Children who are old enough to drive in Laurel, Maryland may not always drive in the state. While they might attend school in a different state, if they are driving your vehicle then they will need to be covered under your auto insurance policy.

Driving Across the Border

Although your children may attend school and drive your car in a different state, it does not mean that they can overlook auto coverage when they are operating a motor vehicle. If a teen or adult child is driving your vehicle, then it is a good idea to obtain an insurance policy that covers them, regardless of the differences between state laws and the location where they are driving.

Where They Live

Auto insurance is not based on where students attend school. It is based on where they live and their home address. As long as they are still living in your house, they will need coverage for any vehicle that they drive.

Their Vehicle

If your teen or adult child has his or her own vehicle, then you may not need coverage for them on your personal car. They will need to obtain an auto policy based on their own vehicle and driving record as long as they own the vehicle and are primarily driving the car that they own. If they do not drive your car, then you may not need coverage for them.

Finding the right policy to address your concerns can seem complicated, but there are options for families who have teen or adult children. Contact us to talk to an independent agent about your insurance options and specific details based on your situation.

Although you are required to have bodily injury and liability coverage in Laurel, Maryland, it is usually best to obtain under insured motorist insurance to protect your own vehicle in case an accident occurs. The reason is simple: a driver may not have enough liability protection on his or her auto policy, so he or she may not be able to pay the full cost of repairs when an accident occurs.

Liability Protection

Even though every motorist in the state is required to obtain property damage liability, the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle may exceed the minimum amount that the state requires. Depending on the cost of your vehicle, you may discover that they can only pay for a portion of the repairs.

The rest of the costs may end up coming out of your pocket. By obtaining under insured motorist coverage, your auto insurance policy will pay the difference so that the funds to finish repairing or replacing your vehicle are not coming out of your pocket.

Finding a Policy

When you recognize the potential risks associated with only carrying the state minimum, it is important to find the right policy to address all of your concerns. Working with an independent agent will help you find an appropriate policy based on the value of your vehicle, your concerns and the amount of coverage that you want to carry.

It is important to protect your vehicle from a variety of situations. The state minimum insurance is not always enough when another driver hits your vehicle and does not have enough coverage to pay for the damages. To learn more about your coverage options, contact us to talk to an agent.

When you buy an auto insurance policy in Laurel Maryland, it will include personal injury protection (PIP). You are not required by Maryland law to purchase personal injury protection, and if you decide to not buy it, you will have to sign a form that says you elected to waive the coverage.

In Maryland, the standard amount of PIP is $2,500, but you can also purchase it in amounts of $5,000 or $10,000. When you have personal injury protection, you are covered for medical bills and lost wages as a result of injuries sustained in an accident. PIP pays out on all documented claims regardless of whether the accident was your fault or the fault of the other driver. Remember, for lost wages claims, you will need to have your employer verify the amount of your wages and have a doctor write a note letting your insurance company how long you can be expected to be out of work.

Even though you may have an excellent medical plan that will pay for your medical bills, it is still wise to also add personal injury protection to your auto insurance policy. In Laurel, Maryland, your PIP not only will pay for injuries you sustain in an accident, but also, for injuries sustained by any passengers in your vehicle. Pedestrians are also covered under your PIP insurance.

Your medical plan will only pay for your medical bills and not for any other people in your car or pedestrians who may also be injured. Another important reason to purchase PIP is that you can collect 85 percent of lost wages that are a direct result of your injuries. Your medical plan will not pay for lost wages.

You should also keep in mind that Maryland personal injury protection is not exactly the same as it is in Washington – the District of Columbia. Remember that PIP does not pay for pain and suffering and that you can only claim the combined loss of medical expenses and lost wages up to the total of your PIP coverage.

You may still have more questions such as whether you can still hire an attorney if the other driver was at fault or if your PIP will pay for medical bills not covered by your medical plan. For these and any other questions, please give us a call. An independent agent will be happy to answer all of your questions.

If you decide to buy a new car in Laurel, Maryland, you will also have to buy auto insurance. If you already have an existing auto insurance policy, you are usually covered under that policy for a short period of time so you can make arrangements to add the new car to your policy.

