Know Your State’s Minimum Requirements
Each state has minimum requirements for your insurance policy. Whether or not you choose to meet or exceed these requirements, you’ll first need to understand the key components of insurance.
Bodily Injury Liability
This is a third-party insurance, meaning that it doesn’t cover the insured driver’s medical expenses when they’re the party at fault. Instead, it pays the medical costs for passengers in the other vehicle.
Property Damage Liability
This is also a third-party insurance. The difference is that this covers the damage you create on someone else’s property, such as their car, instead of the person.
Personal Injury Protection
This is what will cover injuries that you yourself have sustained, should you be at fault in the accident. Not every state requires you to carry Personal Injury Protection. Once you know your state’s minimum requirements, you can decide the type of plan you want to look for. Understanding these terms while you search will help narrow down your choices. Just because you can get away with choosing a minimal plan doesn’t mean that it’s always advisable. Choose the plan that’s best suited for your needs, as that’s what will benefit you in the long run.
Get Quotes
The ease of the internet makes receiving quotes a simple process. Before you start looking for quotes, know that you’ll have to have a few things on hand. These may include:
- Your License
- Your occupation
- Your address and other personal data
- Your driving history (Previous tickets, accidents, etc.)
- Your car make, model, and year Your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)
The convenience of the internet makes it so that you don’t have to sift through site after site, inputting the same information repeatedly. Some sites will search the web for you and present the best options available.
High-Risk Drivers
If you’re considered to be a high-risk driver, it’s possible that you may be quoted higher insurance rates. There are a few things that constitute a high-risk driver, and age can be one of these. Past tickets and accidents also factor into this, so you’ll need to do some online research on the insurance plans available. You may find that you’re required to carry SR22 insurance, which is for drivers who have received DUIs or found themselves unable to pay for damages caused in an accident.
The internet is full of resources for all of your insurance needs, and it’s helpful to know how to use them. If you know what to look for in your search, you’ll find car insurance is much easier to attain then you previously thought.