Howdy, am a 50+ year of member of USAA, auto, home and other. Have been unhappy with the rate increases, but checking with Outdoors find this is almost universal with auto insurance, no matter what the happy, happy BS adds say about saving $XXX on your insurance it will go up.

However, my question to you smart money guys is that USAA is recommending I increase my liability limits to my NET WORTH! Wow, that seems extremely excessive. Has the world changed so much that an auto accident can cost you your entire life savings (Net Worth)? Are the Ambulance Chasers now so powerful that they can take everything.

Do you insure yourself into poverty, or take the chance that you will not be sued into poverty. At my age, 74, I could NEVER rebuild my current Net Worth. This entire thing is very concerning, as I see Injury Lawyer adds everyday about multi million dollar settlements.

Any advice is certainly appreciated!

The last jury duty summons I got in spring 2023 was a civil case over a car accident. No deaths, no major injuries, but there were some injuries to the plaintiff and lost wages plus car damage. Plaintiff was a single mom with two kids that were in the car. I wasn't selected for the jury but an acquaintance was on the jury. He said they were asking for over half a million. Jury awarded $350,000. Jury was not permitted to know if the driver who caused the accident had insurance or if insurance had covered any expenses. Defendant was in his 20s and had a fairly low paying job. Not sure how he will ever pay off this judgement and about half of that will go to the plaintiff's lawyer. They spent a lot of time during voir dire asking about how we felt about punitive judgements, awarding for mental anguish, if there was a max amount we were uncomfortable awarding, and various other things along those lines. Let's just say, I increased our auto insurance coverage after that but it still isn't $350,000 worth. I would be scared to see how much an accident resulting in serious injuries or death could cost in civil court. Just my 2 cents. I am not in the insurance industry.

Yes, you should have insurance up to your net worth and if your auto insurance doesn't go that high you should look into umbrella insurance.

Also USAA isn't the company it was 20 years ago and should probably shop your policy around.

My Auto and Homeowners Liability limit is $300,000, the minimum underlying limit for my $2,000,000 umbrella. (State required minimum is woefully inadequate.) This is not about net worth. It's about insuring against a huge judgment. The person with $500,000 needs a high underlying limit and $1,000,000 umbrella more than a person with net worth of many millions. Why is that? The answer is obvious if you think it through. I'm for high limits irrespective of net worth. I'm no fan of USAA.

You should look into that thread recently about umbrella policies.

Can these settlements go after your retirement/401k?

It is my understanding that in Texas, a judgment can't take your house, one car, or any retirement savings. To me that makes it seem like most people are immune from any real judgements. Unless you have investment properties or a car collection, the plantiff won't be able to collect on the judgement. Lawyers, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Keep in mind that the first thing a Plaintiff's lawyer asks for is your insurance limits.

They love commercial vehicles because they know there is a minimum of $1MM insurance. With bigger companies, there can be several layers of insurance. Insurance money is viewed as "easy money". The company logo on your truck is like painting a bullseye on you. Getting max personal lines polices with a large umbrella policy on top creates a similar effect.

They prefer not to try to collect against personal assets. Texas is notoriously generous in protecting judgment debtors.

Go with the amount of insurance that makes you most comfortable. But don't be deluded into thinking that you are insulated by being over-insured. You may be making yourself an more inviting target.

agnerd said:

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It is my understanding that in Texas, a judgment can't take your house, one car, or any retirement savings. To me that makes it seem like most people are immune from any real judgements. Unless you have investment properties or a car collection, the plantiff won't be able to collect on the judgement. Lawyers, please correct me if I'm wrong.

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Exempt property:

A homestead of up to 10 urban acres and up to 100 rural acres (single) and 200 rural acres (family)
Proceeds from the sale of your homestead for up to 6 months
Current wages
Social Security Administration benefits
Pension and retirement benefits, including 401(k) and IRA
HSA plans
529 plans
Workers' compensation benefits
Unemployment benefits
Child support, alimony, and spousal support
Life insurance and annuities

Exempt personal property with a combined value of $50,000 (single) or $100,000 (family):

