Reader’s Question:

Someone else was driving my vehicle and she was not insured under my vehicle. The vehicle was hit and wrecked. My insurance policy took care of everything but after it was all over with, they added her to my insurance policy in Austin Texas, can they do that without my permission?

Dan

Austin, TX

It seems like your insurance provider in Austin Texas might have determined during the investigation of your hit and run claim that the person should have been a driver on your auto insurance policy. If the individual resides in your household or occasionally drives your car, some insurance providers might require the friend or relative to be added to your policy to cover any future claims.

If the driver does not drive your vehicle on a occasional basis you might be able to ask the insurance company to remove her from your insurance policy. To verify the specific reason your insurance provider added the person to your insurance policy, you will have to contact your insurance agent to check. If you are not satisfied with their reasoning you may contact your state’s insurance regulatory body to be certain that adding this individual as a driver to your policy, without your permission, is allowed according to state insurance laws.

Tags: auto insurance, auto insurance claims

Reader’s Question:

My husband drives a 2003 Dodge Ram truck and I have a 2002 Dodge Stratus in Austin Texas. We have liability on both cars. We also have uninsured motorist, property damage, and we have a $250 deductible. But the cost for these coverages seems high to us. We have considered removing uninsured motorist. Is this a good choice?

Jenny

Austin, TX

Always buy as much insurance as you can afford. Also if you try to buy too much insurance, you may have a hard time making your monthly payments. In addition to that, you do not want to buy too little insurance. Insurance is supposed to assist you from financial loss. So, you will need to balance the amount of coverage you need against the amount of insurance you can afford. On the other hand, “uninsured motorist” is a great coverage. It covers you, the insured members of your household and your passengers for bodily/personal injuries, damages or death caused by hit-and-run driver or an at-fault uninsured. If you are involved in an accident where the other motorist is at fault but has no insurance, your car insurance policy will cover your medical expenses, up to the limit on your policy. You may speak to your car insurance agent to determine what limits of insurance coverages that best meet your insurance needs.

Tags: advice, automobile, cheap auto insurance

Reader’s Question:

I’m 18 years old and will be staying with my friend for the summer to work in Austin Texas. I will be using their vehicle. If I get involved in an accident will my insurance company cover it?

Lex

Austin, TX

People are usually confused about who is covered under a standard car insurance policy. Typically, there are only one or two names listed in the name of the insured of a car insurance policy, however that doesn’t mean that those are the only individuals who are covered under the car insurance policy. Generally, car insurance coverage actually follows the car, not the driver. So if your vehicle is involved in an accident in Austin Texas, the vehicle typically receives the full coverage provided by the car insurance policy, regardless of who is operating it.

Your insurance provider may require that certain conditions be met in order for other motorists to be covered under insurance policy. For instance, anyone who drives your vehicle must typically be a licensed motorist. In addition to that, most insurance providers require that anyone driving your vehicle should have your permission. Since these conditions may differ, it is necessary to check your insurance policy carefully and make certain that you understand any conditions that might apply before you permit someone to drive your car.

Tags: car, car insurance

Reader’s Question:

What kind of car insurance coverage should an older type of car carry? Can a classic or modified car be insured? Who will offer such kind of insurance coverage in Texas?

Dominic

Corpus Christi, TX

Under the Texas law it mandates a specific minimum automobile liability insurance coverage for all automobiles registered in the state. Depending on the terms of the individual policy, liability insurance generally covers the cost of property damage, including the cost of repair or replacement for any other property damaged as the result of an accident. Liability insurance also pays medical bills and lost wages as a result of bodily injuries obtained in an accident.

Most people with older type of cars do not purchase collision or comprehensive coverages. With an older car, the cost of repairing the physical damages to the car may be greater than the value of the car itself. In that case, your car insurance company may declare your car “total” and give you a check for the car’s market value instead.

As for your other inquiry, yes, you can insure a modified car but because your car is a specialist car, not all auto insurance companies might be willing to provide and accept the coverage for it since it requires high price for replacement of car parts and also skilled labor if the car was involved in an accident. Thus, you have to take a special car insurance company that is designed especially for modified and classic cars and provides coverage for such cars.

Reader’s Question:

Most of the time I rent a car while on vacation, do I always need to buy insurance when I rent a car? Is this not covered by my own policy?

