I have an 2002 honda civic that is worth about $7,000 with 112,000 miles on it. I have collision, death and dismemberment, uninsured motorist. I have a 1,000 deductable, but I am paying $110.00/ mo and want to reduce my payment. Is it a bad idea to drop uninsured motorist or death and dismemberment? Can someone explain what all the car insurance options are? I don't have dependents, but a already have free life, health insurance, and disablility insurance through my employer if that makes a difference.

I would call my agent, but I think he must be have busy or smoking a joint out back for the last couple of weeks because he doesn't call me back.

The uninsured motorist thing might depend on where you live/work. If you live in a state with mandatory insurance that could change the answer, however I live in a state with mandatory insurance and I still choose to carry it because I work in an area that has a LOT of illegal (which means unlicensed and uninsured) drivers (probably illegal immigrants) and my dad who works in the same area has been hit TWICE here by uninsured drivers. But if I lived and worked in an area where I felt like it was very unlikely to be involved in an incident with an uninsured motorist I might consider reducing it or dropping it.

Also, I would agree with the person who reminded you about the whole deductible vs monthly payment thing. If you don't have 1000 dollars in your savings account at all times, you should probably pay the higher monthly payment (which would only be a little bit extra a month) than risk being in an accident and completely unable to pay your deductible. That can lead to some serious debt problems (CC debt and such) that I think are better avoided.

Neither are good ideas to drop. You don't want $1000 deductible if you can't afford $110/mo. All depends on the state. I look at my average in my savings account the day before I get paid to figure out what my deductible should be. 100/300/100 are minimums in my book. What if some kid runs out in front of your car and you accidently kill them? You need a lot of coverage for the lawsuit and her medical bills if you only hurt her badly.

You don't want to have someone plow into you with no insurance and render your car unuseable. And then find out that the repairs are $1200 and necessary to get the car running again. Insurance only pays $200 and your premiums go up. Drop that deductible down to $250 and deal with it.

You didn't list the most important, LIABILITY.

What if you cause an accident and somebody is seriously hurt? Medical treatment can be
$50,000 for serious injuries, then there is rehab and such.
What if you hit somebody that makes $70,000 and they can't work for six months? They will sue you.

The replacement value of your $7000 car should be the least of your worries.

I have 2 times the state minimim for liability.