I am a 25 year old working female who has been charged with DUI. My question is: Why do I need to get an SR-22 insurance policy when I don’t even own a car? I need to save money during these tough times.

Cassy

Louisville, KY

Cassy, an SR-22 insurance policy is needed in Kentucky if you have been convicted with DWI (driving while intoxicated or DUI which stands for driving under the influence), and you want to get your license reinstated. An SR-22 is needed for five years after the earliest offense, and then ten years after a subsequent offense, and then if you obtain a third offense, a full 20 years. I mean seriously, that maybe heaven’s way of telling you that you are not meant to drive. Ever.

But if you still ignore the voices of reason, common sense and logic even if they scream directly at your ear, and you still get a fourth offense, then you have to carry an SR-22 insurance for life. However, statistics show that most DWI violators do not reach the fourth offense. The afterlife is what they reach. But anyway…

If you do not possess your own vehicle, that will not stand in the way of you trashing others’ cars. Ask a car insurance company in your vicinity about a non-owner SR-22 policy, or you can check online for cheap rates. An SR-22 policy will insure that the driver is financially responsible for any accident that will arise even if he or she has shown ruthless behavior on the road. And for the record, bad drivers and cheap insurance policy do not belong in the same sentence. Oops. Well, you get the picture.

What is it they say about drinking and driving? Alcohol and gasoline do not mix. If you’re out to prove otherwise, well, they do mix, but it has a dreadful aftertaste.

I was found to be at-fault in an accident and the other driver filed a claim against my car insurance company for property damage. He quoted about $5,000 that he said he lost in diminished value. Is there such a thing as “diminished value” claim that is payable under my auto insurance policy?

Chelsea

Fayette, KY

If you just heard about a “diminished value” claim, it does exist. This claim is based on the idea that any car that has been in an accident, regardless of how well the repairs are done, is worth less than the exact same car that hasn’t been in an accident.

The physical damage section of an auto insurance policy does not usually cover claims for a car’s “diminished value” after an accident. It applies to direct and accidental damage only. By definition, direct damage is the actual physical damage done to the car, not a loss in value.

This is the reason why some courts began to question this approach and ruled that since diminution in value was not specifically excluded by the terms of the policy, it was covered.

However, a diminished value claim is a liability claim for property damage and cannot be judged in the same light as a physical damage claim. Under a liability claim, the insurer agrees to pay damages for property damage for which the insured is legally responsible because of an auto accident. If you’re legally liable for the damages of the claimant, then whatever the amount for which you’re liable for is the amount the policy will pay. Be aware that it still is subject to the limit of liability amounts.

It’s always advisable to contact your insurance agent in Fayette, KY or your insurance company directly to have a further discussion regarding the terms of your policy.

I’m Gayle from Fayette, KY and had a recent car accident. I want to know what actions must I take after a car accident? Do I need to accept a settlement offer from the insurance company?

Gayle

Fayette, KY

Hi Gayle. Under the Kentucky law (KRS 189.635) you are required to call the police to report the accident if someone is harmed or injured; or one of the cars is rendered inoperable. If no police investigation is made and either the car suffers $500 or more in damage expense you must report the incident to the State Police within 10 days. Next, your car insurance company requires you to report the accident to your insurance company and fill out the appropriate forms.

As for your second question, the answer can be a Yes or a No. Car insurance companies in Fayette, KY are notorious for offering settlements that are far less than the injured party deserves. However, if the car insurance company is offering what you feel the car is worth, then you can accept it. It will also be advantageous if you consult an experienced lawyer that is knowledgeable on car accident laws. By contacting an auto accident injury lawyer you may be able to receive a much larger settlement than the car insurance company has offered.

A: Yes, you can, although it will depend on the car insurance company you prefer as to whether or not this option is available from them. Most of the larger car insurance companies, and even some smaller local ones, have begun offering Auburn SR22 insurance online. You can find insurance this way pretty easily, by using quote sites and other online information in order to find the best company for you. So, not only is it possible to buy your insurance online, but it is in fact preferable, because you save more money if you buy insurance, or at the very least research it online.

Many car insurance companies are noticing the profit involved in selling car insurance online, and have begun to give out incentives to customers who choose to do so. Usually this is done in the form of online car insurance discounts, where you can get five to twenty percent off of your insurance policy if you choose to purchase your insurance online. Discounts like these are made possible by the fact that companies save a lot of money in the range of offices, labor, call centers, and so on by moving their services online and making them more accessible to internet users.

