When it comes to laws about car insurance in Virginia, the first thing to remember is that car coverage is mandatory and anyone that does not comply with that can be penalized or fined. However, what is in your hands is how much you will pay for your car insurance and what type of coverage you will choose. Talking to your insurance agent is the best way to find out what’s best for you and what you need. But, before you talk to him you need to be prepared with good questions regarding your car insurance. The better your questions the more you will be confident that he will watch over your interests and not only the interests of the company in which he works. Here follow ten good questions that your insurance agent needs to answer before you buy or renew your car insurance policy.
10. What types of car insurance are you required to buy?
The agent needs to explain you what’s the minimum as well as the other types of coverage available. Based on what you hear you will need to choose the optimum coverage that suits your needs. The insurance policy must have the minimum limits of liability: $25.000 for injury or death of one person and $50.000 for two or more persons, and $20.000 for property damages. Any car insurance policy needs to include;
– Bodily injury and property damage liability
– Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage
9. How and does your credit score influence your premium?
Many insurance companies take in consideration the credit rating when they assess risk and make premiums. You need to ask your agent if his company takes that in consideration and how it affects your premium. In any case if you have a good credit rating you’ll be fine, otherwise you will need to think twice before you renew your insurance policy with that company.
8. Does he charges you fees over and above his commission?
Some car insurance agents are allowed to charge their clients for services such as faxing, photocopying and mailing. You need to ask him if he keeps a schedule of fees. That way you can check if he is overcharging you for those services or you can call another agent and check that with him.
7. What if you opt for limited right to a lawsuit?
You can get a significant reduction on your premiums if you opt for that. Your agent needs to explain what limited right to a lawsuit is, the limitations of it and how it will affect your premiums.
6. How much discount you can get if you pay upfront in full?
Every insurance company offers different discounts if you opt to pay upfront in full for the year. You will surely get some discount the only thing is how big the discount will be. The discounts they offer vary from company to company.
5. How your traffic violations affect your premiums and when they will stop to be taken in consideration?
Most of us the drivers have at least one traffic violation that haunts our premiums and make them what they are. However, there is a time limit to every violation and your insurance agent knows that. Therefore talk to him and see what he tells you, it’s very likely that he will tell you when your old traffic violations will stop affecting your premiums.
4. Can you get a discount if you drive less than 7.500 miles per year?
Your agent needs to tell you that if you drive less than 7.500 miles per year you are automatically qualified for discount. The insurance companies largely base the premiums on how much time people spend on the roads and the highways. The more time you are on the road the bigger the chances for some sort of traffic accident and vice versa. How much discount they will grant you depends from their company policy?
3. How frequent claims affect the premiums?
This is very important because it can significantly raise your premiums. The more claims you make the higher your premium will go. Frequent claims equal to higher risk and higher risk equals to higher premiums, according to the insurance companies. It doesn’t have to be your fault for the accidents and yet you to end up with higher premiums. Your insurance agent needs to explain you how claims affect premiums.
2. Ask him to check your driver’s record if all the data are correct and updated?
Incorrect or out of date data’s can make your premium high. For an example, if in the past you parked your car on the street but now you have a garage you need to ask your agent to take that in consideration and update your policy with that. That alone can mean lower premiums, how much it varies from company to company.
1. Ask the insurance agent to give you a list of types of discounts that are offered to their clients?
Knowing all the types of discounts can help you focus on what to do to lower your premiums. Nowadays the insurance industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world. As a result of that they offer plenty of advantages and discounts to their clients. The more you know about all the advantages the better as you can ask for different types of discounts. Your insurance agent should have the time and patience to explain you about the different types and what does it take to obtain them.
The most important question to ask your insurance agent is not on this list and that is if he is giving you the lowest possible offer. If you want to check that you need to compare quotes from different companies. If you have few minutes just enter your zip above on this page. That will help you compare your agent’s offer and the offer from other companies. There is no better, faster and more efficient way to find the cheapest car insurance in Virginia.
