Question 01
Who is on your driver list — and who is missing?
Pull your declarations page. Count every name listed. Then count every licensed driver living at your address. The two numbers need to match unless you have explicit driver exclusions in writing.
Technical Detail Major carriers in 2026 are using Additional Driver Discovery (A.D.D.) tools that cross-reference DMV databases, vehicle registrations, address histories, and other public records to identify drivers the carrier believes live at your address. State Farm's 2025 Personal Car Policy explicitly defines a regular driver as someone who operates your vehicle more than once a month in a typical month, and the policy makes the disclosure responsibility yours. Drivers who typically should be listed include: spouses, adult children who use your car (including college students home for breaks), roommates with regular access, nannies, household members of driving age, and significant others who regularly drive. Drivers who can typically be excluded include: a household member with their own vehicle and their own primary auto policy, or a household member named on a formal driver exclusion endorsement. The line between regular and occasional is the conversation worth having before a claim, not after.
Charles in Plain English
The carrier knows who lives at your address. The question is whether your policy does too.
Audit your policy for Any driver name that appeared on this year's declarations page but was not there last year. Any household member of driving age who is NOT on the policy and is NOT named on a formal exclusion endorsement. McDade reviews the household roster on every auto policy review.
Sources: CBS News Colorado (December 2024) · State Farm Personal Car Policy Notice (June 2025)
Question 02
Are your liability limits matched to your assets, or to Texas minimums?
Texas requires minimum auto liability of 30/60/25 per Texas Department of Insurance rules: $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 bodily injury per accident, $25,000 property damage per accident. Texas calls these minimums for a reason.
Technical Detail State minimums protect you legally. They do not protect your assets. A serious multi-vehicle accident with multiple injured parties or a single accident with significant medical costs can exhaust 30/60/25 in a single hospital visit. If you cause a serious accident and your liability limits run out, you are personally responsible for the difference and the other driver can sue you. Texas operates on a modified comparative fault rule: if you are found 51 percent or more at fault, you are barred from recovering anything yourself. For Established Homeowners and high-net-worth households, McDade typically starts at 100/300/100, often supplemented by a personal umbrella policy of $1M to $5M depending on net worth, public profile, and risk exposure. The premium difference between Texas minimums and 100/300/100 is often smaller than people expect. The asset protection difference is enormous.
Charles in Plain English
State minimums protect the state's mandate. Real limits protect your name.
Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Auto Insurance Guide
Question 03
Do you have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage?
Per Texas Department of Motor Vehicles data, approximately 20 percent of Texas drivers are uninsured. That means roughly one in five vehicles you share the road with carries no liability coverage at all. Many more carry only minimum 30/60/25, which often runs out long before a serious injury claim is paid.
Technical Detail Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance or when you are the victim of a hit-and-run. Underinsured Motorist (UIM) applies when the at-fault driver's coverage is exhausted before your damages are. UM/UIM covers your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering when the responsible party cannot. Texas insurance carriers are required by law to offer UM/UIM coverage, but you can decline it in writing. Most clients who declined years ago to save premium have no idea they did. Without UM/UIM, an at-fault uninsured driver in a Texas accident leaves you collecting nothing from anyone but your own collision and medical coverage, which often falls far short on a high-end vehicle or a serious injury.
Charles in Plain English
You can buy the best policy on the road. It does not protect you from the worst driver on it.
Sources: Texas Department of Insurance Auto Guide
Question 04
Is your vehicle on Agreed Value, Stated Value, or ACV?
Three valuation methods. Three very different total-loss outcomes. Most clients have never been told which one applies to their vehicle.
Technical Detail Actual Cash Value (ACV) is the depreciated market value at the time of loss, calculated using Kelley Blue Book, NADA, or current market sources. ACV is the default on standard auto policies. Stated Value is a value you declare on the policy, often used for classic or modified vehicles to lower premium. The trap on Stated Value: standard Stated Value policy language reads "the carrier pays the lesser of the Stated Value or the Actual Cash Value at the time of loss." Stated Value functions as a ceiling, not a guarantee. If you list a 1970 Plymouth Cuda at $80,000 Stated Value and the carrier's adjuster determines the ACV is $60,000 at time of loss, you receive $60,000. Agreed Value is a value you and the carrier agree to in writing before the policy is issued, locked in for the policy term, with no depreciation and no fall-back to ACV. On a covered total loss, Agreed Value pays the full agreed amount. For high-end clients with classic, exotic, restomod, custom, modified, or appreciating vehicles, Agreed Value is the only valuation method that does what most people assume Stated Value does.
Charles in Plain English
Stated Value sounds like a promise. It is a ceiling.
Audit your policy for The valuation method on each vehicle. If the dec page does not say "Agreed Value" in writing on a classic, exotic, or modified vehicle, the policy is on Stated Value or ACV — and the carrier retains discretion at claim time.
