Hi there. I would like to know if my Washington auto insurance company will notify me if they will not be renewing my policy before it policy will expires? I hope they do so I would have more time to find other company.

Michelle

East Seattle, WA

Generally yes, most Washington auto insurance company will notify you in advance whether they will not going to renew your policy.

In Washington State auto insurance companies are required to provide a twenty (20) day written notice with regards to non-renewal of a personal auto car insurance policy and a ten (10) written notice for cancellation due to non-payment of premium.

If you would like to know more information regarding this I suggest that you contact states insurance regulator. They will be able to give you more understanding what the insurance laws in your state regarding cancellation or non renewal notice or Washington auto insurance companies. They will also be able to inform you how much time are given to policyholders once the insurance company decides not to renew them.

For how long do I have to continue my SR22 insurance here in Washington?

Dorris

Seattle, WA

Good question. The state of Washington would usually require drivers who has gotten their driver’s licenses suspended to maintain an SR22 form for at least three years, without any lapses or cancellation of the SR22 insurance coverage. Although the length of the required period to carry this special type of auto insurance may vary depending on the reason for the suspension of your license, most common of which includes: DUI (Driving Under the Influence), operating a vehicle without a license or insurance coverage, causing or involvement in a car accident without carrying adequate liability insurance, just to name a few.

SR22 insurance is required by the state to make sure that drivers who have shown risky driving behaviors are carrying adequate insurance coverage in case they manage to injure anyone or damage properties in the event they cause a car accident. It would be best to get in touch with Washington’s Department of Licensing to get the specific details about the length of time you will need to carry your SR22 insurance there in Washington. Allowing your SR22 insurance to get canceled or to lapse can cause sever penalties and much more expensive insurance costs in the future.

To find the best rates for SR22 insurance Washington Policies, we highly recommend running a free SR22 insurance search using the quote tool on this website. This tool allows you to find and compare for the most affordable policies available in your area quickly and easily.

I know that my auto insurance company will take care of me when I meet an accident, and that they’ll also take care of the damages to the occupants of the other car, too. However, what would happen if the other driver sues me? Would my auto insurance policy cover this? I have liability coverage

Kevin

Seattle, WA

Kevin, if you have liability insurance coverage, then your insurance policy will cover the damages done by the accident which you caused. If you did not cause the accident, then the other guy’s insurance policy will cover the damages. If the other driver guy decides to go to court, then your liability insurance coverage will still take care of your fees.

Liability insurance covers the expenses that the legal battle that results from the accident will cause. If you get sued in Washington, your auto insurance company will defend you in court. Be rest assured that your auto insurance company will hire a competent lawyer to defend you in court. The insurance will do its best to find a very good lawyer to represent you as the auto insurance company is also obligated to handle the legal payouts if ever the insured party loses the legal battle.

If you lose in court, the auto insurance company will pay for the fines/payments imposed by the court. It is because of this nature of liability insurance coverage that makes this crucial to motorists and even other professionals such as doctors and businessmen. Liability insurance coverage takes care of you when you figure in an accident, it also takes care of the other people who were affected by the accident and it takes care of you even after the accident.

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.

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.

A: Adding a teen to your policy will definitely make your prices go up, but you can only have her get her own policy if she is old enough. Usually, the youngest age someone can get an insurance policy for themselves is when they are eighteen. Up until then, they either have to be uninsured or be on an older person’s policy. You will have to put your teen on your policy if they live with you, because if your car insurance company finds out you have a high risk individual in your house they might cancel you for not informing them. Even if your kid doesn’t drive your car, they won’t believe you.

Rather than worrying, contact your car insurance company and see what discounts they have available for teenage drivers. At least three should be available, among them a student discount, which will allow you to have some taken off of your premium if your teen makes a B average or above in school, and a driver’s education iscoun, which will award your teenager for taking a general driver’s education course.

A: No car insurance company is required to sell you insurance when you pose so much risk, as all holders of SR22 policies do. While car insurance companies aren’t able to discriminate based on unrelated reasons, such as the color of your skin or your religion, they are able o discriminate based on how much risk you pose, or, in other terms, how many claims people in your demographic are likely to file.

If you have trouble finding someone to get your policy from, you should try higher priced companies which sell to people with expensive cars and other high risk types. It’s easier to get a policy from one of these, although not certain, and it’s also cheaper than the other alternative.

If you can’t find a way in that way, then instead you can get a policy by joining up with your state assigned-risk pool, where the Department of Insurance will randomly hand you over to a car insurance company, which will have to insure you (at a very high price) even if they already denied you when you went there on your own.

A: A Washington SR22 is required in many situations. For those who go driving uninsured and end up crashing with another car, their license can be revoked when they are unable to produce proof of insurance. More often, a license is suspended for a drunk driving conviction, and this is the most common violation associated with SR22s and one of the main reasons they cost so much.

If you must file a Washington SR22, then you must find a company which will give you a policy first before you get your license unsuspended. Whatever company you find will send a form to your driver’s department every month, so long as you pay your bill, for three years. If they don’t send it along, then your driver’s license will be suspended.

You are required to get the same amount of insurance on a Washington SR22 policy as any other driver in the state, which means you must have $25,000 for bodily injury per person, a total of $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and also $10,000 for property damage. It may be safer for your credit to get higher limits.

I received a speeding ticket in the state of Virginia. What will happen to my premium in Washington? Will that increase my rate?

Robert

Thank you for asking Robert.

Washington DC state and Virginia are both member states of the Driver License Compact (DLC). This means that the reckless driving ticket that you obtained from VA will appear on your driving record in Washington DC.

The DC DMV states that motorist obtain points for certain traffic infractions, whether the offense happens in the Washington or in other states. If you are found liable at a hearing and fail to pay a ticket within the required time, or are convicted of a traffic violation in court, the DC DMV will assess points in the violation. The number of points you will get depends on the type of infraction.

If the DC assigns you points for reckless driving ticket it would be 12 points and suspension of your license. If its assessed as a speeding ticket, the points would be substantially less.

Goodluck!

MariCAR

Can you please tell me the fine if I drive without an insurance in the state of Washington?

Markus

Thank you for asking Markus.

Washington State mandatory insurance law, listed in Title 46 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), states that motorist must carry with them an insurance identification card showing proof that you have a valid vehicle insurance policy. The current mandatory limits for WA are 25/50/10.

These numbers stand for:

$25,000 total for bodily injury per person,

$50,000 total for bodily injury coverage per accident and

$10,000 total for property damage per accident.

If you are found driving a motor vehicle without having proof of insurance or of the mandatory insurance law you are committing an infraction. This violation of the law is punishable by a minimum fine of $250. There may be other fees that can be added to this fine.To get more information of the exact amount of your fine you may contact the court on the ticket.

A ticket for driving without insurance is like any other moving violation and will become part of your WA driving record.

To make sure you have at least the Washington state minimum auto insurance coverages so to avoid penalties, you may contact your insurance company.

Goodluck!

MariCAR