5/19/08

Are there any insurance companies that provide coverage for very high risk drivers and if so which companies?

Answer
This is not an endorsement: but Progressive has built their business on insuring high-risk drivers. That's not to say your particular driving record will qualify for coverage. If you are considered high-risk and you can't seem to get coverage through the internet or an 800 number, work with an agent. It's their job.


Answer
Don't know about other states, but in Kansas the state can assign a company to issue a policy. I believe that any company lisenced to sell insurance in the state is required to accept a certain number of "assigned risk" policies. But, they are allowed to charge a premium commensurate with the risk.



Answer

The state I live in has almost no drivers on an assigned risk policy because there are so many companies that will insure anyone regardless of driving record. Make some calls and take your pick, or if you are in a state with a significant number of people on assigned risk then, as said previously, check into getting an assigned risk policy through the state insurance commissioners office.

Insurance To Avoid...

You guys should know your insurance company before you buy policies from them. Northwestern Mutual complaints gives the dirt on Northwestern Mutual. I am not sure how accurate some of their articles are, but they seem to all say the same thing, if you dig

Interestingly enough, this webiste was shut down a few years ago after Northwestern Mutual successfully won a lawsuit they filed against the guy who ran this site. He was actually a representative for the company until he was fired for noncompliant sales practices. He was one of the companies top producers...which really says something. The more a representative produces, the more the company makes. Obviously one could see why he would be disgruntled. And the fact that Northwestern won the lawsuit suggests that the information disseminated on it is fallacious.

Update: Alabama Governor to Sign Bill Raising Auto Insurance Requirements

Some Alabama motorists may need to buy more auto liability insurance in a few months.

Gov. Bob Riley said he intends to sign legislation raising Alabama's minimum insurance requirements for the first time in 25 years.

The Legislature approved a bill May 8 that would raise Alabama's minimum limits for mandatory auto liability insurance from $20,000 to $25,000 for a single injury or death; $40,000 to $50,000 for multiple injuries or deaths; and $10,000 to $25,000 for property damage.

The bill, a compromise between plaintiff lawyers and insurance companies, raises limits that haven't been changed since 1983. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, said the changes are long overdue to protect motorists who are hit in traffic accidents.

"You certainly can't buy a new car for $10,000 today,'' he said.

The Legislature passed a similar bill last year, but the governor vetoed it because it would have taken effect immediately and insurance companies wouldn't have time to adjust.

Bedford and Rep. Marc Keahey, D-Grove Hill, redesigned the new bill so it will take effect in three months for new policies and six months for renewals.

"The only thing we had last year was the companies just didn't have enough time to implement it,'' Riley said in an interview Thursday.

The new minimums bring Alabama in line with the insurance requirements in Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky have the same limits for injuries and deaths but smaller amounts for property damage. Florida and Louisiana have lower amounts across the board, and North Carolina's minimums are higher for injuries and deaths than those planned for Alabama, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

By Keahey's estimates, the higher liability requirements will affect less than 10 percent of Alabama's motorists and cause them to pay $20 to $30 extra per year.

At Alfa Insurance, spokesman Dave Rickey said 6.5 percent of the company's customers buy the minimum limits and would be affected by the bill.

The bill also raises the minimum amount of uninsured motorist coverage to match liability coverage.

Rickey said about 90 percent of Alfa's customers buy the minimum amount for uninsured motorist coverage. Alfa estimates the average customer would have to pay an extra $13.20 annually for the higher uninsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist coverage is optional in Alabama. It kicks in when the driver at fault in an accident has no insurance or too little insurance to cover all the damage.

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