Getting Auto Insurance When Moving to a New State

Don’t forget to add “contact insurance company” when you are making your moving to do list or you may find yourself without the insurance coverage you have paid for.

Don't forget to update your insurance company on your new location after you have jumped to a different state.

Unknown to most is the fact that insurance is actually a state regulated industry. The individual states make their own insurance rules and regulations and each insurance company that wants to write in a particular state must adhere to these rules and also be granted permission to write in a state.

So if you move to a different state, you are left with an insurance policy that may not be in compliance with your new state’s rules and regulations.

This may cause problems for you in the future if you do not update your insurance company of your new location. This is why it is important for you to go through the steps of getting auto insurance when moving to a new state.

Contact Your Insurance Company

As soon as you know that you are going to be moving or soon after you have moved, you need to contact your insurance company to let them know you are in a new state. Because insurance is issued according to the state that you live in, your insurance company will have to know that you have moved to a new state so that they can adjust your policy accordingly.

Also not letting your insurance company know that you have moved to a new state could nullify your coverage and if you have a claim, your insurance company may not have to pay for it even though you have paid the premium on your insurance.

Change in Rates

Insurance rates are based on the statistical likelihood that you will have an accident. These statistics are based not only on information about you as a person, but also the location that you live in. Some states run a higher chance of an accident happening because of a higher population, natural disasters or crime rates. (This is also true of different cities.) All of which can cause you to see a decrease or increase in your insurance premium when you move from one state to another.

May Have to Find New Company

Because insurance is regulated state by state, some insurance companies are either not large enough to have a presence in every single state or they choose not to write in a state for a number of different reasons.

First, they may chose not to write in a state because the insurance laws may be ridiculous and they can’t or do not wish to comply with them. This saves the company additional manpower and money to make sure that they are in compliance with the state laws and also from having to pay fines if they cannot comply.

Second, insurance companies are in business to make money, with this being said if a particular state poses such a high risk in what an insurance company will end up paying out in claims, they can opt to just not provide insurance in that state.