What Is The Minimum Required Auto Insurance in Georgia?

 

October 29, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Required Minimum Coverage 

If you want to get auto insurance in Georgia, then you are required to follow the law and get the proper amount of coverage. If you don’t want to get auto insurance, then you’re out of luck, because you have to. End of story. Most car insurance companies will sale you the simple minimum liability of auto insurance if you go in and request nothing more than to be insured, but you still ought to understand what is required and why, and why you should take a step beyond that.

To meet the minimum requirements for auto insurance in Georgia, you are required to have liability coverage. This type of coverage will take care of medical costs and property damage for the person to whom you cause damage in an accident which is your fault. You have to have:

  • $25,000 of bodily injury coverage for each individual
  • $50,000 cap for each accident if there is more than one person
  • $25,000 for damage to property, such as a vehicle or a fence

These are the required amounts, but most companies that sell auto insurance in Georgia suggest that you stack on a little more than this amount of insurance, and the most commonly suggested amount is 100/300/100. You should remember when buying liability coverage for bodily injury that the two amounts do not combine. If you have fifty thousand of coverage for more than one person, then that is all that you get for a single accident, even if four people are injured. If only one person is injure, all they get is twenty five thousand. Considering the cost of medical bills in bad accidents, it makes sense to get more than that amount.

You need to have auto insurance, because the Georgia department of insurance can tell when you don’t. As a matter of fact, they have an online insurance verification system that keeps track of the insured and uninsured in the state. You can check your own status online to make sure that there aren’t any mistakes, although if you have only recently gotten a policy you should let a month pass before checking because it takes time.

If you go without auto insurance for 10 days or more, then your registration could be suspended. You would then have to pay $85 to restore. And although your auto insurance  can be verified online, you should still carry an insurance card in your vehicle for when you get pulled over.

If you want to lower your annual premiums, try raising your deductible amount to something like $1,000 or more.  You only pay when you file a claim with your insurance carrier and the savings over the long term could be substantial.

SR22 Insurance In Georgia – Auto Insurance After DUI

 

October 26, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: SR22 - DUI Insurance 

This is an excellent and informative video that gives an introduction to Georgia SR22 car insurance, and also explains how to get non owners insurance with your SR22 form. The SR22 is the type of car insurance that we are all avoiding, but due to police forces in Georgia cracking down on speeders and drunk drivers, more and more people are filing SR22 forms every year.When you are convicted for driving under the influence while in Georgia, your license is suspended. In order to get it back, you’re going to have to get a special type of car insurance, which is called SR22 insurance. SR22 car insurance is basically a type of insurance that is filed with the department of motor vehicles every month so that they remain informed as to your status, and can be alerted when you lapse in your car insurance coverage.

While DUI is the most common offense that requires a license suspension and this SR22 car insurance, it is necessary almost anytime you get your license instated after a suspension. You can have your license suspended for committing several traffic violations and for speeding, among other things. When you reinstate your license, you will be required to file Georgia SR22 car insurance for three years. However, the clock starts ticking when your license is suspended, so if you don’t reinstate your license until three years after it was suspended (perhaps you’ve decided that SR22 car insurance is too expensive and you can survive taking the bus) then you will never have to file SR22 car insurance.

  • Misery needs a good company.

When you file your SR22 car insurance, you have to do so with a company that is licensed by the Department of insurance, just as with any other type of car insurance. If you want to avoid any problems with your SR22 filing, make sure that all of your information matches, from your vehicle registration to your driver’s license to your car insurance policy to your SR22 form.

  • Can’t say no.

Until your period of filing SR22 is finished, you can’t file an SR26, which would cancel it. Your insurance has to cover you for the whole time, or you could be in hot water. This does not in any way mean that you can’t change companies while you’re filing SR22 car insurance–on the contrary, it’s even more important to get a good car insurance quote while you’re part of such a high risk group. However, you need to ensure that there is no lapse in your car insurance coverage, however short.

  • What you need.

Your SR22 car insurance coverage is only required to have the same minimum liability as any other car insurance policy. However, you might want to consider adding comprehensive and collision coverage if you have a newer car. If you want to keep your SR22 car insurance coverage as cheap as possible, though, cut your coverage to the least you need to get.

What Happens In Unisured Motorist Accident in Georgia?

 

October 23, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist 

Reader’s Question:

What happens if the person does not have any insurance and he is at fault in an accident in the state of Georgia?

Redford

Thank you for asking.

If the Department of Revenue in Georgia sees that you are uninsured, they will send you a Notice of Lapse Mandatory Liability Insurance Coverage notice through the mail. You will be requested to pay $25 lapse fee and you will be required to show proof within 30 days of the valid insurance coverage.

Your vehicle registration may be suspended if you fail to pay the lapse fee within 30 days of the letter’s date. The owner of the vehicle will need to pay the lapse fee of $25 plus $60 reinstatement fees and show proof of auto insurance if you want to cancel the suspension.

You will not be allowed to drive without insurance and suspended vehicle registration once you receive the notice from the Department of Revenue. If you drive a vehicle without insurance or with suspended registration, you may be subject for additional fees and the vehicle may be impounded if you get caught.

If you get involve in an accident and you do not have an insurance, you will be held personally responsible for the damages that you caused to another driver or car.

You may contact the Department of Revenue in Georgia to give you more information on the penalties given to a person driving without insurance if he/she gets involve in an accident.

Goodluck!

MariCAR

Does Georgia Have an Auto Insurance Point System?

 

October 23, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Georgia Dmv 

Reader’s Question:

Does Georgia and Florida have the same point system? Does Georgia report speeding ticket to Florida?

Ben

Good Question.

Georgia is not part of the Drivers License Compact where the Florida is a member of, but the Georgia Driver’s services still sends licensed driver’s information to their home state of any conviction they will receive in the state of Georgia. So if you get convicted of speeding violation in Georgia, the court will still notify the state of Florida if that is where you are licensed.

If you receive a traffic ticket out of state and they receive that information, The Highway Safety and Motor Services will add the violation to your record, according to the Florida of Highway Safety Motor Services. 15 MPH or less or over lawful speed limit is 3 points and 16 MPH or more over the posted speed limit is 4 points in Florida.

It is noted in the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Services that it will not be allowed by the Florida Law for any school or program to remove the points for the ticket or any convictions that was received from another state. This means that you cannot take any Florida driving class or take any driving course to remove the ticket from Georgia or points that was assigned to your driving record.

Goodluck!

MariCAR