Affordable Auto Insurance Washington
Reader’s Question:
With the current economic situation, we are fine tuning our budget. What can we do to lower our auto insurance premiums and find the most affordable car insurance available?
Jonas
East Seattle WA
Hi Jonas,
Thanks for your inquiry about affordable car insurance. You might be surprised that there are ways to lower your cost and find affordable car insurance. We always recommend that all insurance policies be reviewed annually. This not only serves as a good way to refresh your mind about your coverage but to make sure the riders are appropriate and that the policy is tailored to your needs. Suiting the policy to your budget is part of finding affordable car insurance.
Check your driving record to make sure it is accurate. If your have a good record, you may be entitled to a premium discount. Additionally, your policy will be more affordable car insurance if you select an annual coverage instead of a shorter term policy.
Carriers in the East Seattle area will also make your policy more affordable car insurance if you add anti-theft devices to your vehicles. To make your coverage more affordable car insurance, you may want to consider increasing your deductible.
We recommend the easiest way to find more affordable car insurance is to complete the auto insurance inquiry form on this site. You will then receive multiple proposals for affordable car insurance, which you can review at home before finalizing your decision.
Auto Insurance Companies Washington
Reader’s Question:
I would like to know when auto insurance companies in Washington check driving records?
Carol
Spokane, WA
An insurance carrier in Spokane, WA can check your driving record anytime. The most common times that they check your driving records are:
- when you apply initially for auto insurance coverage
- when you request a change to your car insurance policy such as adding or removing drivers, change auto insurance coverage, etc.
- when you add a car to your car insurance policy or change the covered car
- when your car insurance policy comes up for renewal
- every two renewal cycles
Some insurance providers use a random method for checking driving records. Other insurance providers randomly spot check some car insurance policy records at the above intervals. This isn’t common, however it may happen with some car insurance companies.
Will My Full Coverage Car Insurance Policy Cover All Vehicles I Drive?
Reader’s Question:
I currently have full coverage on my vehicle and I went to test drive another vehicle that is not covered. My question is, will my insurance cover it if I were to have an accident? I live in Everett, Washington.
Liv
Everett, WA
Typically this would not be covered under your auto insurance policy in Everett, Washington.
This would be covered under the used car’s owners policy or used car dealer’s policy.
Most auto dealers will have full insurance coverage on your insurance policy, which is called a garage policy. If you sign something taking responsibility for the damages then you would be responsible for those damages. It’s up to you to reject or accept the offer of a test drive based on your knowledge of potential liability.
Full Coverage Car Insurance Question In Washington
Reader’s Question:
The registered owner of a vehicle is in a nursing home in Federal Way Washington state. The person has full insurance on the vehicle but cannot renew their drivers license. If someone else drives the vehicle with or without the owner in the vehicle, are they still covered?
Will
Federal Way, WA
If the owner of the car gives another person permission to drive their car typically it would be covered under their insurance. But one should always verify with the owner’s insurance provider before borrowing a friend’s car to make sure the policy would not exclude them for any reason.
If someone uses a person’s car without the owner’s permission it is unlikely that the driver would be covered if they get involve in an accident. Most insurance providers could deny a claim since the driver did not have the owner’s consent to be using the car.
Do I Need to Have Proof Of Auto Insurance in Seattle Washington
Reader’s Question:
What will be the fine for driving with insurance but without your proof of insurance card in your car? I live in Seattle, Washington.
Rose
Seattle, WA
If you fail to provide proof of motor vehicle insurance in Seattle Washington, its is a traffic infraction and is subject to penalties as set by the supreme court under RCW 46.63.110. According to RCW 46.63.110 an individual found to have committed a traffic infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty. No penalty may exceed $250 for each offense but there are other associated fees that may be added to the penalty amount.
So If you drive without proof of insurance in Seattle Washington, it is punishable by a minimum of $250 fine. There are other assessments and fees that can be added to this fine so it typically costs about $450.
So it looks like that with proper documentation that you were insured at the time of your citation for operating a vehicle without insurance then the court should dismiss the ticket and you will only need to pay administrative costs of $25. You may also contact the WA court listed on your ticket to find out what insurance documentation you will need to bring and to make sure that the fee amount has not changed.
Teen Driver Insurance Washington
Reader’s Question:
My daughter just got her license and I would like to know if it is better for her to get her own policy or should she be listed on ours?
