Detroit Auto Insurance: Tips & Information
Detroit Car Insurance
Hello, I'm Frank. Everyone knows that you have to be exceptionally careful before signing anything, including Auto Insurance.
That's why we've created this special page within the site to advise you on all aspects of buying Auto Insurance. Especially what to look for before purchasing that policy.
Detroit Car Insurance Eligibility
This guide is a survey of rates for four sample driver households who are eligible for auto insurance under the law. An eligible person for auto insurance is a person who has a car registered in Michigan or has a valid Michigan driver’s license. However, there are times when a company can refuse to insure you.
Reasons for Denial
You can be turned down for auto insurance if you are not required by law to have no-fault insurance. Your driver’s license is suspended or revoked within the past five years, you have been convicted of trying to defraud an insurance. company, or have been denied payment of a claim over $1,000 because there is evidence of fraud on your part. Within the past three years, you have been found guilty of a felony with a motor vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, or reckless driving. The car you want to insure does not meet Michigan safety requirements. Within the past two years, your auto insurance has been cancelled because of non-payment of premium. This can be waived if you pay the entire premium on the policy you are buying in advance. The insurance you want to buy requires you to be a member of a group, club or organization and you do not join the organization. Your driving record causes you to have more than the allowable number of ''eligibility points.'' You do not meet the requirements of a company's underwriting rules. (See Company Guidelines on following page).
Automobile Insurance Eligibility
Company Guidelines
Insurance companies also use certain guidelines, called underwriting rules, to help decide whether they will insure you. These rules may be different for each company, but each company must apply its rules in the same way to everyone. For example, a company may refuse to insure you if it does not have a rate for your type of car, or if your car is very expensive to repair or replace (such as custom or antique cars).
Ineligible Persons
If you find you are not eligible for auto insurance, you may want to ask your agent to apply to the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility for you. The Facility was created to offer insurance to those persons who have difficulty finding insurance through regular companies. Any licensed agent can help you apply for insurance through the Facility.
Eligible Persons
If you are a person who is eligible for auto insurance, read on to see how you can use this survey and perhaps reduce the cost of your auto insurance. The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation has additional information available regarding auto insurance.
Insurance Eligibility Points
Insurance companies assign insurance eligibility points for certain traffic violations.
Insurance eligibility points are not the same as points on your official driving record.
They are simply a guide to help the company decide whether you are eligible for auto insurance. You can be turned down for auto insurance if you have seven or more eligibility points from violations within the past three years.
How insurance companies assign eligibility points:
.Driving more than 15 mph over the speed limit (careless driving) - four points
.Driving 11-15 mph over the speed limit – three points
.Driving 15 mph or fewer over the speed limit on freeways that used to have a maximum speed limit of 70 mph - two points.
.Other moving violations - two points
.The first accident in which you are more than 50% at fault - three points
.The second and all following accidents in which you are more than 50% at fault – four points
Car Insurance for Detroit Michigan Drivers
We can show you ways to not only find cheap rates but also show you the importance of having insurance for your vehicle and how to know what insurance you will need in the state of Michigan. Michigan operates under a no-fault law for car insurance, which generally means no matter who caused the accident, both parties will be held responsible to repair their own vehicles and pay for those costs. In MI, however, the law is slightly more defined than this simple explanation. The no-fault law was originally designed to lower the number of drivers suing one another for damages, and due to the law there are very limited cases which allow a driver to sue another. In some situations where you do not have much insurance and are found to be less than 50% responsible for the accident, you can collect up to $500 under the state’s mini-tort law. Michigan’s mini-tort law is based on the percentage of fault for both drivers. The driver who had little to no fault in the accident is given some help under this mini-tort law and won’t be completely responsible for someone else’s mistake. The mini-tort maximum claim amount is currently $500 but it could possibly rise to $1,000 in the future. Driving without auto insurance in Michigan is a crime. To be more specific, anyone who has not claimed financial responsibility should not be operating a vehicle in most states. The penalties in Michigan for driving without insurance begin with fines of $200 to $500 with a possible suspension of the driver’s license and vehicle registration. The driver will need to show proof of insurance within a month to get their license and registration reinstated. Repeated offenses of not having insurance will lead to heavier fines and jail time.
Michigan drivers are required to have a minimum amount of insurance to legally operate a vehicle on public roads. Those requirements are listed below with a more detailed explanation
• Bodily Injury Liability
• Property Damage Liability
• Property Protection Insurance
• Personal Injury Protection Medical
• Personal Injury Protection Work Loss
Bodily Injury Liability:
This coverage must be purchased at a minimum price of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident. It does not pay for the medical expenses of the policyholder or members, but rather it covers those medical expenses of the other party but only up to the purchased amount. So, if the other party’s medical costs are over $40,000 combined, the policyholder is responsible to pay the remaining cost.
Property Damage Liability:
This liability is where the mini-tort comes into play. This coverage pays for the damages that are done to the property as a result of the accident. In Michigan, drivers must have a minimum of $10,000 in property damage liability, which means the insurance carrier will cover up to this amount. Any remaining costs that exceed this amount will be the responsibility of either the policyholder or the other driver, depending on who is found to be most at fault for the accident.
