Are Your Georgia Auto Insurance Rates Rising?

Reader question:

What’s the point of a stupid renewal discount if my Georgia  auto insurance rate stays the same or is higher every time I renew?!

Beth

Great question, Beth.

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? I’ve been getting my auto insurance coverage with the same company here in Georgia for a couple of years, and while I have been tracking what effect other discounts have on my auto insurance premium, the so called renewal discount has been pretty elusive. My auto insurance rate goes up every time, never down unless I apply a new discount to it or get a safer car; all things staying the same, my insurance quote will rise.

There are several reasons for this that neither we nor the car insurance company can control, such as:

• Cost of vehicles. As each year passes, it costs more to buy a car. A more expensive car will have a higher auto insurance rates.
• Cost of repairs. As vehicles become more expensive, so do their parts. The higher the cost to repair a car is, the higher the quote will be.
• Cost of health care. I went to the emergency room once and was given some aspirin and told to go home. A month later, I got a bill in the mail for five hundred dollars. I think you can see for yourself how that would affect your rate.
• Lawsuits. The number of lawsuits has stayed the same even as crashes with injuries have decreased, and the amount of money awarded is phenomenal.

On the bright side, while your auto insurance rate has a good chance of increasing each time you renew it, premiums as a whole are increasing less and less every year. The last year that the estimates were on record for, 2004, nationwide premiums only went up 3.4%, part of a trend of lower and lower increases that should be even better this year and in 2008, if the trend follows through.

People aren’t filing as many claims as they used to, and this is part of the factors that temper the rise of your insurance rate. Another thing that helps out is that cars are made more safely with features that both prevent accidents and make them less damaging when they do happen.

However, since even with the lower number of claims, car insurance companies are spending more on each individual claim, you will likely only see your  rate rise for years to come, although we could have an actual decrease in our future.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

What Happens If You Are Late Paying Your Car Insurance Payment?

Reader question:

What happens to my car insurance policy when I make a late payment?

Oswald

Atlanta

Thanks for your question, Oswald!

Many people, at some moment in their lives, come to a point where they have to choose between paying their Atlanta car insurance premium, or paying something else much more important. Most, though, skip payments out of forgetfulness and poor money management, and realizing what the consequences of your actions could be might make you a little more cautious about paying your car insurance payment on time. If you think about it, failing to pay your premium can actually be more expensive than paying it on time at the expense of something else.

Responsibility and timing are necessary when dealing with your car insurance premium, especially if you think of the consequences in one of the most dire, but very common, cases. Consider if you pay your car insurance premium through the mail, and you send it in a couple of days before it is actually due. It might arrive on time, and then it might not. If it doesn’t arrive on time, in many cases you might not even realize it. You could be driving around without proper car insurance coverage and be hopelessly unaware of this fact.

Even when they eventually get the check in the mail, they won’t for certain turn your coverage back on. Some might return the check to its sender, and others might use the check to pay off any other money that you owe on your car insurance premium. You will get a message in the mail eventually, but there will be a window of a few days in which anything can happen and you have no idea that you aren’t covered.

Even if the car insurance company does not cancel your payment outright, it is possible that once you have made one or more late payments, they decide that you are an unreliable payer and choose not to renew your car insurance policy. This gives you some more time to think, as you’ll have until the end of your current policy period to find a new company, but neither option is desirable.

• What happens if you crash?

One of the worst consequences of your car insurance policy being canceled thanks to a late payment is that you will get in a crash. If the crash is not your fault, then you won’t have to pay for damages, but you will lose your driver’s license. If it is your fault, not only will you have your own damages and injuries to pay for, but the other driver’s as well, and with no insurance coverage to fall back on, you’ll be taken to court and sued for a lot of money.

• What happens with the next company?

If you get your premium canceled with one company, then the next  insurance company that you go to will consider you higher risk. Not only does that mean that you have a chance of getting your policy denied altogether, but if it is approved then your car insurance rates will be higher.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

What Happens In Unisured Motorist Accident in Georgia?

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