I just bought a car here in Washington State. What’s my grace period for getting car insurance to avoid getting a penalty?

Jenny

Seattle WA

There’s no grace period for a liability coverage according to the Insurance Commissioner of Washington state. Also, the grace period to adding another vehicle to your insurance policy would be different from one company to another. It is important then to check with your insurer the maximum time required to file or add your newly bought vehicle to your existing policy. Most dealers would often require a physical damage coverage before it leaves the dealership.

If you’re replacing an old car to your policy, most insurers would extend that existing policy to your new car. If you’re adding a new car to your policy, you could inquire whether they would extend your existing policy for a certain amount of time or should you add the new vehicle to your policy with the required coverage.

If you’re just about to get an insurance policy on your car, then it is more practical to give your preferred auto insurance company an update on the type of car you’re planning to buy before it actually leaves the dealership. Request your dealership a fax of the car information to work with your insurer the practical coverage to apply.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I would appreciate if someone could give me details on SR22 requirements for Washington state. I think I need one due to DUI.

Sam

Seattle, Washington WA

In the State of Washington, if you commit a violation or an accumulation of violations, such as reckless driving, driving under the influence (DUI) or (DWI), or refusal to test, at fault accidents or driving without insurance, the Washington DMV will mandate proof of financial responsibility in the form of SR-22 insurance. This insurance is also known as high-risk auto insurance for some auto insurance companies in Washington WA. Washington state requires for SR22 to be temporary, usually running from two to three years.
Not all auto insurance company sell SR22 insurance in Seattle, Washington. SR22 requirement for can be met in two ways: owner policy or non-owner policy. The non-owner SR22 policy will release the license if there is no car to cover by the insured, or if there is already insurance in place. Be wary though that premiums in more urban parts like Seattle could a bit higher, so a broad form SR22 is usually best. Moreover, this type of policy runs 12 months in length, and is typically $300-$600 per year in Seattle, WA.
It is good to know that there is no communication necessary between the insured and his/her regular insurance company regarding the non-owner or broad-form SR22 purchased through some companies in Seattle, WA. As almost a beneficial case always, paying a bit extra for an additional policy should pay off in the long run, and is certainly the most convenient way to fulfill the requirement in Washington WA.

How long after purchasing a vehicle do you have to obtain insurance in the State of Washington? What do I need to do to get a free quote?

Carl

Spokane, WA

According to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner for Washington state, the State requires individuals that operates a motor vehicle to have liability insurance. There is no grace period for car insurance liability.

The Washington state insurance regulator states that all insurance providers have different time requirements to add a newly acquired car to the policy. You would need to verify with your insurance company to know if there is a grace period for adding that new car to your existing policy.

If you do not already have an car insurance policy on any cars but are purchasing a vehicle then normally you will need to get insurance before leaving the lot with the vehicle. You can provide an insurance provider information on the car in advance so that the policy can be started.

To get a quote, just ask, call, email or submit your zip code to the advertisers to start the quote process.

I received a speeding ticket followed by an accident 30 days after in Washington State. How long will this affect my auto insurance rate?

Kevin

Bellevue, WA

Insurance providers in Washington may charge you more if you have been involved in an accident or have been convicted of one or more moving violations. This is referred to as surcharge. In addition to that, the more claims you file, the more likely your auto insurance rates will increase.

Since the Washington State insurance regulator does not provide any information that suggests the state has a restriction then it will be up to the individual insurance companies’ rating system to determine how long the citations and accident can affect your auto insurance rates. An insurance company will normally rate you on traffic violations and accidents for a period of 3, 5 or 7 years.

Basically the WA DOL ticket and the accident will both stay on your driving record for five years so it likely will be 3 or 5 years that your insurance company will rate you on these incidents. To find from your current insurance carrier and find out how long the speeding ticket and accident (plus claims if there were ones made) can affect your car insurance rates contact your agent.

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.