I am seventeen years old and I would like to know if I can purchase car insurance under my name? Thank you.

Mike

Detroit MI

Hello Mike. That’s a good question.

In Michigan, there is no age requirement for getting car insurance. The Essential Insurance Act in Michigan states that any Michigan citizens may acquire home or auto insurance. You may be able to get car insurance if you have a valid Michigan drivers license or a vehicle registered in the state of Michigan.

But here’s the thing, Mike. Since you are only seventeen years old, and still a minor, you will still need a consent from a parent or guardian. Your parent or guardian will need to sign a legal contract for you. Car insurance policy is a legal contract and minors are not allowed to enter to any contract. You may be able to sign the contract by yourself when you become eighteen, which is considered an adult according to law. So this means that you can have a car insurance policy under your name but will be needing a consent from the parent or guardian who will be liable for your actions should you fail to meet financial obligations.

It is also against the law to sell a car to a minor. Again, a written consent from a parent is also necessary before you can purchase a vehicle. You will need a form called “Parental Consent to Sell a Vehicle to a Minor” and have your guardian or parent sign this for you.

If you have any more questions regarding getting car insurance, you may contact the Michigan Secretary of State in their official website. You may also contact them at 888-767-6424.

There are various factors that can affect car insurance premium. These factors are based on the risk associated with the insured. Depending on the car insurance company, below are the most common car insurance factors that are being looked at by car insurance companies when insuring a person:

Age

According to statistics, age can affect the driving habit of a motorist. for instance, teen drivers who are below 25 years of age usually get into an accident compared to drivers who are 25 years old and above.

Gender

Studies show that women are safer drivers than their male counterparts. This is the reason why women typically are rewarded with lower car insurance premium compared to men.

Location

Your locations makes a big difference when determining your car insurance rate. If you live in the area where there are less traffic and crime rates, this can help you get lower car insurance rate. If you live in the city with high rate of theft and vandalism, for instance, you can expect higher car insurance rate.

Driving Violations

If you have too many traffic violations in your driving record such as speeding tickets, DUI/DWI or reckless driving, expect to have high car insurance rate. Some insurance companies even deny applications with people who have bad driving record. If however you have good driving record, you may even get a discount from car insurance companies that will help you get lower car insurance rate.

Car Type

A cheaper car is generally cheaper to insure. If you have a luxury car, expect to pay a very expensive car insurance. Expensive cars have very costly repair cost.

Credit Rating

Car insurance companies believe that having a good credit rating means that you are a responsible person and as a policyholders you will probably also be a responsible driver. Over the broad spectrum of drivers, this profile has cost the insurance company less pay out in claims. It is easy to understand why most insurance companies will offer lower car insurance premium with people who has a good credit rating.

Other factors that may affect car insurance premiums are:

• Marital status
• Accident claims
• occupation
• Education
• Driving distance to work
• driving experience
• Safety Features

It is very important to know all these factors so you will know how to make your car insurance premium lower. It is also very important to note that car insurance discounts can lower car insurance premium and make sure you ask for them before purchasing car insurance premium.

Usually, your Michigan car insurance already covers rental car insurance, depending on the terms and conditions of your policy. Most car insurance policies state that short-term use of a passenger vehicle is covered.

Every car insurance policy has liability coverage to pay for damages to the other party. However, if you have canceled collision and comprehensive coverage on an older vehicle, you have to purchase further coverage for rental car insurance. Moreover, your car insurance policy generally does not have coverage for a rental truck from U-Haul or the like.

You must be truthful as well as to who will drive the rental car. If you are going to need your teenager to drive, even though they may have a driver’s license, car rental companies have higher fees for young drivers and a lot of companies will not allow you to include them as a driver. Upon renting the vehicle, if the young driver is not listed, the insurance for the rental car might not cover any accident.

Remember also that a lot of credit cards have automatic coverage for rental cars if the credit card is used for the rental. Go over the fine print to determine which drivers can be covered and whether it covers the vehicle contents.

Be certain your car insurance policy covers the un-insured motorist coverage in case the other party does not have proper car insurance.

Whenever you are confronted with a new situation, you need to go over your car insurance policy to be certain that you have the sufficient coverage.

But how can you be sure that the car insurance policy you are getting has the right coverage and at the same time worth every penny you are paying? There are a number of ways complete this process:

1. The lowest priced policy isn’t always the best policy. It sure might appear that you got your car insurance policy at a steal, but the policy is cheap because it probably has low coverage. This is useless if you’re driving a late model car. Considering that in case of an accident the coverage on your car to another car if you’re at fault; also injury coverage. Having the right policy regardless of the price is important as long as you’re getting what your money’s worth.

