I’m sure car insurers pay out significantly more for vehicle damage than person damage. Most accidents don’t involve harm, but body shops are getting expensive. For WA:
> In 2019, there were 45,524 reported car accidents in Washington State. Although 32,106 resulted in no injuries, 325 were fatal and 973 resulted in serious injuries.
I'd bet that the median claim is quite different than the mean claim, because the outliers are so large. Much like the "shocking" statements you hear about wealth distribution -- the largest 10 are bigger than the bottom 50% or similar. That's how log-normal distributions work. Though of course the Gini coefficient can vary.
I've wondered what happens if I have an at-fault collision where I total a hypercar whose value exceeds my maxed-out $2 million liability coverage. Can the car owner come after me for the difference?
Yes, you're ultimately liable for damages you cause.
I would expect your insurance to ask the damaged party to release you from further liability as a condition of accepting settlement at the coverage limits, but if the damages are significantly over the coverage limits and it seems likely that they could significantly collect on a judgement beyond your coverage, it's a possibility.
Umbrella insurance can go up to much higher limits ($2M is maybe already be an umbrella policy), sometimes up to $10M is easy to get, and depending on your insurer, often the upper millions are much less expensive. The tail risk is pretty small. If you're worried about it, may as well ask for quotes at $5M and $10M.
seanmcdirmid|2 years ago
> In 2019, there were 45,524 reported car accidents in Washington State. Although 32,106 resulted in no injuries, 325 were fatal and 973 resulted in serious injuries.
https://www.weierlaw.com/dealing-with-an-auto-accident-in-wa....
xapata|2 years ago
bombcar|2 years ago
Going from $100k to $2m is often quite cheap, comparatively.
Marsymars|2 years ago
toast0|2 years ago
I would expect your insurance to ask the damaged party to release you from further liability as a condition of accepting settlement at the coverage limits, but if the damages are significantly over the coverage limits and it seems likely that they could significantly collect on a judgement beyond your coverage, it's a possibility.
Umbrella insurance can go up to much higher limits ($2M is maybe already be an umbrella policy), sometimes up to $10M is easy to get, and depending on your insurer, often the upper millions are much less expensive. The tail risk is pretty small. If you're worried about it, may as well ask for quotes at $5M and $10M.