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There are a few reasons why a person would have difficulty finding car insurance through a regular insurance company: not driving long enough; having a car so new there is no insurance record or a high performance vehicle; living where there is a high amount of crime; and too many citations on your driving record. In any of these circumstances, a traditional auto insurer may be reluctant to provide coverage due to the higher risk.
In this case, there are two options: find a company that deals with “high-risk” drivers or join a risk pool assigned by the state you live in. With a state assigned risk pool, a system where insurers put in the amount of money equivalent to the business they have in the state, it will be likely to have higher premiums. Private insurance companies that sell “high-risk” or nonstandard policies will be more likely to provide more comprehensive coverage to someone with a bad driving record or owner of a high performance car than a risk pool.
If none of the insurance agents you call will insure you, don't give up. There are several routes to take to ensure you get the auto coverage you need. Any insurers who have provided coverage for your home or vehicle in the past should be able to supply a list of companies to call, and dialing your sate insurance department is likely to turn up more insurers to put on your list of possibilities.
When it comes time for the teenager in the house to start driving, call your insurance agent and let them know there will be an extra driver in the house. Then you can either add your teen to your own policy or, if they will be driving their own car, insure them under your current insurance provider to get a multi-driver household discount. If your teen is a good student, most insurers will offer a good grade discount for making at least a 'B' average and/or taking driving safety classes.
An umbrella policy, designed to pad your auto insurance, typically provides from one to five million more dollars in liability overage than a normal insurance policy. It's like having an extra layer of padding, or coverage, if ever sued in a lawsuit after an accident. An umbrella policy will help to cover any extra expenses after your liability coverage is exhausted.
Costing in the range from one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars for one million dollars of coverage, the prices strongly jump as the next million will cost another $75, and $50 following that. Most insurers want policyholders to have at least $250,000 of liability coverage on your auto policy before they will sell you an umbrella policy for one million dollars coverage additionally.
Though often thought to be too complicated and too expensive, umbrella liability can easily be coordinated to sit on top of your current auto insurance coverage to give you some extra protection. In the days where litigation over next to nothing happens frequently, some people think a person shouldn't be without an umbrella policy. After all, it does pay up to one million dollars or more of a claim in addition to your usual insurance coverage.