle policies are normal here as well.

One good thing that started a few years ago is that your insurance covers any (legally licensed) driver over 25, whereas before it only covered people you listed on the policy.
You can add people under 25 but you have to pay more?

 

[Markverhyden]

In the US it depends by state. Here in MA, the land of starving lawyers and state sanctioned rape of policy holders, it's one policy with all vehicles under that policy as long as it's one class. eg Personal or Commercial.

 

[ChrisTech]

One good thing that started a few years ago is that your insurance covers any (legally licensed) driver over 25, whereas before it only covered people you listed on the policy.

In the UK, generally you have to be named.

 

[sapphirescales]

Auto insurance is a massive scam. People should be insured, NOT vehicles. Each person is different. You've got careful drivers and you've got crazy drivers. And you shouldn't have to worry about insuring a particular vehicle or worrying whether or not you're covered. I went through a HUGE ordeal having to screw with my title and double pay the sales tax on my new vehicle thanks to this insurance BS. It was either that, or pay more for my insurance than my freaking new car payment. I will NEVER take out an auto loan again. Screw that BS.

I ended up having to pay THOUSANDS of dollars more in taxes, not to mention the THOUSANDS of dollars in interest I'm having to pay with a loan. And the insurance is more too. I paid that f*cker off 1 month after I bought it trying to fix this insurance mess. I finally got it worked out, but next time I'm just going to buy my car with cash and screw all the hoops. I thought it would help my business credit to have another account type show up, but just screw it. I don't care if all that shows up on my business credit is my enormous line of credit at the bank. That's enough. I'm at that point that I don't really need credit anymore anyway.

 

[Diggs]

Rates across the US varying incredibly. I pay only a couple hundred dollars for 6 months of insurance on a new vehicle with full comprehensive coverage while out east the same thing can be $1,000+. A friend of mine moved to Wisconsin from Massachusetts and when he got his auto insurance payment for 6 months he at first thought it was a monthly payment.

Auto insurance is a massive scam. People should be insured, NOT vehicles.

Actually it is the people that are insured. That's the first of the two parts. Liability insurance insures the person from being sued for damages in the event of an accident. The rates vary widely even in this state depending on your driving record. The second part is comprehensive which if you elect to carry it will fix your car in an accident caused by you and is based on the value of your car.

 

[HCHTech]

Ahh Massachusetts....with their excise tax based on value. That was an unwelcome surprise the first time I bought a new car when I lived there. When I moved back to PA, the decrease in insurance premiums was like getting a raise in pay. Not to mention the price of housing -