The grace period can vary from one insurer to the next, but generally, you are covered from 14 days to one month before you must have a new policy for the car you just purchased. It is always a good idea to check with your current provider to find out how such situations are handled so you do not run into any problems after you take possession of the vehicle.

If you decide to go to a dealership in Washington (District of Columbia) and trade in your old car, you will have the same coverage on the new car as you had on the old car. If you had a car that was only worth $1,000 and only had liability on that car, then you will only have liability coverage on the new car you need to insure.

If you finance your new car, the lender will almost certainly require that you carry collision and comprehensive insurance as well as the state-mandated liability coverage. It is therefore very important to contact your insurance company and add the extra coverage as soon as possible.

Although you may not legally be required to contact your auto insurance company for two weeks or 30 days, you should not wait that long. If you inform them that you just purchased a new car, they can make the necessary changes right away and you will avoid any questions about whether or not you are covered.

As your independent agent, it is our job to help you in such situations. If you are buying a new car and are concerned about making sure that there will be no lapse in your coverage, give us a call and an independent agent will take care of the paperwork.

If you live in Washington, DC and have to drive around the city every day, you know how crazy traffic can be. Not only is the normal traffic of drivers who live in the area, but there are also a large amount of visitors and tourists driving around and adding to the congestion.

Anytime you have very crowded roads, your chances of getting into an accident increase. Consequently, if you are driving around Washington DC, you should buy a very comprehensive auto insurance policy and also consider including some of the add-on benefits that are available from your insurance provider.

If you are driving a new car and are making payments to the finance company, you may want to consider buying Gap insurance. Gap insurance can help you avoid a big financial loss if your car is totaled or stolen and you owe more on the car than it is currently worth. If, for example you still owe $20,000 on a three year old car that is only valued at $12,000 after three years of depreciation, you could be on the hook for $8,000 if your car is totaled and your auto insurance only pays out the maximum claim amount of $12,000. With Gap insurance, the remaining balance will be paid off by your carrier and you can start with a fresh slate.

Roadside assistance is a valuable add-on because it will cover towing and basic roadside service like changing a flat tire or bringing you gas if your tank is empty. However, if you already are a member of an auto club like AAA, you should not waste any money buying what is essentially the same coverage.

Rental reimbursement can come in handy if you are in an accident and need to rent a car for two weeks while your car is repaired. At an average of $40 per day to rent a car in Washington DC, the $20 or so, is a small price to pay for this valuable coverage.

These are just a few of the many add-ons you can buy. There are others like medical expenses, funeral expenses and work or income loss also available from most auto insurance companies. To find out all of the available add-on benefits that you might want to include in your DC auto policy, give us a call and an independent agent will be ready to explain all of your options.

Disclaimer: “ The content of these blogs do not represent any type of specific coverage’s offered by the agency.”

If you are a disabled veteran in Laurel, Maryland and want to find out about getting a disabled veteran license plate, chances are you’ll be impressed by just how easy it is to secure your specialty plate from the motor vehicle association.

When you go into the MVA office to renew your disabled license plates or to apply for a new kind of specialty plate, you’ll need to bring your tag/title and a letter from the Veteran’s Administration. In order to be eligible for a disabled veteran’s specialty plate, you’ll need a letter stating that you are 100% disabled.

Veterans have the choice of a standard disabled plate with the handicap universal symbol or a disabled veteran’s plate with the universal symbol.

Disability plates can also be combined with other custom license plate features, like the Chesapeake Bay background, but these require a bit of extra processing time, and applicants must still supply a letter indicating their disability status.

The top advantage of a disabled veteran’s plate is more cash in your pocket! Over time, a disabled veterans plate can result in significant savings. As a thank-you for service to your country, disabled veterans license plates are issued free of charge, while most standard plates cost $20 the first time they are issued, followed by a $5 renewal fee.

If you have any issues with your application for a disabled veteran’s license plate, simply contact the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association with questions. They can provide all the information you need on specialty plates and disabled veteran plates, whether you’re doing research for yourself or for a disabled veteran you know. This is a specialty plate that’s worth the time it takes to request!