International Driver’s License and Auto Insurance

Reader’s Question:

I’m from Tennessee. My friend from Italy borrowed and drove my car. He got involved in an accident which caused $1,200 damage to my car. When I submitted the claim, my agent asked for my friend’s international driver’s license. My friend is reluctant to give his driver’s license since he is worried that this will affect him in terms of denied auto insurance coverage in the future since he is planning to eventually work here. Would this really be the case?

Carl

Knoxville, TN

Before a foreign visitor can drive legally in the United States, he or she is required to get an International Driver’s License (IDP) from his or her home country before even setting foot in America. An IDP verifies that the foreigner has a valid driver’s license in his or her country of origin. This license then allows them to legally operate a motor vehicle on the public roads of the United States before they obtain their US license.

In your case, your auto insurance company in Tennessee may be demanding to see your friend’s international license to verify if he was legally permitted to drive in the United States. It is not probable that this claim will be attributed to him when he applies for a US driver’s license and car insurance coverage in the future. This particular claim is under your auto insurance policy, so his insurance rates in the future should not be affected.

It is unfortunate, though, that a claim this big will definitely mar your insurance record. This information will be used by auto insurance companies as a basis to raise your premiums. You may see an increase in your future auto insurance rates because of this particular claim even if the accident was your friend’s fault.

Memphis TN SR22 Insurance

Q: My Memphis SR22 car insurance premium will be late this month. Will anything happen if it is?

A: It depends on whether or not your Memphis SR22 company has a grace period. Some companies do, as a good faith business practice, and will allow you to pay a few days late without having your policy cancelled. Even if your company does allow this, though, you should only take advantage of it rarely, when you have no other choice. Frequent use of the grace period does not look good on your car insurance record, and your company could end up canceling your policy because you are an unreliable customer. Cancelations don’t look good, either, and you might have trouble getting insured again if you have one.

However, if your Memphis SR22 company doesn’t have a grace period, then it is likely that they will file an SR-26 of cancelation right away. When this is received, if there is no SR22 to counteract it, then your driver’s license will be suspended. In order to get back on the road, you will need to pay the fees involved with reinstating your driver’s license as well as getting another Memphis SR22 auto insurance policy.

Non Owner SR22 Insurance

Q: Since I have a non owner SR22 policy, I’ve noticed that there are a bunch of car-related discounts which I can’t get. What discounts can a person who doesn’t own a car receive on their car insurance policy?

A: Naturally, the actually number and breadth of discounts you are able to receive will depend on the company you buy your non owner SR22 from, since all policies differ, but most companies have many industry standards on their lists of available discounst, so the suggestions I make will be available from most companies.

You can get many discounts on your non owner SR22 insurance which are education or employment related. Discounts like these include good student discounts, discounts for students who attend college far from home, discounts for people with math or science degrees, for people who join teacher unions or whose jobs offer group discounts.

You can also get many discounts by combining things. For example, you can get a discount on your non owner SR22 policy by purchasing it with a company you also have other types of insurance, such as health, life, or home owners insurance. By adding all the members and cars in your household on a single policy, you can also get a lower rate.

Tennessee SR22 Auto Insurance Rates

Q: Why are Tennessee SR22 auto insurance rates so high?

A: Well, car insurance companies base their rates on the level of risk each individual customer poses to them. On this basis, they choose to charge people who are more likely to cause accidents and make claims more, and people who are more likely to drive safely and file no or very few claims less. SR22 insurance policy holders fall into the former group, which means that they will be invariably charged more unless they work very hard to discount their high SR22 auto insurance rate into oblivion.

SR22 auto insurance is more expensive for a very simple reason: statistics. Of the two main reasons that people must file SR22s, one is for drunk driving convictions, and the other is for either repeatedly driving uninsured or crashing while uninsured. Both situations pose a risk to an SR22 auto insurance company.

Drunk driving in your past is obviously a risk because you might do it again, and drunk drivers are more likely to cause accidents than sober drivers. Accidents are also often more serious when one or both of the drivers involved are drunk. As for the second common reason, people who have a history of being uninsured are considered unreliable customers, much like those with a bad credit history. Tennessee SR22 auto insurance companies can’t expect regular payment from them.

SR22 bond Tennessee

Q: I have an SR22 bond on my car, and with all this insurance it’s costing me a lot. I’ve owned this car for several years, and I’ll probably be selling it in another year, so during that time, or even just as it gets closer to the date of sale, could I just drop the insurance?

A: In the state of Tennessee, you are required to have insurance on your car, SR22 bond or not, until you have transferred the title into the new owner’s name. So, even if you don’t drive your old car, you will be breaking the law by not insuring it. You will also suffer more consequences, most importantly the loss of your driver’s license, which will happen when you fail to pay your SR22 bond one month. If you drive while your license is suspended, you can risk losing your license for an even longer time as well as many additional fines and fees.

If you are worried about the costs of insuring an older car which requires an SR22 bond, have you considered that you may be over insuring your car? It’s a common mistake people make. A car which is worth less than one thousand dollars does not need more than liability insurance. If you’re paying more than the worth of your car in one year of auto insurance, then you need to cut your coverage as low as is legal for it to go.

SR-22 Tennessee Insurance

Q: What types of Tennessee SR22 insurance should I purchase?

A: The only types of SR22 ins you are required to purchase are liability coverages which you can find out about further down. However, there are many coverage options, and you may think it a good idea to get more than what’s required by law.

For one, if you have a car which is being financed or leased, then the bank which is financing that car probably requires you to get full coverage on your car insurance policy. Full coverage includes liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage, and it can be expensive, especially with SR22 ins, but if you don’t get it then your car could be repossessed.

More types of SR22 ins exist, such as uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage takes care of any damages or injuries caused by a negligent driver who doesn’t have liability which would normally pay for those. It’s also practically a necessity in Tennessee, where one fifth of all drivers, as of 2004, were uninsured. Numbers like that don’t include those who don’t have enough insurance, who you can protect yourself against by getting underinsured motorist coverage.