Reader’s Question:

What will be the consequences for driving with no insurance on a leased car? Can the vehicle company repossess your car if you have no insurance on your leased car? I live in Atlanta Georgia.

Grey

Atlanta, GA

The consequences for driving uninsured on a financed or leased car will depend upon state laws as well as the terms of your lease. Laws vary by state but generally most state laws permit for a lien holder to repossess a car if you fail to uphold your part of the lease or loan contract.

Some lien holders will not take back the vehicle but will add these charges to your payments. This type of insurance will not be cheap and the cost will be added to your payments normally, as permitted by law and the terms of your loan or leased paperwork.

To check the specific consequences you may face from your leasing company for not carrying insurance, meaning both state liability as well as physical damage coverages of comprehensive and collision, speak with the financial institute the lease is through or read through your leasing document.

Tags: auto insurance

Reader’s Question:

My daughter lives in Atlanta GA, He had a Kentucky driver’s license but she has lost it. She had an accident and had let her insurance lapse. What kind of penalties she will be facing?

Arthur

Atlanta, GA

It will depend what all your daughter was cited for as to what penalties she will face. If she was found to be driving uninsured and without a license and was at-fault in an accident her penalties might be harsh.

In Kentucky, for a first violation of driving uninsured you must go to court and be imprisoned for not more than ninety days and can be fined between $500 to $1000 or both. Your Kentucky license plates and motor vehicle registration can be suspended for 1 year or until proof of auto insurance is presented. You also could lose your drivers license for up to 1 year.

To verify for sure what penalties she will be facing, if your daughter was cited for the above violations, she can call the court listed on her ticket and also check with the GA Department of Motor Vehicles.

Tags: auto insurance lapse, automobile, car insurance

Reader’s Question:

I got involved recently in a minor accident with a uninsured vehicle in Arizona. I’m afraid it was my fault and because I didn’t have some type of car insurance and it was just really minor accident I did not stop. What penalties do I expect? This happened in Dothan Alabama.

Mike

Dothan, AL

The state of Alabama has minimum car insurance requirements of 20/40/10. This liability limits stands for $20,000 of bodily injury coverage for one person up to $40,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident and property damage coverage or $10,000.

The penalty for drivers if found driving uninsured in Dothan Alabama can typically range from a $500 fine and potential suspension of license for the first offense up to a $1,000 fine and revocation of license for multiple offenses. It seems like you also didnt stop after the accident which this might be considered a hit and run and could come with harsh penalties of its own if the other motorist got your license plate and reported it to the law enforcement.

Tags: auto insurance, automobile, driving without insurance, traffic violation

Reader’s Question:

My teenage daughter is 18 years old and still resides with me in Atlanta, my question is :can she drive your car without being listed on your auto insurance? A friend for example borrows your vehicle and gets into an accident, was it legal for them to drive your vehicle because you gave them permission? Therefore will your insurance provider cover costs incurred minus your deductible?

Michelle

Atlanta, GA

Most insurance companies in Atlanta require you to list all of your household residents. With those who are licensed (or of driving age), your insurance company will give you the choice of listing them as ‘eligible’ to drive or ‘excluded’ from driving. If they are listed as ‘eligible,’ they will be rated against your policy’s premiums. If they are ‘excluded,’ they will not be rated against your policy’s premiums; however, you are accepting full responsibility if you let them drive - even once and no matter the circumstance. Now, the example you provided is an entirely different issue. Also household residents, your insurance provider wants to know who will be driving your car with any frequency or regularity. If someone is going to be driving your car with any regularity or frequency, that individual will need to be listed as an ‘eligible’ driver on your car insurance policy. The insurance carrier will cover someone who does not reside with you and you let that individual drive it for a ‘one-time’ thing.

Tags: automobile, car insurance rate, teen insurance, Young driver car insurance