A: It depends both on your position with your auto insurance company, your history with them, your history concerning tickets, as well as the severity of the ticket itself.

If you have been with a car insurance company for a long time, then many times they will have an option for you to bypass any rate raises which come from an accident or a ticket. If you are already getting auto insurance, then it’s possible that you have already used this up if it was ever available to you, although some car insurance companies will allow you to do this as many as two times. You might see similar results if you are considered a preferred customer in your company. A preferred customer is someone with an impeccable record who has almost no chance of filing a car insurance claim. In many companies, it is difficult to have this status taken away from you once you have it.

Some tickets will be more likely to raise your rate than others, especially if you have auto insurance. Running a red light and driving over 15 miles over the speed limit are almost guaranteed, but driving with an expired registration sticker might not have any effect at all.

A: If you have a moving violation on your traffic ticket, then in most cases it will remain on your driving record for around three to five years. Although many car insurance companies only keep on using it to rate your insurance for three years after the fact, many companies will do this for five years to affect your  insurance. It really depends on the car insurance company you have with. As for your SR22 – DUI charge itself, if you got it because of a DUI, then that will likely affect your insurance rates for around three to five years as well, but it will be on your driving record for 10 years and it is still possible for it to affect your rates during that time.

If you do receive a moving violation, then even if you are guilty you should do your best to try to fight it when you arrive at your court date, because if you don’t you could see your days of cheap SR22 insurance go away. Many car insurance companies enact stiff penalties for people who have moving violations, and things such as speeding tickets have been know to cause rises of as much as 25% in car insurance rates.

A: Many companies refuse to offer Kentucky SR22 insurance because it’s simply too risky, and so for those who must file it, looking for a company that does offer it can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. While these companies may show up on the map less frequently or may be more expensive, this isn’t to say that it is impossible to become insured this way. You just have to know where to look.

You need to look for companies which claim to offer high risk insurance, because your SR22 falls into this category. By choosing these companies, you are more likely to be sold an insurance policy, since they sell them to most. If your driving record is really bad, though, you might be denied even by them.

But the road doesn’t end there. If you can’t take out a  SR22 policy from a high risk policy, you can go ahead and join the state assigned risk pool, where you will definitely get insured.

A: Since I can’t see your records with your car insurance company, I can’t tell you for sure, but I would say that it is very likely that the two are related, and it is also very legal. Although car insurance companies won’t do this every time you renew your policy, many do check your credit when you get a new policy and do so again once every one to three years. Companies who do this, and most do, are following the lead of companies which sell other types of insurance by using credit reports to compile an insurance risk score.

For those who have bad credit and are excellent drivers, it may seem more than a little unfair for them to be charged so much on their insurance for something they think is unrelated, but many 24 year old male drivers could say the same. What studies show, though, is that if you have bad credit, you will probably be filing a few car insurance claims. People with bad credit also have a history of, like you, defaulting on payments, and car insurance companies want customers they can be sure will pay them every month.

A: It sounds like it could be time for you to make a little change of company in order to get a SR22 auto insurance quote in Kentucky. Changing companies is often necessary when rates start to rise, and shopping around is the best and most common way for people to save money on their auto insurance. Even if you have been with a car insurance company for several years, they will not always have the best car insurance prices, so change can be good.

Most people are overpaying for their auto insurance quote simply because they don’t look at all of what is available to them. Studies have shown that your average American pays around four hundred dollars too much for their car insurance premium. Premiums vary greatly between one company, and there can be as much as eight hundred dollars in difference between companies. In order to avoid overpaying, you should regularly look for a better SR22 auto insurance quote.

A: A SR22 insurance agent is someone who can look at all of your needs and characteristics, and seeing these find the car insurance company which is best for you, in some cases. In all cases, however, an agent is someone who will handle your insurance business for you and with whom you will do all of your car insurance dealings, unless you buy your insurance direct. There are two types of agents.

• Captive agent.

A captive agent isn’t very useful to people who are shopping around, but can help people who have already decided what company they want to buy their insurance from. A captive agent only works for one company, and can handle your insurance dealings with them, but if you change companies you will have to get a new agent.

• Independent agent.

Independent agents work with around five or six companies, usually. Agents like these can choose among quotes for the best ones and also do everything a captive agent does. If you want to change your insurance company, you can do so without having to find a new agent.