Reader question:

Where do I find a high risk motor car insurance company? And what do I do if I can’t?

Miriam

That’s an excellent question, Miriam.

The first thing that I would do in your situation is try to get in tough with your state department of insurance. The first thing you might want to do is ask how popular the assigned risk pool for your state is. The answer for that right there might give you an idea of what your chances are of finding a high risk motor car insurance company that will accept you. If the assigned risk program has a lot of people in it, then it might be tough for you to get a policy without it. However, if the pickings are pretty slim among the assigned risk policy holders, then you probably have a fighting chance. Knowing that, it’s time to move to a different part of the department of insurance’s website.

Some of the DoI’s websites are more helpful than others. Oregon has an excellent one, whereas the one where I am from (Texas) is ridiculous. What most do have, though, is a list of insurance companies that are licensed by the state. If the website for your state does not have one of these, then you should call up the department and find out where you can get one. Never get a policy or so much as a sandwich from a car insurance company not on this list.

Some of the names on the list might clue you in that they could be of some service, such as those that indicate that they serve high risk customers. Keep track of these so that you can get quotes from them later. I would also suggest that you give a glance at the Progressive website, or even just get some instant car insurance quotes from a more general site and compare your Progressive quote to other quotes. Progressive is one of the big time motor car insurance companies that is well known for taking care of high risk drivers. If they operate in your state, definitely check them out.

Now, if all else fails, you just go back to step one. The assigned risk pool. This alternative is a little costly, especially with the high car insurance prices in many areas, but considering that car insurance is require by law, many people don’t have much of an option. I do want to stress that before you consider this, check out all of your options. Look online, get rate quotes from plenty of websites, ask friends. Assigned risk pools are the last resort, and expensive, so you don’t want to join one unless you absolutely have to.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.