Property Protection Insurance:
This coverage obliges the insurance company to pay up to $1,000,000 for the damage your vehicle does to any fixed property, including buildings, fences, lampposts, and parked cars. It generally does not cover any other vehicle, such as moving vehicles at the time of the accident, only fixed or stationary objects.
Personal Injury Protection Medical:
Personal injury protection (PIP) will help cover the medical expenses of you, members of your policy and/or passengers in your vehicle at the time of the crash. Depending on the insurer, the premium should not increase due to a PIP claim.
Personal Injury Protection Work Loss:
PIP will also cover lost wages due to the accident up to a specified purchased amount. Depending on the state and insurer, this could also be limited to a certain time period.
Saving Money on Detroit Auto Insurance
The survey rates have been determined using the rating factors specified in each example. However, your actual premium will be determined using the characteristics of your household members and vehicles. It is important to shop around to find the lowest premium, but there are other ways to further reduce your cost of auto insurance.
Physical Damage Deductibles
Increasing your deductibles on the physical damage coverage (e.g. comprehensive and collision) can make a significant difference in the cost of your policy.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Deductibles
You should be aware that your Detroit Car Insurance company may impose a deductible on any claim you submit for PIP benefits following an auto accident. This means that you will be responsible for paying for any expenses, up to this deductible limit, before the auto insurance company will pay for any of your injuries. For this reason, it is important for you to know whether your auto policy requires a deductible as well as the deductible amount. If this information isn’t listed in your policy declaration page, ask your agent or insurance company to confirm whether there is a deductible, and if so, ask for the deductible amount.
Group Insurance Coverage
Many companies offer group auto insurance coverage at reduced rates to members of qualified groups, organizations, associations and trade or business associations (e.g. AARP, teacher’s association, university alumni association). Credit union members and employees of various businesses may also be eligible. If you are a member of one of these types of groups, ask your agent if you qualify for group coverage. More than one insurer may offer reduced rates to your group, so you may want to check with several agents, or ask your agent to check with several companies.
Coordination with other Health or Disability Coverage
Your personal injury protection (PIP) premium may be reduced if you have other health or disability coverage, through your place of employment for example. Ask your agent about the option to coordinate health or disability coverage with your auto insurance PIP coverage. You may coordinate PIP coverage with any other health or disability policy you have (except Medicaid, Medicare or a Medicare supplemental policy) to reduce your PIP premium. When you coordinate coverage, your health/disability policy becomes the primary payer for any PIP claims related to your auto accident. Your auto insurance coverage pays for reasonable expenses not covered by the health/disability policy. However, before you agree to coordinate your health/disability income and auto policies, you should first verify that your health and/or disability income insurance policy will provide benefits for injuries related to car accidents. Some health insurance companies restrict coverage for injuries related to auto accidents if the injured person is also covered by an auto insurance policy. Coordination of health/disability and auto insurance benefits applies only to the policyholder and family members covered under the policies.
Listing of Possible Discounts
Many insurers offer discounts for safety features like anti-lock brakes, air bags and anti-theft devices. You may also be eligible for a discount if you have two or more policies with the same insurance company (e.g. homeowners and auto policies). If it’s a significant discount, it may be worth insuring both your auto and home with the same company.
We have asked the insurance companies that participated in this survey to provide us with a list of their discounts. We have compiled a list of the most common discounts that the participating companies offer on the following page. This list of discounts is NOT a comprehensive list. Companies add new discounts to their programs all the time. Therefore, be sure to ask for a list of discounts that a company offers when you are shopping around for auto insurance coverage. Your auto insurance premium is broken down into the types of coverage you choose to purchase (e.g. mandatory no-fault coverage, optional comprehensive and/or collision coverage). Because of this, any auto insurance discount you receive from your insurance company will typically only be applied to certain portions of your premium. For instance, if your vehicle qualifies for an anti-theft discount, the discount would typically be applied to the portion of your premium that you pay for comprehensive coverage. If you do not carry comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, you would not qualify for this discount. Each company decides what discounts it will offer and what insurance coverages (e.g. personal injury protection, comprehensive, collision) will be affected by each discount. The company must then offer these discounts to all individuals who qualify.
Therefore, the following list of company-offered discounts should only be used to offer you some guidance into the vast number of discounts that are available when shopping around for auto insurance. It is important to realize that only the insurance company or one of its representatives, such as an insurance agent, will be able to provide you with an accurate premium quote based on your own personal characteristics, including any and all company offered discounts. Remember: Insurance companies can develop a discount for anything that may reduce the company’s losses and expenses. These discounts must then be offered to all individuals who qualify. It is critical when shopping around to ask for all the discounts the company offers.
Senior Citizen and Retiree Discounts
(Work Loss Waiver)
If you are a senior citizen, aged 65 or older, the law requires a company to offer you a reduced premium if you drive your vehicle less than 3,000 miles per year. A retired person aged 60 or over, who does not have income from work, must also be offered the option to waive coverage for work loss that is paid under the PIP coverage. A person may waive coverage for himself or herself and an eligible spouse and receive a reduced premium for PIP coverage. Keep in mind that the work loss coverage may not be eliminated completely from the no-fault policy since it still applies to other persons who may be injured in or by the policyholder's vehicle.