Most people do not know much about Virginia car insurance or about the laws that relate to that. Not to mention what are their rights in relation to those laws and what the insurance companies have the right to do and what not to do. As a result of that insurance companies sometimes take advantage of that ignorance and do as it suits them. If you don’t want to be a victim of your own ignorance here are some of the most important things that every driver in Virginia should be aware of. Knowing a thing or two not only will help you to deal with insurance companies but at the same time will help you to find cheap insurance coverage.
First of all you have the right to cancel and buy a new coverage at any time it suits you and at the same time to ask for foundation. The insurer is obligated by the car insurance laws to comply with that. The insurance companies often forgot to mention that because they don’t like such deals. This can come handy if you find a better and cheaper coverage and you want to get rid of your old insurer. If that is the case you have every right to do so and no insurer has the right to legally do something about it.
Ask your agent about his fees. Some insurers allow their agents to charge their clients with additional fees for services like faxing, mailing, photocopying. The agent must give you a schedule of fees in his office. If you think that he is overcharging you than you probably need to look for another insurance agent. However, before you do that it is for the best if you check other agents’ fees as well. That way you can be 100% sure that your agent is overcharging you or not. In addition to that you can also check if the insurance company has some additional fees that are not included in the annual premium for which you are not aware of that can increase the sum that you need to pay.
Many drivers are often turned down by many insurers just because they had some car accident or traffic violation. However, that does not mean that you won’t find one that will accept you as a client. The reason for that is because many companies with low premiums have underwriting standards. If you keep on trying you will eventually find one. It’s highly likely that some of the companies that have higher premiums will have you as their client. In case you still can’t find any company to make you a car insurance policy you can ask for a policy from the Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan. Any licensed insurance agent that works on the territory of the state of Virginia can ask in your name for such policy. This policy should be your last resort because it costs much more than the ones made from the private companies.
When you go to an insurance agent you are not obligated to tell him if you have some traffic violation or car accident that is really old. According to an act in 1974 you have the right not to mention that, that is if a long period of time has passed since then. There is no reason why not to take advantage of that act, especially if you have some traffic violation that you did as a teenager. There is no reason why to pay now for your teenage mistakes. That can help you keep your premiums to a more reasonable level. On the other hand if the insurance agent knows about it you better be prepared for high premiums.
Limited right to a lawsuit does not mean no right to a lawsuit. Most of the people understand the word limited as no right even so it means that there are cases when you can sue the party that caused the accident. Limited right to a lawsuit means that you can sue someone only in some of the following cases: loss of body part, loss of fetus, significant scarring, significant disfigurement, permanent injury or death.
Every insurer is obligated to award you a discount if you have passed the defensive driving course. All you need to do is to provide a written proof that you have passed the course and you can have lower premiums. Also, the Virginia law says that every person of 55 years of age or older that passes the motor vehicle accident prevention course automatically should be given a reduction in premiums. How much the reduction will be is determined by each insurer. Once you pass the course you can have reduced premiums in the next three years. Therefore, knowing that you need to ask around if you want to know which insurance company in the state of Virginia gives the biggest reductions.
Frequent claims can skyrocket your premiums as well even if it’s not your fault for the accident. They won’t speak about that openly but that’s exactly what they will do. They will look to you as an increased risk and you can say good bye to your low premiums. The fact that you have clean driving record, that it’s not your fault for the accident, that your car is equipped with the latest safety features, that you passed the defensive driving course won’t do you much good. Your premiums will be still pretty high compared prior to your claims. The best way to deal with that is not to make claims for every little thing. If you want to keep your premiums low you need to pay for some smaller damages from your own pocket.
One more thing that most insurance companies rarely tell their clients is that they can get free quotes from a great number of companies and that it can be easily done. If you are truly interesting in finding the cheapest car insurance in Virginia just enter your zip above on this page and wait a while. For only short period you will be able to choose from great deal of offers from some of the best insurers in the state.