2. Before settling on a policy, consider that the car insurance company is not giving you the best price if you don’t have at least one car safety device. Do your part; have car safety devices or a car theft alarm installed and car insurance companies would be more than happy to give you affordable policy.

3. Shopping on-line for car insurance is extremely reliable, however you have to do diligence to know which options will save you the most money. If your pocket book will allow it, pay your car insurance premium in one lump sum annually as compared to monthly installments which comes with a service fee. When you add up the monthly installments, you’re paying more.

In terms of small businesses or companies purchase business car insurance. However, the answer to the question of getting business car insurance policy is very much different based on how the vehicle is used. People who do some business-related activities while driving their vehicle must absolutely get in touch with their car insurance provider to determine if they should buy further insurance coverage. Moreover, owners of small business whose workforce drives vehicles while doing their job should also consider getting business car insurance policy.

If you drive a personal vehicle in Michigan that is occasionally used for business, you most likely need business car insurance. Even though a number of car insurance policies might provide coverage for damages that occur while on a business to a certain scope, you need to clarify this with your car insurance company.

All vehicles that are business-owned, being chartered or leased need to have business car insurance coverage. It is needed to provide coverage for every financial liability of an employee who causes an accident. Essentially, if you or any of your personnel uses company or personal vehicles to do business, you would most definitely need business car insurance policy. An advantage of a business car insurance policies is that they let you list every employee who drives. This is not usually allowed for personal car insurance policies.

Owners of truck particularly have to check business truck insurance. Since trucks are a lot larger and need special schooling to drive, truck owners are considered more responsible for damages.

Business car insurance policy is required as well if you need further liability coverage than your personal car insurance covers. Generally, you need business car insurance if you use a vehicle owned by a corporation, use it for deliveries or any vehicle used in connection to a business.

The State of Michigan requires every vehicle owner to purchase car insurance whether they are young or old. This simply means that even if you are a senior . Seniors are usually strapped with higher premiums due to their placement in a higher risk category by the underwriter. But, there are still several ways to get senior car insurance which is within your budget. How? Read on:

• Check out several quotes for senior car insurance. This means getting car insurance quotes from different insurance providers. By doing comparative shopping, you may be able to determine which factors in car insurance are the most important. Also, do not forget to get insurance quotes from insurance providers that you can trust.
• Check if you can get car insurance discounts that are not usually offered to other drivers. For example, think about the social organizations where you belong and see if they are tied up with certain insurance providers.
• Complete a defensive driving course. By doing this, you may get lower car insurance rates for there are insurance providers that offer lower insurance premiums for senior drivers who are able to complete a defensive driving course.
• Drive less. The good thing about senior drivers is that they do not use their cars that often because they are not commuting to work hence this means they may be able to get lower car insurance rates.
• Consider the car you are driving. This must be considered by all drivers however, this must be considered especially by senior drivers. The car that you need to drive should have anti-lock brakes, air bags, and other safety devices. All these things will make you senior car insurance rates even lower.

If you are a first time driver in Michigan, chances are you are doing your best to find cheap car insurance in your area. Although most car insurance for first time drivers maybe quite expensive, the fact remains that there are still numerous possible ways to get the best deal for your insurance important information you need to consider:

• Make sure to check car insurance rates from more than one insurance provider. The truth about car insurance rates is that they differ greatly from one provider to another by as much as $500.
• To help you find the best car insurance deal in Michigan, make sure to secure the help of a non-exclusive insurance agent, so your choices will be more; an Independent Agency.
• If you are using a used vehicle which is more than 4 years old, it would be advisable to avoid getting collision coverage to save money.
• If you are thinking of buying a new vehicle, make sure to choose low profile cars to avoid expensive car insurance rates. Sports car and high performance vehicles will normally ask for expensive insurance premiums.
• Check if you can take advantage of car insurance discounts for having security devices installed in your car, if you do not smoke or drink, or if you have good grades from school.
• Make it a habit to drive less to take advantage of the low-mileage discount.
• Increase your deductibles to lower your car insurance rates. If you choose to double the rate of your deductibles, your car insurance rates maybe lowered by 10%.
• Park your car in a secured area, where the chance of your car being stolen or vandalized is lower. This way you can also get cheap car insurance for first time drivers.

These are just some important things that you need to consider to get cheap car insurance rates. Also, don’t forget to take good care of your driving records to enjoy lower insurance rates for yourself in the future.

