Last week, my grandmother asked me the same question about her 2002 Buick LeSabre. She was frustrated that her 2 cars cost her around $1000 per year and she wanted to trim what she thought was un-needed coverage. Last year we had the same conversation and she removed the physical damage from their 1989 Jeep Cherokee.

As an agent, I always recommend to keep the most coverage that you can afford. Now that may sound like a car salesman trying to sell you the most expensive car in the lot, but it is simple and true.

For my grandmother, we reviewed her physical damage costs and the value of her vehicle. She was paying around $259 a year for 2 major benefits:

• If she was in a fender bender, it would cost her the $200 deductible, plus what she paid in premium to get her car repaired.
• If her car was totaled, she would get a check for the FMV minus her deductible (roughly $10,000) and all she has had to pay is the premium.

Without the coverage, she is out the full value of the vehicle.

You should research your cars' values and see if the value of each car is worth losing these 2 major benefits of physical damage coverage.

Another quick story; about 8 years ago a man came in to buy physical damage (plus required coverage) on a vehicle that was over 9 years old. He had a son that was on the policy and the son had 6 violations. The physical damage cost over $700 a year with a $500 deductible and he thought the car was worth only $1200.

If there were an accident, he would have paid the $700. The company would have to evaluate the value of the vehicle minus his deductible (say $700). He would have paid $700 to get $700 from the company. For his situation I recommended not to purchase the coverage, but have the son save the amount of the premium payment in his savings account. That way at the time of loss he has sufficient funds to either supplement or replace the loss. Some situations may find it acceptable to pay the premium to get the same value back, but I don't know of many!

Hope this helps you evaluate your situation, costs and coverage needs. Get a quote with CarInsurance.com to see if we can help you with your coverage needs.