Dear Dave,
My husband and I are debt free except for our home, and we have about $100,000 in savings. Recently, one of our daughters was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. We’re worried about this, and the fact that she and her sister are both teenage drivers. Do you think we should drop full coverage, and have just liability, since we’ll probably have lots of medical bills over the next few years?
Kim
Dear Kim,
I’m really sorry to hear about your daughter’s medical situation. But speaking from a financial perspective, you guys are in pretty good shape to handle things. You have a pile of cash in savings, I assume you have some kind of medical insurance and you’re debt free.
Under the circumstances, I get where you’re coming from and the idea of having even more money available to put toward medical issues. In your case, however, there’s no way I’m going to have only liability coverage when there are two teenage drivers in the house. There’s a reason insurance rates are so high for teens. It’s called statistical analysis of their driving ability. They’re not good drivers!
I haven’t had a wreck in over 20 years, but I’ve had some kids who did. No, I wouldn’t drop the coverage. Hopefully, your daughter will be okay. But I wouldn’t take a chance on having to write a check for another car on top of medical expenses.
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, EntreLeadership and Smart Money Smart Kids. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.