Reader question:
I have a pretty poor driving record, and my last policy wasn’t renewed, so now I have to look again, and it’s proving a difficult search. What can I do?
Louis
You have a couple of options, Louis.
There are quite a few reasons besides the ones you offered that a person might not be able to find car insurance coverage. It could be that they have a bad driving record, like you, or they may own a special kind of high-performing car that just makes companies nervous; you may not have been on the road long enough, or haven’t owned a car for long; it’s also possible that the area you live in has a high rate of losses due to theft and vandalism.
So what do you do?
- Join a risk pool assigned by the state. In this program, the insurer has to participate in the pool based on the amount of business it does in the state normally. Insurers have to accept the drivers who are assigned to them randomly. Through risk pools, your premiums will be quite a bit higher, but at least you’ll have coverage. To find out how to get involved in a state assigned risk pool, call your state insurance department.
- Get a policy from a special kind of company that goes for ‘high-risk’ drivers. This may get you a better deal than the risk pool, because you’ll be able to shop around instead of letting the state decide where you can go. They might also be able to sell you more comprehensive coverage than the risk pool. To find out more about this, ask your insurance agent.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.