I gave my son his car so that I wouldn’t need to take him to and fetch him from school here in Georgia. How does student automotive insurance work?

Agatha

Atlanta, GA

Agatha, if your son is a first time driver, this may spell trouble for your finances because teenage automotive insurance do not come in low prices. This is because teenage drivers are considered high-risk drivers by automotive insurance companies due to the high number of accidents involving teenage drivers.

However, there are steps you can take in order to turn your expensive teen automotive insurance to a cheaper one. So, what are these steps?

Include your son in an existing automotive insurance. This is going to make you eligible to avail of discounts. Discounts are available for multiple drivers, multiple vehicles and multiple policies in an insurance company. You may want to take advantage of this.

Also, since your son is a high school student, you should make sure that he gets good grades in school. You might be puzzled by the connection of this to your teen’s automotive insurance premium. The logic behind here is that automotive insurance companies would view your son as a responsible kid who is thus capable of being responsible as well on the road. Responsible drivers are highly unlikely to get themselves into road accidents.

Another way of doing this is by having your kid enroll in a driving course, basic driving course or defensive driving course. There should be accredited establishments there in your area in California that offer this kind of courses.

If you follow these tips, paying for your teen’s automotive insurance should not be much of a worry. But in any case, the coverage of your teen’s automotive insurance still depends on what you are going to specify to the insurers. So, just ask for some quotes from different automotive insurance companies.

I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, and I just want to know if whether my car insurance is going to pay first, or is it my own personal insurance, in case I get into an accident?

Mike

Atlanta, GA

Well, it will depend on whether you’re driving your own car, if you borrowed it, or if it’s a rental. If you’re driving your car, both your car insurance and your personal insurance will cover you. It’ll be your owners’ policy that kicks in first, then your personal insurance will cover the rest of the excess amount. Take note that your personal insurance will cover you, not the car. This, of course, goes without saying that it wasn’t you that caused the accident. If you are at fault, you can bet your stars that the insurance company of the other person involved will go after you to try to recuperate any financial damages you may have caused. If what you’re driving, however, is not your own car, a different process is involved. There is such a thing called non-owners’ insurance policy or rental policy, and that’s a different topic altogether. As with all kinds of insurance, policies, prices and processes vary from insurance company to insurance company and from state to state.

Ask your agent there in Atlanta, Georgia. These are some of the things you should’ve known before you bought your insurance policies.

I have an SUV and got rear ended by a cab driver. His insurance company only wants to give less than twenty dollars for my rental car a day. This is not enough to rent the same car I use everyday, so what do you think I should do? I live in Atlanta Georgia.

Jack

Atlanta, GA

Your own auto insurance policy in Atlanta Georgia generally has a rental vehicle allowance to provide you transportation while your car is being repaired. If your vehicle is beyond repair then the rental vehicle period might continue while you are in the process of negotiating the settlement for the car.

In your case, the driver who was at fault has the responsibility to give you with whatever you need to be in the same situation you were before the accident. They may try to negotiate for the amount and provide a set limit, however you have the right to require them to provide you with the same situation you had before the accident. You have the right to sue the at fault party which may be the Taxi company, including the insurance carrier that is representing them.

If it is important for you to rent a bigger car then you may try negotiating the extra cost for this with the insurance carrier. If you want to verify if there are any state guidelines for this case, you can try contacting the consumer division of your state’s insurance regulatory body.

If I have been in a car accident and it is the other party’s fault, Can I sue the other driver’s insurance company and my insurance company in Atlanta GA?

Halley

Atlanta, GA

Typically there are provisions in your auto insurance policy about your ability to request arbitration or sue. You need to read through your insurance policy, and check if there are any evaluation provisions or special limitations to sue your own insurance carrier in Atlanta.

It is not necessary to sue typically in order to be properly compensated. Many states enact laws to limit lawsuits related to auto accidents. For instance, no-fault laws are created to guarantee person’s insurance policies cover them regardless of fault in an accident.

