When you buy car insurance, your insurer will set your policy price based on the risk you pose to them. One of the criteria they will likely use to determine your rate is your driving record. Those with bad driving records pose a higher risk to insurers. Therefore, they will likely have to pay more for their coverage. How can you avoid paying high policy costs even if you have a poor record?
If you worry about how much a tarnished record will cost you in insurance, you are not alone. Consider taking the following steps to rein in and control your policy prices.
Controlling Premium Rates, Regardless Of Record
If you have a bad driving record, you have more of a chance of getting into a wreck or other incident. That increases your chances of filing a claim on your policy. Because of this, your insurance company might have to raise your premium prices.
Regardless, you can take steps to control premium changes. By personally reviewing your coverage, you can control increases in your premium.
- Only buy the coverage you need most. For example, if you have paid off your car, you might not need collision or comprehensive coverage. However, do not drop protection like liability coverage. It will protect you in the event you cause damage to others. Let your agent help you decide if certain coverage which might prove obsolete for you.
- Ask about all available insurance discounts. Even if you have a bad record, you might be able to still get savings. For example, most drivers can access auto-renewal or claims-free discounts. Your choices, however, might depend on an insurer's offerings.
- Find out if your insurer offers a safe driving course discount. By enrolling in a course, you will review critical practices that might make you safer in the future. Therefore, you might get savings in both the short-term and the long-term.
- Consider taking a higher policy deductible. By increasing your deductible, you lower the insurer's ultimate financial responsibility for a claim. Therefore, they might decrease your policy rate.
- Ask your insurance agent if you can bundle your policy with another policy, such as home insurance. By buying both policies from the same insurer, you might get a discount.
Finally, check to see when your driving record clears. Many charges, like simple speeding tickets, disappear from your record after a certain period. When they do, you might see your rates decrease. Of course, always strive to become a safer driver. You are your own best policeman. Obey the rules of the road, and always pay attention to your surroundings. The better your driving habits, the lower your insurance prices might be.
Often times having many points on your record from traffic offenses or accidents will lead to your license being suspended. That may trigger you to ask "can I obtain auto insurance with a suspended driver's license?" Let's take a look!
How To Get Car Insurance When Your License Is Suspended
A driver’s license can be suspended for many reasons, some more serious than others. A few of the most common ways to get your driver’s license suspended are; reckless driving hit and run accidents, driving while intoxicated, having too many points against your license, and developing a physical impairment like seizers or vision problems. If you own a car then one requirement to getting your license back may be proof of insurance, which can be difficult to obtain or keep once your license is suspended.
Keep The Coverage You Have
First of all, if you already have car insurance before your license gets suspended (which you should if you own a car) then do not cancel it. Keeping insurance is easier than obtaining a brand new policy with a suspended license. A gap in your policy can also cause your future premiums to be much higher. Many people wonder if they can at least drop their coverage to the bare minimum since they won’t be driving. If you have a leased car or carry a car loan then that will not be an option for you as the lender requires full coverage. If you own the vehicle free and clear then you can drop the coverage to the lowest plan premium option available to you.
Getting New Coverage
If you didn’t have insurance or you get dropped from your insurance company then you’ll need to obtain a new policy. Insurance companies don’t like issuing policies to risky drivers, even if they can charge higher premiums. There are a few companies that specialize more in high-risk insurance such as The General, Acceptance, and Titan.
Staying with one of the larger-name insurance companies might be a little tricky. Some might take you if you apply for and obtain a restricted license. A restricted license lets you drive only to certain places like to work, to the doctor, or to court dates. Your ability to get a restricted license will depend on your state and the reason your license was suspended to start with.
If a restricted license is not an option then you can apply for SR-22 insurance. You’ll need this option if your license was suspended for something serious like reckless driving or DWI/DUI. Many standard insurance companies can, but won’t, issue this form that proves you have insurance coverage in your state. More often than not you will have to get a SR-22 form from a non-standard insurance carrier as mentioned above.
So getting insurance with a suspended driver's license is certainly possible but what if your license is revoked and you don't currently have any form of a license?
Can You Get Car Insurance With No Driver’s License?
Getting car insurance when you don’t have a driver’s license might sound a little whacky, like paying for a hotel room you don’t intend on staying in. But there are a few reasons why you might want or even need car insurance even if you don’t currently have a license to drive.
Reasons Why You Might Want Car Insurance When You Don’t Have A License
There are several scenarios you might find yourself in where getting car insurance is a good idea even if you don’t drive or have a driver’s license.
- You don’t drive but you have an underage driver in your home (your child) who can’t buy insurance on their own and has to be covered through you.
- You have a chauffer who drives you around in a car that you own.
- Due to advanced age, sickness or disability, you cannot drive but you own a car so that other people can drive you places.
- You have a provisional license, perhaps because you are an adult that is just now learning to drive.
- You no longer drive but you own vintage cars.
- You lost your license due to DUI or other infractions (special insurance may be required).
How To Sign Up For Car Insurance Without A Driver’s License
Your major roadblock when signing up for insurance without a license will be that you normally need to provide your driver’s license number in order to apply for insurance. Since the insurance company sets rates based on the primary driver they will often allow you to use the license information of whoever will be the primary driver of the car you own. Some companies, and depending on your situation, might make you an excluded driver. This means that if you do drive the car for any reason, the insurance company will not pay damages.