• No car accidents of traffic violations for a period of three years. Some insurance providers offer a discount for drivers who are able to maintain an accident free driving record for three years. As you can see, being a good driver is favored by insurance providers and most of the time they “reward” good drivers with better car insurance rates.
• Higher deductibles. If you choose to have deductible amounting to $500 or $1000, make sure to ask your insurance provider if they offer car insurance discount for that.
• Insuring more than one car. Most insurance providers offer car insurance discount if there are several vehicles insured under one insurance policy.
• Attended defensive driving class. In most cases, this discount can be availed by students or teen drivers. Since they often lack the experience in driving, enrolling in defensive driving class will help them get car insurance discounts to help lower their insurance premiums.
• Installing safety devices in the vehicle. The rule of the thumb here is the safer your car the lower your car insurance rates will be. Insurance providers also offer car insurance discount to owners who have safety devices installed in their cars such as alarm, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and more.

These are just five car insurance discounts that you may avail of. Check with your car insurance provider in Michigan to see if you can take advantage of the discounts I’ve mentioned and other discounts that might be available for you.

It is mandatory for drivers in Michigan to get no fault car insurance. No fault insurance requires the insurance company to pay an insured driver’s accident expenses regardless of who was at fault in the accident.  The liability insurance coverage that a motorist carries must be no-fault coverage.

This insurance policy is composed of three parts – Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Property Protection Insurance (PPI), and Residual Liability Insurance, Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI/PD):

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This insurance coverage will be responsible for paying for medical cost that you may incurred if you get involved in a car accident. It will also cover you for loss of wages for a period of three years. As of 2008, the allowed amount for PIP/ month is $4,713.

Property Protection Insurance (PPI): This insurance coverage will pay for the damages that you have caused to other party’s property. The maximum amount that this coverage would pay is $1 million.

Residual Liability Insurance – Bodily Injury and Property Damage (BI/PD): The no-fault law in the state of Michigan protects the driver from being sued because of a car accident. However, there are some conditions where the driver can still be sued:

• If the driver is involved in an accident which causes death or serious injury to another person.
• If the driver is involved in an accident where the other party is not a resident of Michigan
• If the driver is involved in an accident that happened outside the state of Michigan.
• If the driver is 50% or more at-fault in the car accident.

The minimum coverage limits for Bodily Injury and Property Damage is described as 20/40/10 and are as follows:

• Up to $20,000 for every person hurt or killed in the accident
• Up to $40,000 for every accident if there are many people hurt in the accident
• Up to $10,000 for damages on properties.

Michigan’s penalties for lack of proper car insurance are severe. You must maintain financial responsibility on you car and show proof if you are stopped. In Michigan driving without insurance is considered a misdemeanor and you can be jailed for up to a year or required to pay a fine of $500.00 if you are convicted of driving without insurance.

In some cases, courts may required at-fault party to pay more than what is included in the your minimum car insurance coverage therefore it is recommended that you buy more than what is required by the law in Michigan.

Don’t take chances, in order to avoid these penalties, maintain the proper insurance coverage on your vehicle at all times.

In general, high risk drivers have difficulty in terms of finding cheap car insurance since nearly all car insurance providers have higher rates on car insurance for high risk drivers. More often than not, high risk drivers are those who don’t have much experience in driving or those who have been to car insurance providers.

For high risk drivers in Michigan, while it looks as if hopeless to obtain cheap car insurance, there are a lot of ways for high risk drivers to still pay lower premiums. If they can show the car insurance underwriters that they can be responsible and safe drivers even if they don’t have much experience in driving and they have have had no accidents. Here are some of the ways high risk drivers can pay lower car insurance premiums:

Better Driving Record

You can take defensive driving lessons and if you have unsettled traffic violations, you need to pay them. For new drivers or teenagers, be certain that you focus when you are driving. Do not ever drive when you have consumed alcoholic beverage and do not text while driving as well.

Install Security Devices

This is particularly needed if you have a kind of vehicle that is prone to theft. Installing safety features like anti-lock brakes, airbags and seat belts can aid in getting a price reduction on car insurance for high risk drivers.

Be Careful When Choosing a Vehicle

Rather than buying a car with a “hot” motor or a souped-up one, you could change to a kind of vehicle that would not entice you to go over the speed limit when you drive.

Shop for Car Insurance Quotes

Search online for at least ten car insurance providers in Michigan and ask for a car insurance quote so you can compare each of them.