OAI: GM Auto Insurance Offer Highlights Minimum Coverage Issue

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, July 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- General Motors recently announced that it would be teaming up with coverage provider MetLife to offer car insurance with no down payment and no payments for the entire first year following the purchase of certain GM models in Oregon and Washington.

What's surprising about the financial protection provided for free through the offer is that it far exceeds the requirements set by law in the two states.

Washington currently requires drivers to only carry $25,000 in bodily injury liability protection per person and $50,000 total per accident, along with $10,000 in property damage liability per accident. (This is commonly denoted as 25/50/10.)

Source: http://www.insurance.wa.gov/consumers/auto/auto-getting-started.shtml

But the insurance provided through the MetLife-GM deal comes with 100/300/50 -- more than five times the total liability protection required by law in the state -- along with PIP, uninsured motorist, collision and comprehensive protections.

The difference highlights the relatively low legal standards for auto financial protection in Washington and the majority of other states.

The Insurance Information Institute has reported the general industry consensus is that drivers should carry 100/300 bodily injury liability in order to completely protect their assets. Yet no state in the nation requires drivers to have such levels of coverage.

Twenty-seven states currently require drivers to carry 25/50 bodily injury coverage, and only eight states have minimums that are higher than that. On average, states require drivers to have $88,529 in total liability coverage per accident.

Washington drivers should consider this when they go to purchase a policy.

Though buying the minimums may lead to a price break, the policyholder could end up having to pay out of pocket if he or she causes a serious accident resulting in damages that exceed the minimums. Washingtonians may want to speak with their insurers or agents about the extra costs of bumping up their coverage levels.

To learn more about finding an insurance policy with low start-up costs, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/pay-monthly/ where they will find informative resources and a quote-comparison generator that can help them quickly track down the lowest rates.

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