How can one find the lowest Virginia car insurance rates What is the best Virginia car insurance company? What are Virginia’s minimum requirements for auto insurance? These are the most basic questions you need to answer if you want the best Virginia auto insurance.
Most Americans are familiar with car insurance in the United States. There are many questions that remain unanswered. Why are some people able to pay lower premiums than others even though they are the same age as each other? Why are people who have older cars paying lower rates than those with newer vehicles? Why is it that people living in cities have to pay more for automobile insurance than those who live in rural or farm areas? These questions all have answers that provide an explanation of what automobile insurance is all about: “Risk”.
Auto insurance is a contract between an insurance company and an insured. The agreement stipulates that the insurance agency will pay policy holders in the event of an accident, in return for monthly payments. The insurance company covers the insured for the “risk” that comes with driving on the roads in the United States. Some areas are more accident-prone than others. Certain cars need less coverage, while others have better safety ratings and can be stolen less often. Premiums for automobile insurance vary from one person to the next.
This is true for every state. Some states are blessed with small cities that have low accident rates, while others have large areas of densely populated areas that have high levels of theft and accidents. Virginia falls somewhere in the middle of both of these categories. It does not have major cities such as Richmond but it has peaceful, quiet areas where residents can live like Williamsburg.
The 2007 population estimate for Virginia was 7,642,884 according to the United States Census Bureau. This is an increase of 8% over 2006 and experts expect that it will grow. It didn’t seem that the population numbers mattered much since Virginia, in 2003, was at the lower end when it came to automobile insurance. The average premium for Virginia was $752 per month, compared with the national average of $914.
Each state requires drivers to have minimum coverage in order to be allowed to drive on the roads. Virginia is no exception. In the event of an accident, someone must be found responsible. This means that the person deemed responsible for the accident and their insurer will be responsible for any accident-related expenses. It is called a 25/50/20 coverage, and falls in the middle of other states’. Virginia requires that all drivers of automobiles in the state have $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 in total bodily injury in case an accident occurs; and $20,000 in property damage liability coverage in case an accident happens. These are the minimum coverage requirements to drive in Virginia. You can buy more coverage from your Virginia auto insurance company if you want.
Virginia law doesn’t require that a person have Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) like other states. Personal Injury Protection is a benefit that covers you and your passengers for any medical costs resulting from an auto accident. It is always advisable to have it. To prevent this, the state requires that a person have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. To be allowed to drive on the streets of the state, a driver must have $25,000 for each person and $50,000 for uninsured motorist coverage.
It may sound like you have a lot of coverage, but the average premium in Virginia is much lower than the national average. The minimum coverage required by Virginia’s law is not available to everyone. Leasing a vehicle or paying monthly on it will be required to purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. Because driving is a risky activity, there are also the possibility of theft and accidents.
A person who has to buy more coverage than is required can lower their deductible and pay a lower premium. In the event of an accident, drivers who have lower deductibles will incur higher out-of-pocket expenses. The deductible means that the automobile insurance company will pay less if the driver is in an accident. This will result in your policy rate decreasing.
Policy holders can choose to cancel or drop coverage they don’t need. An example of this is the automobile insurance policy’s medical coverage. If you have separate health insurance and know that the medical coverage of your policy will not cover any of the items covered by your health insurance, it’s time to get rid off the medical portion of your auto insurance policy.
Virginia is a great place to live in or to buy a vacation home. When it comes to automobile insurance, the state isn’t too expensive. While there are many ways that residents of this state can save money on their car insurance, the most important thing is to have the coverage you need. When it comes to car insurance, lowering your deductibles or getting rid of excess coverage can make a big difference. You will soon realize that Virginia is not as expensive to live in and drive a car in.