COST AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF CAR INSURANCE IN NORTH CAROLINA
If you are relocating to North Carolina or are buying a new car in NC, it is a mandate of the state laws that you get a car insurance which would cover the cost of damages and injuries that would be caused in the event of the car meeting an accident. If you have been dealing with auto insurance before, you would know that insurance rates vary from state to state and from carrier to carrier. If you want to know how much is car insurance in NC going to cost you and what are the things that you need check out for before buying car insurance in the state of North Carolina, you need to read on.As like any other state, the car insurance cost in North Carolina also depends on few factors. Where you live, how clean is your driving record, what is your age, gender and marital status, the frequency of claims that has come from your neighborhood in recent past etc. are some of the most common factors that are being considered by the insurance companies while they calculate the cost of premium.
Law requirements of coverages
• Minimum bodily injury liability worth $30,000 per person per accident with a total of $60,000 per accident
• Minimum property damage liability worth $25,000
• Uninsured motorist bodily injury worth 30,000 per person per accident with a total of $60,000 per accident
• Uninsured motorist property damage worth $25,000 with a minimum deductible of $100
Some of the optional insurance coverage that you can have along with your car insurance include the
• Comprehensive coverage – will cover damages which are caused by anything other than a collision with another car
• Collision coverage – will cover all the damages caused by a collision with other moving vehicles
• Towing and labor coverage
• Rental car coverage – will cover you and your belongings when you rent a car
None of the optional coverages are a mandate by the State laws, and you can opt not to add them in your insurance policy if you want to.
The price of insurance in NC
Coming back to question of how much is car insurance in NC going to cost, you would be glad to know that the car insurance prices are one of the cheapest in the whole country. You can simply have car insurance that will cover the minimum state requirements, i.e., you can buy a car insurance policy with liability coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. That will cost you about $385 to $425 depending on the limits of the liability that you choose while you buy the policy. However, if you go with just the state required car insurance policy, you will not be protecting your injuries or damage caused to your car in the event of an accident. Liability insurance does not cover the driver and the car and is good for those people who do not drive much or have an old car to drive.To cover the loss of your injury and damage of your car, you will need to have collision and comprehensive coverage. With standard comprehensive and collision deductible of $500, an insurance policy with full coverage would cost you anything in the range of $900 to $1000. As mentioned earlier, the price would depend on various factors and would vary from carrier to carrier. If you want to have more protection, you would have to pay extra for adding the coverage.
Importance of getting car insurance in NC
The state laws regarding auto insurance is so rigid in North Carolina, that it is a mandate to submit proof of insurance at the time of registration of the vehicle at the DMV’s office. You will have to ensure that submit any of the following as a proof that your car has the minimum required insurance and abides by the laws of the state.• The insurance policy papers that you have bought for your car in NC.
• DL-123 form wherein an insurance agent will certify that you are holding a valid car insurance with his company.
• An insurance card that would be issued to you by your insurer upon purchase of the insurance.
• The insurance binder, which is temporary insurance contract which is issued for the time being before the final policy is accepted or rejected by the insurer.
If you are caught driving a car in NC without having the minimum insurance coverage, heavy penalties would be imposed on you. If you want the price of your insurance premium to keep low the next year, you will have to ensure that you drive safe. As per the Safe Driver Incentive Plan, you are given points for every instance of traffic violation, speeding or causing an accident. Each point will cause a hike of 30% on your insurance prices. The severe the offense, the higher would be the number of points. You can well imagine what mammoth figure you will have to pay as car insurance if you do not drive safely while being in North Carolina.
A word of caution
After you know that how much is car insurance in NC, you would definitely want to get one for yourself, as otherwise, the cops will give you a hard time on the road. While you buy car insurance from NC carriers, do not forget to collect at least three quotations. The more number of quotations you can manage, the better will be the chances for you to get the cheapest car insurance for your vehicle in NC. Huge variation might be there in the quotes of different carriers for the same set of coverages. While the highest rate could be as high as $1,200, the lowest cost of the insurance could be just half of it at around $550 to $600.Thus, it is wise to do some good research before you buy car insurance in NC.I thought You could be interested in this article: Things To Know About Car Insurance For Rentals and All That You Need To Know About Car Windshield Replacement Coverage