It has one of the highest premiums in the USA. This doesn’t mean that you cannot find cheap automobile insurance in West Virginia. Actually it makes it even more rewarding to shop around for the best prices for the same coverage. The higher the costs are the bigger the potential dollar savings. A 10% discount would mean spending a couple of hundred dollars less if it is around a couple of thousand dollars. Finding 10% savings is an easily achievable task in a market where people often cut rates by 50%.
West Virginia Car Insurance Costs
It is difficult to judge if you are paying too high a premium when there is nothing to compare it to. That is why it is important to get a number of quotes. Another way of figuring out fairness is to check how much others spend. West Virginia average expenditure is $859, which is slightly higher than the national average. Dividing total to the number of participants derives this figure.
Average cost of full coverage is $1,456 in the Mountain State, which is about $130 more than the US figure. You can see that level of protection required affects prices a lot. However, you can get cheap full coverage auto insurance if you shop around a bit. Quite a few carriers reduce rates substantially when you want to buy a better package in comparison to the basic liability only.
They stick to their guns when you want the bare bone policy for two reasons. First of all, this is the part that is always on the line for claims. For example, a basic policy would pay no matter how small a third party claim. However, the increased portion would only come into play when it exceeds the basic limits. Secondly, they don’t feel they need to try hard to sell these since it is legally enforced everywhere and there are severe penalties for not having it including impounding the vehicle.
Uninsured Drivers are at 11% and below national average. In general WV does not fall far from the US median figures in other areas. This is better news as other drivers nearby affect statistical figures positively or negatively and that in turn affect your rates indirectly. Careless drivers cause others to have accidents, hit your car while it is parked and you end up paying for their mistakes when there are too many accidents in a particular zip code. You may be a good driver but underwriters will be concerned with what is going on around you. You are not alone in this world and you are exposed to all sorts of dangers on the roads.
West Virginia Liability Requirements
Minimum limits set by authorities are;
- $25,000 for bodily injury or death per person.
- $50,000 total for bodily injury or death per accident.
- $25,000 for property damage.
WV is one of the few states with mandatory Uninsured Motorists Coverage. It is a nice inclusion to have just in case you are a victim of a hit and run incident or one such driver causes damages to your automobile. The same liability limits apply for UMC as well. In other words, you cannot get more for yourself if you aren’t willing to provide for others. This should give you one more reason to have decent liability coverage. It is advisable to be well protected against third party claims you may face or losses you may suffer due to other drivers, who don’t have a policy. For insuring your own vehicle, you should consider adding at least Comprehensive and Collision covers too. It is almost essential to have them unless the auto is a worthless junk.
You can visit the Commissioner’s page for general information and confirmation of facts including license details of a broker you are dealing with. They are always there if you want to check something or ask questions.
The Internet is fast becoming the major source of information lately. You can get several automobile insurance quotes and compare them with each other using a decent comparison site. There are plenty of them online and they can be found with a quick search. There is no need to try and find companies directly when you are working with a comparison website. They will tell you which ones are reasonably priced in your zip code so that you can go and get quotes from them. You don’t need to look any further to find one as we have a platform for you right here.
Cheap West Virginia Car Insurance Companies
We have searched for you and found that these are the most competitive ones across including most of its cities. The average costs across the cities spread widely in this state with Wayne, Madison, Logan and Williamson being the most expensive. They are $300 – $400 more expensive than the average.
- Erie, $715
- State Farm, $965
- Westfield, $965
There are plenty of discounts you can take advantage of regardless of where you live. You can find some savings even if traffic history and claims records aren’t great. For example you can claim discounts if your credit score is good instead. Paying the premium in full and limiting the possible drivers listed on a policy are some of the lesser known vehicle insurance discounts you can use to bring the costs down.
You should also know that every company offers a different percentage. For example, one may offer a 30% good driver discount and 10% for good credit while the other offers a 20% discount for high credit score and 20% for clean traffic record. So, if you have a clean record but bad score you would get better rates from the former. On the other hand you may still get low prices from the latter if you don’t have an exemplary history but a great score.
These are a few secrets you can take advantage of when you search a little bit. There are plenty choices in West Virginia from small local to top auto insurers in the country. If you have a special preference towards local ones this would affect your choice. There are so many factors that can affect rates and decisions. That is why it is better not to rush into quick buys but take enough time to digest all the information first.