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| How Car Insurance Works In The USA |
In a country as large as the United States, and even if you find yourself in a particularly well-served area, the car is an imponderable one. But once on-site and your vehicle purchased, out of the question of driving without insurance. How does car insurance work in the United States? Prices,driver licenses, gray cards, products, history ... We approach everything here.
Auto insurance: what license to present to your future insurer?
Above all, we must clarify one thing: you can not drive in the United States with your country's driver license . Do not make the mistake of driving with, because the US police will then consider you as without a license! Do not make the mistake of presenting your country's driver license to an insurance company: it will refuse you any contract. You need :
• An international driver license (to be acquired from your country before going to your prefecture, sub-prefecture or town hall), but valid on the US territory only for a period of 3 months. Therefore, this license will be especially useful for you to rent a car. Indeed, many insurers are quite reluctant with drivers with this license.
• Either a Florida license that you can get at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) of your county. By proceeding this way, and doing it as soon as possible upon your arrival, you can take out auto insurance for your brand new car.
With or without driver history?
When arriving in the United States without a car insurance history, you will be offered a new driver contract. And this, even if you have 15 to 20 years of driving behind and thousands of miles rolled. In this case, your monthly payments will be higher.
However, before leaving, we recommend that you contact the company that insured your car in your country and ask them for an English version of your driver-insured history.
By doing this, you will offer the "good graces" of some US companies that will no longer consider you as a new driver. The monthly payments will be reduced.
The 3 typical products of insurance companies
Most of the time, insurance companies will offer you 3 typical products for your vehicle and yourself. 4 guarantees are also advanced, as we will see here.
Basic coverage
As a rule, the basic coverage offered by insurance companies does not cover all 4 guarantees. Only three: property damage caused to third parties, bodily injury to third parties or damage caused by an uninsured driver or when it is a leak.
Standard Coverage
The standard coverage is an improved version of the basic, because it includes all three guarantees mentioned above, but with coverages 2 to 5 times higher. It also offers a final guarantee: bodily injury to the driver or his passengers is also covered.
Improved Coverage
The improved coverage or premium, according to the establishments, obviously includes all the 4 guarantees cited above, but with a much higher coverage. We are talking, for example, of $ 100,000 to $ 300,000 for damage caused to third parties or $ 50,000 for property damage.
Average Car Insurance Rates in the USA
To take a closer look at the car insurance market in the US today and what you have to say, we are relaying this study done by Value Penguin, an American company specializing in insurance and data, Surround. You will find here, state by state, from Alabama to Wyoming, the average price, both monthly and yearly, of a car insurance for a vehicle.
Sum up
To help you make your choice on your future insurance product and understand what the guarantees you will be offered, here is their translation:
• Property damage caused to third parties = Property Damage Liability.
• Bodily injury to third parties = Bodily Injury Liability.
• Bodily injury to driver or passengers = Medical Payments.
• Damage caused by an uninsured or leaky driver = Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Liability.
| STATE | Monthly Car Insurance Rate | Annual Car Insurance Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $127 | $1 529 |
| Alaska | $134 | $1 605 |
| Arizona | $102 | $1 222 |
| Arkansas | $117 | $1 399 |
| California | $164 | $1 962 |
| Colorado | $130 | $1 558 |
| Connecticut | $137 | $1 638 |
| Delaware | $132 | $1 580 |
| Florida | $153 | $1 830 |
| Georgia | $183 | $2 201 |
| Hawaii | $117 | $1 400 |
| Idaho | $88 | $1 053 |
| Illinois | $114 | $1 370 |
| Indiana | $100 | $1 202 |
| Iowa | $88 | $1 058 |
| Kansas | $113 | $1 358 |
| Kentucky | $125 | $1 503 |
| Louisiana | $164 | $1 971 |
| Maine | $80 | $1 964 |
| Maryland | $151 | $1 810 |
| Massachusetts | $134 | $1 604 |
| Michigan | $213 | $2 551 |
| Minnesota | $113 | $1 360 |
| Mississippi | $115 | $1 385 |
| Missouri | $101 | $1 207 |
| Montana | $168 | $2 013 |
| Nebraska | $110 | $1 317 |
| Nevada | $116 | $1 388 |
| New Hampshire | $82 | $983 |
| New Jersey | $159 | $1 905 |
| New Mexico | $114 | $1 371 |
| New York | $98 | $1 173 |
| North Carolina | $88 | $1 060 |
| North Dakota | $143 | $1 710 |
| Ohio | $77 | $1 926 |
| Oklahoma | $111 | $1 333 |
| Pennsylvania | $120 | $1 440 |
| Rhode Island | $168 | $2 020 |
| South Carolina | $110 | $1 316 |
| South Dakota | $130 | $1 557 |
| Tennessee | $116 | $1 397 |
| Texas | $135 | $1 620 |
| Utah | $99 | $1 192 |
| Vermont | $96 | $1 149 |
| Virginia | $93 | $1 114 |
| Washington | $125 | $1 499 |
| Washington, D.C. | $177 | $2 127 |
| West Virginia | $210 | $2 518 |
| Wisconin | $91 | $1 087 |
| Wyoming | $128 | $1 541 |
If there are disparities between states in terms of tariffs, it is because of several factors: local statistics (accidents and car theft in particular), density of traffic, density of population or the speed limit of l (It is not the same in all states).
Car purchased from an individual or a professional: how to insure yourself?
Buy a used car
It is often the right plan when you land in the United States and you have already collected many expenses. This way, you can equip yourself for $ 2000 minimum, but you will not have a first choice! Still, by choosing this option, you also take risks. Why ? First of all because you are not sure that the car is insurable. To be clear, it is strongly advised (once the two parties have agreed on the price) to visit your future insurer, accompanied by the owner. You will then be told if the gray card is clean or not. If so, then you can insure it.
Buy from a car dealer
You can only buy a car at a car dealer if you are not insured. From there, you have two solutions. The first, a little wacky, consists of underwriting basic insurance for only a few days, in order to go and buy your car. You will then have the freedom to choose the establishment that makes you the best offer. Especially when buying at a car dealer, you will (normally) have no problem with the car registration. You will not get any if the car is new.
The ultimate solution is to present the "identity" of the vehicle you wish to purchase to an insurance company and obtain a consent to present it to your car dealer. The identity having been checked before the purchase, when the car is yours, your insurer will then have only to ask you for the blue card.