Most auto insurance claims are settled without using a lawyer in Atlanta. Parties involved in an auto accident may face civil liability, criminal liability or both. The state usually starts a prosecution only if anyone is severely injured or killed, or if one of the motorist involved was clearly grossly negligent or driving while intoxicated or otherwise impaired at the time the accident happened.

I received a OUIL in Michigan almost five years ago and have had no violations since. I now live in Georgia, should I tell this conviction to an insurance company when applying for car insurance?

Sullivan

Athens, GA

Operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor or OUIL has now been renamed as OWI meaning operating while intoxicated.

In Michigan OWI is a misdemeanor unless charged as a 3rd offense within 10 years, in which case it’s a felony.

Now that you are living in Athens, Georgia an insurance provider can still access your Michigan driving history so you will need to tell this old conviction if asked for violations on your auto insurance application. If you do not mention this and the insurance provider finds out about this OWI then your car insurance quote would be inaccurate and need to be recalculated including this violation. If you have already received your car insurance policy and this offense is later found out about then it could be considered that you misrepresented your driving history which may be considered fraud.

Tags: auto insurance, traffic violation

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.

I know that you should add someone in you insurance policy if they use your car more than regularly. But what are the consequences of them being involve in an accident and not having them listed on your policy? I have a friend that borrows my car, and we are living in the same household but if I add him to my insurance policy, my insurance rate goes up a lot and its so unreasonable! We live in Atlanta GA and I would like to know what will happen if he damages my car and he is not added to my policy?

Mike

Atlanta, GA

Generally, the consequences of not adding a household member to your insurance policy when it is required by your insurance company is that if he get involve in an accident while using your car they would deny claims since he was not a motorist on policy and therefore you were not paying premiums for him to covered to drive your car. We have heard of some insurance companies that will cover a household member that was not listed on the insurance policy.

Most insurance companies and state laws require you to add all licensed household members on your policy and either add them as motorists or exclude them. It does not appear that in Atlanta GA you could totally exclude your roommate from your policy, only from collision and comprehensive coverages.

Georgia law states that car insurance fraud happens when people knowingly misrepresent pertinent facts to an insurer or agent to get a policy or collect money to which they are not entitled. Removing a licensed household member from your insurance policy is a misrepresentation of facts and is considered soft fraud. Any form of car insurance fraud is a serious crime in Atlanta GA that can lead to possible jail time and heavy fines.

My brother’s vehicle was hit while parked on a street in Atlanta, Georgia. There was no witness and he is filing a claim with his insurance company. In the state of Georgia, is there a maximum deductible allowed for hit and run claims?

Polly

Atlanta, GA

According to the Georgia Department of Insurance (DOI), Uninsured Motorist Insurance may be included on an insurance policy. Although Georgia requires all motorists to have “liability insurance” to operate a vehicle, there are unfortunately those that either do not abide the law or may have unknowingly permitted their insurance to cancel.

For injury to or destruction of property of the insured, deductibles of $250.00, $500.00, or $1,000.00, at the choice of any named insured in the insurance policy. Subject to the approval of the Commissioner, deductibles above $1,000.00 may be offered, .

If your brother is filing a claim for the damages he sustained in Atlanta GA under collision and not Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (UMPD), then verify with the GA DOI to find out if there is a maximum deductible allowed since the damage is from a hit and run accident.

My son has let his auto insurance lapse. He have been canceled for non-payment over the past years. He can’t seem to find an insurance company now to insure his auto in Atlanta GA. How can he get car insurance?

Noel

Atlanta, GA

Due to your son having car insurance issues previously (non-payment, lapse in coverage, etc) he is considered a high risk motorist. For motorists such as your son that are unable to find an insurance provider in the voluntary market that will insure them, most states have high risk insurance company that will cover these types of motorists.

Typically high risk drivers in Atlanta  have to go the Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan (GAAIP). It was created in 1949 to give auto insurance coverage to eligible high risk motorist who seek coverage and are unable to get such coverage through the voluntary market.

Eligible Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan risks are shared among companies writing car insurance in the state of Georgia. To get more information who these insurance companies are in Georgia and how your son can get car insurance in Georgia through the GAAIP so that he can insure and operate his vehicle contact the Georgia Insurance Commissioner.