Aside from avoiding being in an accident, there are ways in which car insurance rates can be kept low. However, you sometimes have to be the vigilant one when it comes to finding ways to keep your rates low. In other words, you have to remind the car insurance company that there has to be some way within their system that will allow you to keep a few more bucks in your pocket. This is usually what prompts them to look and see what it is they can do for you, especially if you tell them that another company has got a knockout deal that you would love to take advantage of. That will usually get them up on their toes and make them look for a solution for you.

Discounts

Insurance companies have discount programs for individuals who meet certain criteria. These discounts can usually save around 10% on ..

Source: Automotive

My boyfriend was driving my car over the past weekend. He got pulled over for speeding and also received a drunk driving violation (DUI) and driving without a license in Houston Texas. How will this affect my auto insurance rate?

Kelly

Houston, TX

Generally, any tickets your friends receive while driving your car will not affect your auto insurance rates. The tickets for speeding, drunk driving and driving without a license should all have been issued to your boyfriend in Houston TX, the driver, and not the car, so typically will show up on his driving record and affect him.

If your boyfriend had an accident while driving your vehicle it would have affected your auto insurance since most likely it would be your insurance that would have to pay out on claims resulting from a crash.

Tags: auto insurance, car, car insurance rate, DUI, traffic school

Before you try to decide what the right amount of coverage should be. You first need to understand what Automobile Liability Insurance covers. There are always two factors that make up liability coverage. There is bodily injury and property damage liability.

Bodily injury liability covers injuries do to a car accident.

1. First Aid at the Accident

2. Doctor bills due to the accident

3. Money for lost wages

4. Final expenses

5. Lawyer Fees

Property Damage Liability covers the damage that is sustained in an accident:

1. Structural damage to homes, storefronts, etc.

2. Repair or replacement costs for other stationary objects

3. Car restoration or replacement expenses

So, what coverage limit are right for you? Every state compiles there minimum guidelines individually. 15,000/30,000/15,000 is the minimal norm but that may vary from state to state so check your state guidelines. You might have noticed that there are three coverage figures and not two. This ..

Source: Insurance

You’ve just bought your first new car and now you need to get car insurance for that vehicle. You?re not sure what to do and you want to make sure you get the most affordable rate. You don?t want your lack of knowledge to cause you to have to pay more for your car insurance than what you have to; especially since you need to put very expensive fuel in that car to keep it running.

Fortunately, lack of knowledge doesn’t have to get in your way. There are some basic things you should know about buying car insurance for the first time. They are not difficult and you?ll find that the difference between knowing these things and not knowing these things means more money you can keep in your pocket or use to put fuel in your car. It doesn’t matter how you choose to use that money.

Source: Insurance

I know in my state, there is a different penalty for a DWI arrest with a child inside the car. Is this kind of DWI offense more serious than the DWI arrest that caused harm to someone in Texas?

William

Houston, TX

Thanks for asking William. The state of Texas has enacted a variety of different laws and regulations that are each designed to help eliminate the increasing number of DWI accidents, injuries, and fatalities occurring within the state by making it less appealing for underage individuals to purchase alcohol, less appealing for people over the age of 21 to sell alcohol to underage individuals, and less appealing for individuals to drive while intoxicated.

DWI is always considered to be a serious and major offense, but driving with a child in the car while intoxicated is considered to be a much more serious offense. If an individual is pulled over and had DWI arrest and there was a child under the age of 15 present in the car, the driver will be arrested for felony DWI. An individual convicted of felony DWI will receive a minimum of 180 days in jail to a maximum of two years in jail and may be imposed with up to a $10,000 fine. It is also important to keep in mind that the individual may be charged with other crimes related to the well-being and safety of the child in the car depending on the specific situation.

Even though the act of DWI with a child present in the car is considered to be an extremely serious offense, it is not the most serious alcohol-related offense for which an individual can be charged. If an individual is involved in a motor accident in which someone was seriously injured or harmed and it is determined that the individual was driving while intoxicated, the individual will be arrested for DWI and for intoxication assault.

I live in Houston, Texas and was charged a DWI offense last month. How long will a DWI offense stay on my record and will it affect my insurance rates?

Carrie

Houston, TX

Thank you for asking Carrie. All alcohol related offenses are crimes, and are classified as either misdemeanors or felonies. Thus a DWI arrest will remain on your record for life.