Home furnishings, including family heirlooms
Food
Farming or ranching vehicles and implements
Tools and equipment used for a job
Clothes
Jewelry up to $12,500 for a single person or $25,000 for a family
2 firearms
1 motor vehicle for each member of the family
2 horses, mules, or donkeys with food on hand and riding equipment
12 head of cattle with food on hand
60 head of other livestock with food on hand
120 fowl with food on hand
Household pets
Unpaid commissions for personal services up to $12,500 for a single person or $25,000 for a family

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.41.htm
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.42.htm
https://texaslawhelp.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/final_protected_property_notice-bilingual.pdf

The Jerry App
Jerry App

don't walk. RUN! It was a game changer for me in finding better rates. Even lower than going direct with online companies.

aggiebrad94 said:

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The Jerry App
Jerry App

don't walk. RUN! It was a game changer for me in finding better rates. Even lower than going direct with online companies.

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I've played that game before. My phone didn't stop ringing. No thanks.

rlb28 said:

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aggiebrad94 said:

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The Jerry App
Jerry App

don't walk. RUN! It was a game changer for me in finding better rates. Even lower than going direct with online companies.

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I've played that game before. My phone didn't stop ringing. No thanks.

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This is not the same game. I assure you!

northeastag said:

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Got sued a few years ago when my daughter had a fender bender. The guy got out and walked around talking to my daughter and the police, got a phone call, then got in his car and wouldn't budge until an ambulance arrived. Nothing wrong with him. No broken bones, no internal injuries. Yet he still sued.

A lot of sleeplesss nights until he settled for $2500 "go away" money, which I am sure mostly went to his lawyer. I now have $1 mm liability on each underlying policy (cars and houses) and a $2 mm umbrella on top of that. I figure that even a runaway jury won't often go above these amounts. I pay through the nose, but I sleep well at night.

And I now consider lawyers to be the lowest scum of the earth.

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You are wise to buy the high policy limits. I totally disregard what assets are protected from a judgment. The thought that high limits makes me a "target" for a higher demand to me is irrelevant. I want high limits and will pay for them!

northeastag said:

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Got sued a few years ago when my daughter had a fender bender. The guy got out and walked around talking to my daughter and the police, got a phone call, then got in his car and wouldn't budge until an ambulance arrived. Nothing wrong with him. No broken bones, no internal injuries. Yet he still sued.

A lot of sleeplesss nights until he settled for $2500 "go away" money, which I am sure mostly went to his lawyer. I now have $1 mm liability on each underlying policy (cars and houses) and a $2 mm umbrella on top of that. I figure that even a runaway jury won't often go above these amounts. I pay through the nose, but I sleep well at night.

And I now consider lawyers to be the lowest scum of the earth.

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Yep.....

My sister was driving and had a few friends in her car when she was in an accident. The local lawyer (who's daughter was also my sister's friend) called every girl in the car to make sure they weren't injured. Convinced one she may have a neck injury. She was wearing a neck brace everywhere, except to HS volleyball practice and games (yes, she was on the team with my sister) and they sued. I have no idea what the amount was but my parents' insurance was just going to pay. My parents raised hell and even took one of those old school recorders to volleyball games to show the girl's neck was just fine when she was playing volleyball. They eventually settled.

So that lawyer convinced a girl to sue and ruin multiple friendships. And she probably lost money in the whole ordeal with her fake ass doctor's visits because of lawyer fees.

I have all my policies under the same insurer and a 2M umbrella covering them all. Regardless of net worth (and i believe i got this idea here) is it doesn't matter what amount someone tries to sue you for, the insurance company with 2M to lose is going to put a heck of a lot of resources in your corner to avoid paying out that first 2M

With the umbrella I'm not sure you need the high limits on the underlying policies. They will require higher than basic limits on the underlying policies before they will allow them to be covered by the umbrella, but those limits should be well south of 1M

I do primarily insurance defense. Not all lawyers are scum, but there are, unfortunately, a disproportionately large part of the litigation section that parted ways with their integrity (if they ever had it) long ago.

htxag09 said:

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So that lawyer convinced a girl to sue and ruin multiple friendships. And she probably lost money in the whole ordeal with her fake ass doctor's visits because of lawyer fees.

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Maybe, but probably not. The way most run the scam in Texas is through "Letters of Protection", where the Plaintiff's doctors, who have a cozy relationship with the Plaintiff's attorney, render their services on credit. They create inflated bills so the Plaintiff's attorney has leverage in their damages model. After the case is settled, the doctor takes pennies on the dollar to resolve the bills.