Sources: The Zebra, Agreed Value vs Stated Value · American Family Insurance, Agreed Value vs Stated Amount
Question 05
Does your classic qualify as an "antique vehicle" in Texas — and does the policy match the registration?
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has a specific definition. The insurance form needs to match it.
Technical Detail Per Texas DMV Form VTR-54 (Application for Antique License Plate), an antique vehicle in Texas must have a frame, body, and motor at least 25 years old, and must be a collector's item used solely for exhibition, club activities, parades, and other functions of public interest, plus occasional personal use. Antique-plated vehicles in Texas pay $50 for five-year registration ($40 if manufactured before 1921), are exempt from annual safety inspections, and carry strict use restrictions. Texas also recognizes Custom Vehicles (at least 25 years old or built to resemble a vehicle at least 25 years old) and Street Rods (manufactured before 1949 or built to resemble pre-1949 vehicles) as separate categories. The classification chosen at registration directly determines what insurance form is appropriate. Specialty classic carriers like Hagerty, Grundy, and American Modern offer Agreed Value coverage with annual mileage allowances designed for show and limited use, often at lower premium than a standard auto policy. Putting an antique-plated 1965 Mustang on a standard auto policy with daily-driver mileage assumptions is a structural mismatch that costs the client both ways: more premium up front, less certainty at claim time.
Charles in Plain English
The plate says collector. The policy should too.
Source: Texas DMV Form VTR-54, Application for Antique License Plate
Question 06
When is dropping to liability-only the right call?
Liability-only is a legitimate strategy on the right vehicle for the right household. It is the wrong strategy applied to the wrong vehicle by households who are saving the wrong way.
Technical Detail The widely cited industry standard is the 10 percent rule: if the combined annual collision and comprehensive premium exceeds 10 percent of the vehicle's actual cash value, dropping to liability-only deserves a serious look. Industry sources reference a vehicle-value threshold around $7,500, raised from older $5,000 benchmarks because both repair costs and premiums have risen. Math is necessary but not sufficient. Other conditions must apply: the vehicle must be paid off (the Texas Department of Insurance confirms lenders will buy single-interest coverage and bill it to the loan if collision and comprehensive lapse on a financed vehicle), the household must have emergency savings to cover total replacement, the driver must have a clean record, and local risk profile (theft, hail, hurricane exposure) must be acceptable. Even when math conditions support dropping to liability-only, UM/UIM coverage should always remain in place in Texas given the 20 percent uninsured driver rate.
Charles in Plain English
Liability-only is right for the right car. Almost never the right answer for the rest of the garage.
Sources: Texas Department of Insurance Auto Guide · MoneyGeek, When to Drop Collision and Comprehensive (2026)
Question 07
Are your deductibles set for you, or for the carrier?
The Texas Department of Insurance notes that deductibles apply to collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, but never to claims against the at-fault driver's insurance. Most households accept whatever deductible the carrier set without ever asking what the right number is for their family.
Technical Detail Common deductible levels in Texas auto are $250, $500, $1,000, and $2,500. Industry rate data shows that increasing a collision deductible from $500 to $1,000 typically saves $100 to $200 per year at most major carriers. Increasing further to $2,500 saves more but creates real out-of-pocket exposure on a fender-bender. The right deductible matches what your household can comfortably absorb without strain. A high-net-worth household with $50,000 in liquid savings can afford a $2,500 deductible and capture the premium savings. A household living closer to the line should not stretch the deductible just to save on premium. Comprehensive deductibles deserve their own conversation, particularly in Texas where hail risk is elevated. State Farm's internal claims data shows the average comprehensive claim totals roughly $2,100, which means a $2,500 comprehensive deductible may eliminate most claim payouts entirely.
Charles in Plain English
The premium savings are real. So is the bill on claim day.
Question 08
When was the last time someone audited your discount stack?
Auto carriers offer dozens of discounts. Most clients have never seen the full list, never been asked which apply, and never been told when discounts expired or aged out.
Technical Detail Common Texas auto insurance discounts that may apply include: multi-policy (home and auto with same carrier), multi-vehicle, good driver / safe driver (typically 3 to 5 years claim-free), defensive driving course, good student (B average or better, typically through age 25), college student away at school, anti-theft device, passive restraint / airbag, paid-in-full, paperless billing / EFT, military / first responder, occupation-based discounts (engineers, teachers, medical professionals at certain carriers), loyalty / tenure, continuous coverage, and telematics-based discounts at carriers that offer them. Many discounts phase out or reset: good student ages out at college graduation, defensive driving course expires after three years at most carriers, multi-policy can vanish if your home or auto carrier changes mid-cycle. A discount audit at every renewal recovers premium most clients never knew they were paying.
Charles in Plain English
You did not lose the discount. The renewal stopped giving it to you.
