Not to belabor this, but the insurance company is in no way defending you.
They would throw you to the wolves if it benefited them in the slightest.
They are only "defending" themselves against paying out any settlements.
.. but there is no reason to lower your coverage limits to save yourself money, or because you think insurance companies have the wrong motives.
You need limits that are appropriate for the net worth that the insurance policy is protecting. Insurance providers know the levels that are appropriate, you call and discuss it with them and update coverages every few years as your net worth increases. Because only if you have enough coverage, will a lawsuit be settled and paid out by your insurance company. The amount of a settlement will be below the amount of your limits, which protects YOUR assets from seizure to settle a lawsuit, and that settlement is all done by your insurer's attorneys, who will fight to minimize their payout, which "benefits" the insurance company, but it's really protecting you and your assets, and making the Claimant (or Plaintiff of the lawsuit) whole again - which insurance is supposed to do.
I'd never get less coverage on a car just because I drive it less.. the coverage is about protecting your assets, not the car.
... my recollection from when I looked into Umbrella coverage some time ago, is that I would have to increase my automotive coverage limits. From 100/300 to 250/500 or something like that. Therefore even though the unbrella policy wasn't expensive the costs started adding up with upping my limits on my cars.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/umbrella-insurance/ This issue just came up for me.. We have USAA insurance on everything, and an Umbrella policy with 300/500/100 limits on Personal Injury, Property Damage and Death Benefit, plus 300k uninsured.
My vintage auto insurance policy with USAA's insurance partner had limits of 300/300/2, plus 300 uninsured.
Last week USAA notified me I must have the same limits on my vintage auto insurance policies as their Umbrella. I contacted my collector car insurer and upped the limits to match our Umbrella policy.
The added cost was $11.27.
- Art
