Evening star., 1953-02-23

wire wheels, full leather uphol-
Stery and leather hand grips on
the steering wheel.
The new convertible comes in
three colorS - Alpine white,
to 100 and 800" costs only $1.19
more than that. In other words,
for $3.50, a Virginia driver can
get 20 to 30 times the coverage
he would receive under the basic
IS and TO-"
Collision insurance, on the
other hand, is not considered so
necessary. In fact, in States
with a stiff safety responsibility
law, it is a comparatively rare
type of coverage.
Costs Compared.
The principal objection of
most drivers to collision inSur-
ance is its cost. The price Of
this insurance depends on the
area in which it is written and
the value of the car itself. Take,
as an example, a 1851 sedan of
one of the so-called "low-priced
three" Here. are the annual
premiums for $50 deductible":
District S68.OO
Maryland --------- $500
virginia -----------5 51.OO
Other forms Of collision insur-
ance vary from the $50 norm.
The "$100 deductible" type in
Maryland costs $32 a year, and
1925 deductible" costs $1O4.
Note that the added premium
for coverage down to $25 is
exactly 100 per cent over the
$50 premium.
To the question, Should I
carry $50 deductible," there are
several answers. If you are buy
ing your car on time, you are
carrying such a policy whether
you want to or not. It is a part
if the deal with the finance COM
pany.
If you have a brand-new ca,
and are inclined to get into acci-
dents, you ought to carry it be-
cause even a fender dent on a
new Streamliner can be a costly
body job. But if you are driving
a 1929 Ford it would hardly pay
you to take out collision insur-
ance.
Many persons who have good
driving records elect to take their
chances and drive without COL
lision insurance. They figure it
this way:
I'm the last 10 years I have
driven my car without an acci-
dent that cost as much as $50.
I would have paid out about $700
in premiums in that period. If
I have an accident tomorrow
that costs $500, I'll still be 5000
to the good over the long haul"
This line Of reasoning is based
on having some money in the
bank with which to pay for COL
lision damage.
Comprehensive insurance
many persons find, is a good
thing to have. It covers theft
Of the car, and usually provides
for car-rental fees during part
OF the period the car may be
AWOL. It also covers fire, which
can be extremely costly, and
such acts of vandalism as tire
slashing and glass breakage. It's
cost in this area for the same
car as the one described in the
collision insurance example
ranges from $40 in Virginia to
$13 in Maryland.
Cost for Teen-Agers.
Going back to public liability
(bodily injury and property
damage insurance. there is one
factor worthy of note. The
teen-age accident rate these days
is so high that a special rate is
being quoted for cars which are
driven from time to time by
persons under the age of IS. The
extra premium is a thumper.
Compare, for example, the rate
on "25 and so" including a $4,000
property damage rider) for a car
driven by adults only and for
one driven by persons under 25:
Adults Teen-agers.
District ------$65.48 $107.44
Maryland ----- 1892 77.6O
Virginia 1880 37.4O 1850
But the cost of a policy cover
ing teen-age drivers is not the
only problem. Such coverage is
becoming increasingly hard TO
get at any price. When you tell
the insurance company about
your 19-year-old son, there are
a number of questions the COM
pany wants to ask. You can
sidestep these questions by sign
ing an agreement that coverage
will lapse in event Of an ac-
cident in which the teener is
driving. But that can turn out
to be like not having insurance
at ali.
If you refuse to waive cover
age, and If your son is using the
car every day to go to school,
the chances that a company
would touch the deal with a
10-foot slide rule are very slim.
Out in Ohio, an insurance
company is trying a new plan 20
broaden coverage Of teen-agers.
This plan would give special
preference to youngsters who
have graduated from accredited
driving courses in the public
schools. The idea is a reflection
of the fact that there is nothing
inherently bad about kids driv-
ing that cannot be corrected by
careful tutelage.
But the way things stand here
and most other placeS-get-
ting a policy covering a minor