Every state in the United States requires a car owner to carry insurance on their registered vehicle. While most of the states require an actual insurance policy to be written, New Hampshire requires an individual to be able to prove financial responsibility as insurance.
All states require proof of insurance to be supplied at the time of car registration.
Just as all states are different, so are all insurance companies and you will need to compare auto insurance quotes to help you to get the correct coverage that your state requires, as well as getting the cheapest car insurance that you can.
Comparing car insurance is extremely easy when you have access to online sites for insurance companies and brokers. These sites allow you to do your auto insurance comparison any time day or night at your convenience.
The laws in your state will make a difference in how much you pay for your car insurance.
Most states have a website for state information, Department of Motor Vehicles and the Insurance Commissioner’s office. The website will help you to determine what your car insurance minimum requirements are necessary to obtain a registration.
Some states will only require you to obtain Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and liability insurance in order to register your vehicle and legally drive on the highways.
Other states may require you to purchase an uninsured motorist policy along with PIP and liability.
Most states do not require you to carry comprehensive or collision insurance in order to register your vehicle.
What you should know about the state minimum requirements is that they are generally not high enough to protect you in the case of an accident that is your fault. The minimum requirements are dollar amounts that can be extremely outdated and not even close to what actual costs are in today.
The minimums have been established by legislation that can be over 20 years old, which has not accounted for increases in the cost of cars and medical expenses.
In 1984, you could purchase a brand new car for $3,500, while that same new car might run you close to $16,000 in 2012. It makes sense that when you have a liability limit requirement of $5,000, you are not going to cover the cost of a new car. That means that you will need to come up with the difference.
Once you have determined the state limits that are required of you to register your vehicle, you must now determine how much insurance you actually will need over and above the minimum requirements.
Unless you are sitting on lottery money in the millions, you probably will not want to reach into your pocket and hand over money to replace vehicles or pay for medical expenses should you be involved in an accident.
That is what insurance is designed to do for you.
The last thing you want to do is pay too much for your car insurance.
This is where you will want to get online and do your auto insurance comparison with as many car insurance companies as you can. You will also want to call the agents and independent brokers in your area. You can still find them all listed in the Yellow Pages of your phone book.
By comparing from as many companies as possible, you have the best chance of getting the cheapest car insurance rates that you can.
When you compare auto insurance quotes, make sure that everyone is getting the same information. You will want to have your current car insurance policy, your vehicle information, your credit and driving records and the mileage on your vehicle to get an accurate quote.