I have auto insurance in Washington. I was just wondering if my car insurance will be effective in the state of California.

Jane

Seattle WA

It depends on your situation.

If you live in Washington and your vehicle is registered in WA and you want to just visit California, then typically your WA car insurance would conform to CA car insurance requirements.

If you go to school in CA but are still keeping your WA residence then your car insurance in Seattle WA may continue to cover you in CA. You will need to contact your car insurance company to be certain that you will be covered while you are in California.

If you plan to move to California, then you will need to register and insure your car in CA. If your car insurance company in WA also does business in California then you can just request to change it over to a new policy in California.

If you want to be sure that your car insurance in Washington state would also be effective in the state of California, I suggest that you speak with your car insurance agent.

I need to get SR22 to reinstate my license because I was convicted over three months ago for DUI here in Washington State. I may just have to ask help from an insurance agent to make it easier for me. How would I choose the best one from an array of agents willing to sell me the coverage I want?

Rafael

Bellevue, WA

Getting back of the road is very important for people who have been convicted for Driving Under the Influence. You are right in saying that it will be easier to get the coverage that you need if you seek the help of an SR22 insurance agent. There are a lot of agents in Washington State willing to extend their helping hands for you so you need to examine each one of them.

One of the most crucial issues you need to know about agents is the amount of experience that they have in the car insurance industry. Recently, there has been growth in the population of agents in the US promoting their cheap auto insurance. Unluckily for a lot of drivers who have opted to go with these agents, when they file a claim, it would be almost impossible to reach a resolution regarding the claim or even speak with anybody that could provide you details about it. Make certain that the SR22 insurance agent has experience in the car insurance business and the company has been established for longer than several years.

It is very important to shop and speak with several agents to file your SR22 form, purchase only what you need and review your policy prior to making a decision on which policy to get. Also, to get the most out of your car insurance policy, the best and experienced person to contact is insurance agent.

I have a speeding ticket in the state of Washington. Will this increase my car insurance premium?

Melanie

Thank you for asking Melanie.

Individual insurance providers in the state of Washington determine their own insurance rates based on their own internal rating system. Their rate requests is submitted to the WA Insurance Commissioner for review. The request will be approved if the state agency is satisfied with the rates.

Insurance companies’ car insurance rates are based on different factors. The premium you pay consists of a base rate. The base rate depends on various factors like your age, marital status, driving pattern, sex, claims history, location, credit history, and the make, model and year of your car. You have to remember when you shop around that these companies uses different factors and rates.

Most insurers apply a surcharge to motorist who got involved in an accident or those who were convicted of multiple moving violations. In addition to that, your rates will likely increase because of your claims history. This means that the increase on your premiums will depend on the rating system of insurance companies.

To get more information on the rating system of your insurance company you may contact your insurance agent or the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner where they submitted their rates. Your agent will be able to tell you if one traffic violation will increase your premiums.

Goodluck!

MariCAR