Pros and Cons Of Car Insurance With No License
Pros of car insurance without a license - If you own a car you might still want it to be protected financially even if you don’t drive it, especially if you own a vintage or expensive cars that you do not drive but could get stolen or damaged. If you own a car that you will let other’s drive, you as the owner of the car would be responsible for accidents and therefore need insurance. If the state has taken your license they will often still require you to keep your auto insurance and provide proof of that insurance while your license is suspended.
Cons of car insurance without a license - It could be difficult to obtain insurance without a license and it could potentially be more expensive coverage.
Another scenario is what if you are from another country and are living in America? You have a foreign or international driver's license, can you still be insured in the States? Let's find out!
Can I get an Auto Insurance Policy with an International Driver's License?
Regardless of where in the world you seem to go, you would find that cars have become a necessary form of transportation. Long gone are the days when people used to just depend on public transport to get them from one place to another. Rather, owning a car is now regarded as being more of an investment rather than an expense.
It is for this reason that you might be thinking of getting insurance for your car. However, the problem that persists is regarding no driver's license. This is because you would find that millions of people seem to enter the United States. While there are some people who only seem to stay for a couple of days, there are others who have the intention of staying for a longer period of time. Also, if they have the intention to drive a car, then it must also be made clear that necessary steps would have to be taken to make sure that their car is insured as well.
While it is not definitely necessary to sign up for auto insurance, this is something that would definitely work in their favor. So, no matter what trouble you seem to land yourself in, you would be able to count on your insurance to bail you out.
Is it necessary to get insurance for foreign drivers license
On all the roads in the United States, you would be able to find tons and tons of cars crowding each and every street and highway. So that might lead you to wonder if it would really be necessary to get insurance for your car. The fact of the matter is that any car on the US road system must have insurance. However, you would also find that many of the cars are not owned by Americans, rather are coming into the country from Mexico and Canada. So, while it might not be completely necessary to get insurance done, you would need to make sure that it is at least revised. In this way, you would be able to get the boundaries extended to include the United States. This is because the border patrol guards would be checking if the car has the necessary insurance or not. In addition, it is also important that the driver has a valid foreign driver's license. Here is more on getting auto insurance with a foreign driver's license.
What kind of insurance policy to get for no drivers license
The thing with getting auto insurance is that you would not be able to find one package suits all. Rather, the kind of insurance package that you would ultimately be going for would depend on the type of car you are driving, its value, and the owner. So, if a non-US citizen is planning on renting a car, then they would need to make sure that the rental company has gone over every tiny detail regarding insurance. If they are planning on borrowing a car from a friend or a family member, then also they would need to take into account that all the important documents are in place and the insurance updated.
Lastly, if the non-US citizen is planning on purchasing a car, then the value of the car would play a part.
What is Temporary Car Insurance?
Temporary Car insurances are short-period insurance policies, which can be cancelled immediately at the owner’s request. Temporary plans are hard.
Although there may be some genuine and legitimate reasons for the need for a temporary car insurance plan, most of the time ends up being used for crimes and in others wrong situations.
The following are some situations and their workarounds, in case you ever need temporary car insurance.
For vehicles that you only drive on weekends:
If you are a proud owner of a vehicle that you only use on weekends, but are paying a fortune for its insurance the whole year, then you must be worried about all this extra expense.
If however, your weekend vehicle comes under the category of the collector or antique cars, then things get easier for you.
You can buy a limited-use policy that allows you, taking your car on drives occasionally.
The only requirement of the plan is that you keep the mileage of your vehicle low, approximately between 2000 to 3000 miles in a month.
The policy rates are low, and so you can continue the policy throughout the year without cancelling and restarting it.
However, if your car does not come under this category and is a regular car, then you can only cancel and renew your car insurance policies according to your needs.
Most of the car insurance policies allow you to drop and add your car between the year so that you are not left hanging with the insurance on the car that you only occasionally use.
For a rented car:
If you need a vehicle for only a short duration of time, then you would need an insurance that can cover you for that particular period.
Usually, rental agencies can provide you with these policies that are sufficient for your needs but the costs from these are high. The plans may cost $15 per day that can be a lot in some cases. For avoiding such huge prices, you can always use Non-owner car insurances.
These policies act as a secondary coverage when you are borrowing or renting a car from any of your friends. The major benefit in using this option can be that it is comparatively cheaper that the first choice.
For a borrowed car:
If you have borrowed a car from your friend or relatives, then you don’t need to worry.
Most car insurance policies cover all the people that will operate on the policy, but with the owner’s permission.
If you have borrowed your friend’s car and are met with an accident, then the liability insurance that your friend has done for his car will also be valid if you were present at the scene.
Car insurance vacation home vehicles:
If you have any car that you keep at your vacation home and you only use it on holidays and never touch it otherwise.
But then also, it is mandatory for you to register your vehicle with the state department.
In such a case, you only have a single option to take. You can use the drop and add vehicle feature that all the car insurance policies provide.
You will have to drop the vehicle insurance when you do not have to use the vehicle and add it back to the policy when you are about to take it to on te drive.
If you need any further advice or assistance about any temporary car insurance policies please call us at Cheapest Auto Insurance for full advice as laws and policies may change.
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No matter what your current license status is Cheapest Auto Insurance is able to help you get the coverage you need to get back on the road! Call us at 918-744-5145 to speak with one of our insurance agents or click here to get a quote!