In Texas, a DWI arrest will generally remain on your record past your lifetime. It is never removed unless you receive a pardon from the governor or the legislature changes the laws regarding the expunction of records. Thus, the DWI offense on your record will never go away. If you are found not guilty by a jury or by the court, you may be eligible to have the arrest and prosecution records destroyed through deletion. If you are concerned about having a criminal record for employment or credit purposes, you may consult a DWI attorney about fighting the charge.
Just so you know, it may take approximately 10 business days for the results of a criminal history record check, once the information is received by Texas Department of Public Safety. However, this government agency cannot guarantee the amount of time it may take to receive this information through the postal service.

As for the insurance, a DWI conviction will usually raise your rates from 300% to 500% for 5 or more years. Your insurance provider may have the option to cancel your coverage, forcing you to find another insurance provider. Moreover, most insurance companies will stop considering drunk driving convictions in accessing auto insurance rates after a period of years.

I am from Houston, TX and I own a motorcycle. I want to get an idea as to how will I be required to file for an SR22? What are the violations included in the filing for an SR22?

Anthony

Houston, TX

Thanks for asking, Anthony. The Texas (DPS) Department of Public Safety mandates drivers in Texas for SR-22 requirements. If you have certain violations that have occurred in the State of Texas, you may be required to maintain SR22 insurance. Violations that trigger an SR22 requirement include, but are not limited to: DUI, driving without insurance, reckless driving, or acquiring too many points within a certain period of time. Generally, filing must be held within a 2-year period. The state will determine the amount of time, and a policy will need to be maintained until that date, or your license will be suspended. The insurance company and the DPS office will communicate to assure that the policy is kept in force. As long as the SR22 policy is maintained, the state will allow the license to remain valid on either a hardship or occupational status.

Most cases, a motorcycle policy will run $300 per year for the first year, and then lowered to just about $100 per year for each successive year. You may want to consider applying for SR22 insurance on a motorcycle/scooter if you are younger or live in the Houston area or other areas in Texas that involve more expensive insurance.

I was convicted for a DWI offense last week and as I was researching I read that tolerance to alcohol may affect intoxication. Is that true? Because I have a high tolerance towards intake of alcohol, will my tolerance to alcoholic drinks affect my blood alcohol level when I undergo a blood alcohol test in Texas?

Sam

Houston, Texas

That answer to that question Sam is a big No. Tolerance to alcohol will not affect the measurement of your blood alcohol content if you take a blood alcohol test. As you know, in Texas a person may be convicted of DWI if their blood, breath or urine has a 0.08 alcohol concentration. Although their alcohol content will not be affected, their level of impairment and intoxication may. Alcohol tolerance may vary from an individual to another, depending on their genetics, prolonged use of alcohol, and effects with other drugs. Unless a person exhibits a very high tolerance to alcohol, a 0.20 blood alcohol content already indicates a very dangerous level for intoxication and for first time drinkers at only 0.15 they would already be unconscious. In extreme situations, like a case reported in Bulgaria, a very high alcohol tolerance can survive a blood alcohol content of 0.0914.

There is no actual definite rule that can accurately predict alcohol level, as every person is different and will process and metabolize alcohol at their unique rate. The only difference is that if a person has a liver failure, if they drink, the alcohol level will not easily be metabolized since the liver has been damaged already.

My grandson was riding his dirt bike on a public road and received a violation for no insurance in Houston. Can we even obtain insurance on a dirt bike? Will the coverage we have on our current cars meet the insurance requirement?

Taylor

Houston, TX

You can contact your car insurance agent in Houston to check if your current vehicle insurance policy will cover the dirt bike and therefore can be used in court as proof of insurance but it is unlikely that it will cover the bike.

Your car insurance policy usually covers only the cars listed, not any type of car not listed such as a dirt bike, motorcycle, etc. You would need a separate policy for these motor vehicles to be covered. If your car insurance does not cover the dirt bike then you could not take this insurance policy into court as proof of insurance. The court is looking to see that if your grandson had damaged anyone or anything while driving the dirt bike on public roads that there was insurance at least state minimum liability insurance in place that would have covered the accident.

You or your grandson will need to call the court listed on his violation to find out what the penalties are for driving his dirt bike on public roads and without insurance. You may see if buying insurance for the bike now would help his case in any way.

Have You Recently Been Pulled Over And Cited For A DUI or Drunk Driving Offense?

If you’ve just been pulled over it’s absolutely critical that you learn how to protect not only your freedom but your driving privilege, future employment opportunities, auto insurance payments and criminal record as well.

More importantly there is immediate action you must take to save your license and then minimize the damage done to your personal life so that you’ll eventually be able to clear the DUI from your record completely. It’s extremely important for you to focus on getting through this and protecting your record.

Learn more… ..

Source: money