Farmington Hills Car Insurance
Two words describe Michigan residents: hardy and passionate. Farmington Hills residents fall right in line with the statewide characteristics to endure rough winters while demonstrating a fierce affinity for their hometown.
Find the best car insurance rates in Farmington Hills by simply entering your zip code above!
No Fault of Your Own
Compared to other states, Michigan seems quite favorable toward protecting its residents in relationship to auto insurance. It has a no-fault stance on auto insurance, which includes a few consumer-friendly aspects.
In addition to ubiquitous basic minimum bodily liability injury insurance, which is discussed below, you must carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Property Protection (PPI), and Residual Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability coverage(BI/PD). PIP, PPI, and BI/PD together make up no-fault insurance.
- PIP pays all of your necessary medical expenses resulting from an auto accident. This coverage actually pays policyholders for wage loss for as many as three years.
- PPI pays policyholders as much as one million dollars for damage to property, such as to cars or buildings.
- BI/PD pays according to your coverage limits. It includes legal defense bills and damages for which you are deemed responsible where you severely injured or killed another person.
- Minimum coverage for BI/PD is 20,000 dollars per injured or killed per accident. The minimum coverage per injured or killed per accident is 40,000 dollars, with 10,000 dollars property damage coverage.
More Minimum Coverage
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services provides a listing of the legal consequences of not buying auto insurance.
For instance, police may fine you between $200 to $500 or even jail you up to one year, if you are driving without insurance. Your license could be suspended for 30 days also.
Michigan's minimum auto insurance includes bodily injury liability auto insurance coverage of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident. In addition, Michigan requires drivers carry $10,000 property damage liability per accident.
Now you might be thinking if the state cares so much about ensuring that you receive medical care through no-fault insurance, the insurance companies must have the same stance. They do not. The insurance carriers still pay attention to whether you caused an accident or not because they want to keep risk low.
That means if you cause accidents, they will increase your premiums. It is not quite that simple, but it is the basic idea.
The Driving Game
Permission to drive is not a given, like rights. It is a privilege. In Michigan, there is a points system for a game you do not want to win.
If you gain seven points it means you are an irresponsible driver who probably will be denied coverage by insurance carriers. The points stay in play for three years. They differ from driver's license points.
The insurance eligibility points are best left at zero. What makes you gain points, other than drunk driving?
- Traffic Violations
- Driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, also known as "careless driving" is four points
- Driving 11 to 15 miles per hour over the speed limit is three points.
- Two points for going 15 miles per hour over the speed limit on highways that used to have a speed limit of 70 miles per hour.
- Other types of moving violations incur two points.
- If you are found more than 50 percent at fault for an accident, you receive three points.
- If you cause subsequent accidents, you will receive four points.
Protecting Your Car
Collision coverage repairs or replaces your vehicle that is damaged in an accident. You can buy coverage without a deductible, though it is more affordable if you tack on a deductible. When you file a claim you need to come up with the money for the deductible.
It is tempting to buy a policy with deductibles that are a couple thousand dollars. Whatever you do, make sure you could afford to pay it and would not miss the money.
Comprehensive covers against theft, falling objects, fire, vandalism, and even impact with an animal.
Consider what the coverage would cost in comparison with how much you could actually receive if the car is damaged. Michigan does not require comprehensive or collision, but your lender or lessor will require it.
Take Responsibility for Uninsured Drivers
Uninsured motorist coverage is optional and remunerates you for excess wage loss, and pain and suffering from injuries sustained in cases where the other driver flees or does not have insurance.
Uninsured coverage pays the difference between court payments for pain and suffering from an uninsured driver and the maximum you can collect from that person and their insurance.
Another way drivers protect themselves in Michigan is to increase residual bodily injury liability insurance coverage. Most people in Michigan do to protect themselves from carrying the personal risk to their assets. For instance, in an accident, liability can easily exceed the minimum 20/40/10 compulsory coverage.
Look at buying what is called Mini Tort or Limited Property Damage Liability. It covers you against liability for causing damage to another person's vehicle. If you are more than 50 percent at fault you could otherwise have to pay 1,000 or more to repair another person's vehicle.
In Farmington Hills, rough winters cause hazardous driving conditions for a good portion of the year. In addition, the same damage it causes on roads may cause excessive weight on trees and homes. Your car faces a greater likelihood of damage from falling branches, huge icicles, and other snow-related objects.
Reeling in Insurance Costs
It can get expensive to purchase the level of insurance Michigan requires. Though, one way to rope in costs is to shop around for automobile insurance coverage. Explore the most creditworthy carriers who show up in your insurance quotes.
Check out Moodys to find out if the carriers offering you coverage are at least in the A-range of fiscal health. It means if you need to make a claim that the insurance carrier will have the money to pay for repairs and medical care, as stated in your policy.
Additional items to look for are happy customers who have had positive claims experiences with carriers you are considering. From there, compare costs of coverage.
Michigan drivers are expected to buy a good deal of insurance coverage to drive. It is meant to make sure you have proper medical care, wage replacement, and protection if involved in accidents.
If you are searching for auto insurance coverage, enter your zip code below to compare rates from multiple companies today!