Riley

Austin, TX

Great question, Riley. Thanks for asking. When renting a vehicle under the State of Texas contract, the daily rate includes both Loss/Damage Waiver (LDW), which covers all damage to the rental vehicle if it was rented under the state contract, and Liability coverage. If you rent a car from a non-contract rental car vendor, car insurance may or may not be included in the base rental rate. You must inquire at the time of your rental if the contract includes a car insurance coverage. If not, you must purchase the Loss/Damage Waiver (LDW) and Liability insurance.

If you have fully insured your own car, including collision and comprehensive coverage, and rent a vehicle for pleasure only, you do not need to buy extra insurance from the rental company. In fact, your basic rental fee by law will include liability coverage for damage or injury to others. However, different rules apply when you rent a car for business purposes, so check with your car insurance agent for details.

Reader’s Question:

I am moving to New Jersey from Austin TX. Do I need to report all my tickets from Austin when applying for New Jersey car insurance?

Jay

Austin, TX

Yes, if the insurance provider is requesting information going back a certain number of years and at this time frame you received tickets in Austin, and were convicted of these infractions, then you would need to include them on your application for New Jersey auto insurance.

If you have recently moved from Texas to New Jersey then the insurance provider will pull your driving record for both states since the CA MVR does not go that far back and your Texas record will show them more of your driving record for the past several years for them to rate on.

So if you forgot to include these infractions that are on your Texas driving record and your insurance providers sees them after pulling your Texas MVR then your insurance rates may increase due to this new information about your driving record that they find out. Therefore to get a more accurate rate quote for your New Jersey car insurance you should include these tickets you were convicted of in MI to the insurance carrier when applying for a policy.

Reader’s Question:

I live in Austin TX and I am just wondering what the major difference is between getting car insurance locally and using a national auto insurance such as Geico, Progressive etc? I want to know which is cheaper?

Albert

Austin, TX

You should buy auto insurance from a company in Austin Texas that you can trust, a carrier that is reputable, and a company that has a good rating.

When you buy cheap auto insurance locally in Austin Texas you are either buying it through an independent agent or directly through a company. Austin Texas independent brokers have agent relationships with the insurance providers and they provide their products. There is no major difference between getting car through a national carrier or insurance locally. In fact, you can buy cheap national auto insurance from a local agent.

Reader’s Question:

Can I get a license in Austin Texas even though I have suspended license in Pennsylvania?

Victor

Austin, TX

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), a person who has a suspended driving status in another state is not eligible for the issuance of a Texas license. If an adverse driving status appears in another state after the issuance of a Texas license, your Texas license will be cancelled. You can read this in Texas Transportation Code under section 521.201 and 37 Texas Administrative Code section 15.87 (2).

Therefore, it would not appear that you would be able to get a Texas driver’s license while your Pennsylvania license is still suspended. You would need to take care of this or wait out your suspension and get your PA license reinstated in order to apply and obtain a TX driver’s license.

The Texas DPS would check with the National Driver Register (NDR) and would be able to see that your Pennsylvania license was suspended as part of the licensing process so there is no way to apply and obtain a TX license without informing them of your current licensing status in PA.

Reader’s Question:

I live in Austin, Texas and I got a speeding ticket in Toronto, Canada. Will this affect my driving record and insurance in Austin Texas?

Jimmy

Austin, TX

All provinces in Canada have a reciprocal agreement with Ontario regarding traffic violations. Ontario (which is the providence that Toronto is in) also has a reciprocal agreement with 41 states and that includes Texas.

To get information if part of this reciprocal agreement is to report to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) the out of country ticket, you may contact the DPS directly.

The DPS should also be able to inform you if this ticket will be put on your TX driving record. If it is placed on your driving record then your insurance provider could see it and depending upon their rating system it could affect your insurance rates.

If your premiums do go up because of this ticket, you can shop around for car insurance online by getting comparison rates.

Q: What is Austin TX DUI insurance?

A: When you are convicted of driving under the influence (DUI), your license is suspended for a period of time. Once that period of time is over you are able to get your license back in working order, but with some conditions. In order to keep your license, you need to have Austin TX DUI insurance proof on record every month. Proof of insurance comes in then form of an SR22 form, which is filed monthly with the DPS.

Austin TX DUI insurance is also known SR22 car insurance. It isn’t necessarily a different kind of insurance, since you have the same coverages as usual and everything, but the pricing goes up by quite a bit since, after your DUI, your risk level has also gone up.