16 Year Old Student Car Insurance With Learners Permit

 

July 18, 2008 by carinsurance · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Student Car Insurance 

Reader’s Question:

Hey Guys, I am only 16 years and I have a learners permit in Lansing , MI . I would like to be added to my father’s auto insurance policy so I can drive my new vehicle but I can’t find an auto insurance company that will insurer that will do that for me without charging an arm and a leg. Does anyone have a recommendation for student car insurance coverage in the Lansing area? Where can I find an insurance company that will insure me in Michigan?

Ben

Lansing , MI

You should be able to be added to your father’s auto insurance policy as an additional driver without any real problems, I don’t see why you would have an issue there. It would be your father’s insurance policy that would add you to his car insurance policy. I had a cousin in Flint MI that got his own auto insurance policy in his name but he had to get a legal guardian to co-sign for him because he was not 18 and still a minor. Another way is to obtain another car insurance policy for you and your father on your new vehicle or with his car and your car together.

You can easily get an online rate quote for great car insurance in Michigan from this site, and I would encourage you to do so. When you do, make sure you ask about a student discount and a limited use discount, both of which you are probably eligible.

Some car insurance companies will give good students…or I should say students with good grades a discount. I am not sure about your grades, but nonetheless you should inquire about a student discount of some kind, just because you ARE a student or at least I hope you are at your age.

A limited use discount means you are only going to drive your vehicle short distances and to and from school or other regular routes. I would assume your vehicle sits in the school parking lot most of the time during the day and at night it is in dad ’s garage. If you are only going to be driving these short distances you probably are eligible for this kind of discount as well. Every little discount helps!

You can easily get car insurance for your vehicle in Lansing , Michigan , dont worry. Some Michigan insurers may require that you be the policyholder if the car is under your name only. Some insurance companies will allow your father to insure it for you. Others will even allow your father to insure his car on the same policy.

If you have decided that you will purchase your own insurance policy, your father will need to confirm the policy coverages along with you because you are a minor.

Should My Car Insurance Pay for a Dent From a Parking Lot?

 

September 21, 2007 by fashun · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Auto insurance help 

Reader question:

I went grocery shopping the other day and and when I came out of the store, there was a big dent in the back of my car that hadn’t been there before. Of course, no note at all. What part of my car insurance coverage takes care or this type of damage?

Juan

Thank you for asking, Juan.

In your case, you are going to want to make a car insurance claim using your collision coverage. Collision coverage is most often known to apply to any vehicle that has gotten into an at fault accident, where liability of the other driver does not extend to their vehicle. Car insurance coverage for this type of damage could also fall under comprehensive, but in a different situation.

You might wonder why it is that collision coverage is needed if you can’t be sure that another vehicle was involved. You also might wonder why it is that whoever caused the dent does not have to pay with their auto insurance liability coverage. Both are valid questions, and to the first one I’d say that there isn’t much rhyme or reason to it, it’s just the way the auto insurance business works. As to the second one, you could do that if you know who the driver is. If you see the driver run into your car and cause the dent, or if they leave contact information on your car so that you can make a claim with their auto insurance company, then you don’t have to make a car insurance claim with your own company at all.

Also, not in every situation would a dent be covered under collision coverage. If the cause of the dent was, say, a shopping basket colliding into the back of the car, and you saw this and didn’t just guess it, or someone else saw it, then so long as you didn’t know the person who did it you could make a claim under your comprehensive coverage, because that is what would apply.

Now, one more question that might be remaining is, would your auto insurance rates go up for a dent that you claimed for under collision coverage, since collision coverage is usually used when you get into an at fault accident? Ninety nine percent of the time it would not, because most car insurance companies do not go by what type of coverage you filed the claim under, but instead by who caused the accident. It is obvious in this situation that you did not. Some car insurance companies are very draconian, though, and your rates would indeed go up so long as your state allowed it. However, in many cases it would not be necessary to even file a claim because if you have a higher deductible you can usually fix a dent in a car for much less than the deductible. If you want to stay on good terms with your auto insurance company, though, you should at least advise them of the incident.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.