Anna
Seattle, Washington (WA)
It is usually less expensive and easier for a newly licensed teenage motorist to be added to their parent’s car insurance policy than to start up their own insurance policy, especially if it is a teen and they do not own their own car. If your daughter does own her own vehicle then she may get her own insurance policy, but if she is a minor than a parent or guardian will need to sign on the contact with her.
If you have not already done so, inform your car insurance provider that your has become licensed. At this time they should be able to inform you if they require you to add her to your insurance policy or how to set up her own policy on her vehicle.
Washington State SR22
Reader question:
Can you tell me the sort of coverage which will come with my Washington state SR22 auto insurance policy, if I buy just the minimum amount?
Jacob
Glad you asked, Jacob.
Washington state SR22 insurance can be bought with a fairly small amount of coverage, at least compared to a few other states. Since Washington is an at fault car insurance state, all you need to purchase to meet the minimum requirements of the auto insurance laws is liability coverage. Liability coverage includes property and injury liability. The property liability is the coverage for those damages made by the person who is found at fault for the accident (if said person is you), while the injury liability is for the injuries of the driver/passengers of the vehicle found not to be at fault, but not for the drivers or passengers of the at fault vehicle.
In Washington state SR22 policies, you must have the following amounts of each one of these:
- A $50,000 injury liability limit per crash, with $25,000 alotted to each person.
- $10,000 in property damage liability.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Washington State SR22 Filing – DUI Insurance
Reader question:
When I get done with my Washington state SR22 filing, will my rates go back to what they were before?
Christa
Great question, Christa.
Well, a lot can change in three years, so I very much doubt that you would bounce completely back to the previous prices you had as soon as your SR22 filing was over. Besides that, you wouldn’t be able to bounce back to anything immediately after your filing ends and you get an unrestricted license, because your drunk driving incident or your accumulated traffic points, or whatever it was that put you on the road to license suspension, is going to stay on your record for a total of five years, meaning that after you finish your SR22 filing you will still have two years to deal with higher rates–they might not be quite so high, but they won’t go completely down.
But this is all the more reason to, even before your SR22 filing ends, be extra watchful of your driving and stay out of trouble on the road. Follow all of the rules, at least to the extent that keeps you flying under the radar, and you will be able to come out of it five years later with several years of an accumulating good driving record, which means you could immediately get a good driver’s discount.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
SR22 Auto Insurance Quotes in Washington
Reader question:
I have a policy with SR22 in Washington, and I want to know, is the post-accident procedure any different for SR22 holders? Is there some kind of extra information we need to give?
Marcus
Thanks for asking, Marcus.
No other driver (civilian driver, anyhow) has a right to know about your possession of an SR22 in Washington, and your owning of such should not in any way be involved when you get into a car accident. You just exchange the usual information, such as names, policy numbers, phone numbers, car insurance company names, and so on, so that whoever needs to file a claim with the other’s company can do so, and so that whoever is at fault can get prepared.
In addition to that, whether you have an SR22 in Washington or not, you should also take a couple of other steps after an accident to make sure of the best (or least negative) experience with your claims process. Keep a disposable camera stored in your glove compartment, and when you get in an accident make sure to take pictures of the damage on both cars. This is so that the other driver can’t claim more damage than was actually caused, thus getting you in trouble and in fraud.
You should also look at the witnesses who were around the accident and try to gather their names and phone numbers. In case the fault of the accident is contested, you will be able to refer to them for proof.
Cheers,
fashun Guadarrama.
Seattle Non Owner SR22 Auto Insurance
Q: I have a Seattle non owner SR22 policy. Why is it so expensive? How can I save money?
A: Your Seattle non owner SR22 policy is costing you because it’s missing a pretty big puzzle piece which car insurance companies require in order to put together the best picture of what your rates should be–a car. Even if you drive the same car all the time with your non owner policy, it can’t be factored into your insurance policy, so your company has to rate your policy as if you were driving a riskier car because they can’t know what car it is you’re using.
You can save money on your Seattle non owner SR22 premium by getting discounts. Many of the available discounts require cars, but there are those which don’t. You could try getting all of your insurance policies on a multi line with one company, for example, or you could take a few classes in defensive driving. You could take in your transcript if you’re a student, a degree if you’re in engineer, or you could join a car club or a teacher’s union in order to get a discount. Get a list of discounts from your car insurance company and circle the ones which would apply to you, and then ask the company to apply them.
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