Avoiding a red car color when buying a new car doesn’t mean you will save on your insurance rates.

The color of your vehicle isn't a rating factor when it comes to your insurance premium.

Red is the color of anger, stop and attention. Is it also the color of higher insurance rates?

Not necessarily.

Now, owners of red cars may pay higher insurance rates; but that is due to other factors. When it actually comes to the color of your car and your insurance rates -insurance companies are colorblind.

The Myth Surrounding Red Car Color and Insurance Rates

For decades people have believed that buying a red car automatically meant that their insurance rates would increase. This has become one of those urban legends that people like to keep passing down, but never take the time to really confirm.

Honestly though, who could blame them? How many of you out there want to spend your Saturday evening reading insurance statistics as to whether or not insurance rates are higher with a red car color?

This myth could have started when two people with the same car, but different colors compared insurance rates and found that the red car was higher. It could have also been a parent trying to talk their young adult child out of a red sports car by telling them that they would pay more for insurance.

Wherever the myth started it has never died, but now you will be that much smarter than your friends after you have read this.

Red Car Color Affects Drivers

There is something about getting into a red sports car that changes a person. It makes them want to drive faster, act free and have fun; all of which lead to dangerous driving. People that are usually careful drivers find themselves acting different behind the wheels of a red car (I can personally attest to this).

In a good number of cases, drivers that buy red cars already have the type of personality that lends itself to dangerous driving and they gravitate to this red car color. These types of drivers already have a higher chance of getting a traffic ticket or into a car accident, so they would have higher insurance rates no matter what color of car they drive. It is because they prefer the red cars that it gives the illusion that red cars automatically have a higher insurance rate.

The Type of Vehicle Available in a Red Car Color

Close your eyes and think about all the red cars that you see on the road. What types of cars are they?

Are they older model sedans? Minivans? Station Wagons?

No, they are sportier than that, aren’t they? They are the sports versions of vehicles and sports cars; cars that have the capability to go faster and are more expensive to fix if they were in a car accident. Both of these factors will raise your base insurance premium higher than what it would be with other vehicles.

So, in this case it’s not the red car color that causes the higher premium, but the car that the color is found on.

The only state where you have the choice of purchasing Virginia car insurance or paying a fee to be able to drive without any coverage.

Virginia allows you to fly on your own by allowing you to drive without car insurance.

When it comes to choices and insurance coverages, most states don’t give you much of a choice. The only choice you are actually ever offered is if you want to purchase insurance or go with some other way of proving financial responsibility (bonds, etc.). In Virginia, however, you are given an alternative option of being able to drive and not have to prove financial responsibility.

Just don’t think that it comes without a price though, no state will allow you to do that.

Needed Virginia Car Insurance Coverage

Virginia car insurance requirements are as follows:

• $20,000 in coverage for property damage that you do to property that you do not own.

• $25,000 in coverage for the medical expenses that arise if you injure a single person in a car accident who was not in your vehicle.

• $50,000 in coverage for the medical expenses that are for two or more people you injure in a car accident. This amount is the total that your insurance company will pay for, for all medical expenses that are from an accident you cause.

Virginia does offer other methods of financial responsibility as alternatives to Virginia car insurance; for more information on these alternatives contact the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Uninsured Motor Vehicle Fee for No Virginia Car Insurance

If you decide that you don’t want to drive with any Virginia car insurance coverage, you can actually pay a fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles and still be able to drive legally. This fee is called the Uninsured Motor Vehicle Fee and it has to be paid at the time that you renew the registration for your vehicle.

The fee is $500 for the year and has to be paid each time you renew if you chose to still not have Virginia car insurance coverage. This fee is only to exempt you from having to have insurance on your vehicle and does not provide you with any actual coverage. By choosing to pay this fee and not carry insurance, you are personally responsible for any damages or injuries that come from an accident you are responsible for.

Virginia Car Insurance Verification and Monitoring

Virginia tracks insurance multiple ways:

1. They are notified whenever you register or renew a registration for a vehicle, as you are to provide insurance coverage.

2. They are also notified by law enforcement if you fail to provide proof of insurance at a traffic stop.

3. They are notified by law enforcement if you have no insurance at the time of an accident that a police report was written for.

4. They are notified with a FR200 form that is filed by another party that was involved in an accident with a driver that they believe is not insured.

5. They are also notified through electronic reporting done by the insurance companies each time you cancel, purchase, or change your Virginia car insurance policy.

Another inspired story from an actual Mercury Insurance Group Customer that makes our regular vehicle problems look tame.

Summary

Commercial opens with a gentleman (a Mercury Insurance Group customer) sitting in a chair talking to us.

Customer: My Mercury moment happened during Rush Week.

The scene changes to the same customer looking up at the roof where a sedan marked with Greek letters from a fraternity on it.

Customer: When I discovered my car had been moved from its reserved parking spot. Thankfully I chose Mercury as my insurance company. They got my car off the roof and into a body shop in no time. It looks great; and now I get a free car wash every week. Isn’t that right gentlemen?

Scene changes to 5 young men washing the same sedan that was on the roof earlier, but it now no longer has Greek letters on it.

The scene changes again to the Mercury Insurance Group logo, with their website and phone number.

Announcer: We’ve dropped our rates 10% or more and added new discounts and benefits too. Get a quote at Mercuryinsurance.com.

Point of Commercial

The fine print at the bottom of this Mercury Insurance Group commercial clearly states that this commercial is not a testimonial. So, the events that are shown in the commercial are just inspired by actual customers and their experiences; this particular one may or may not have necessarily happened.

Still, Mercury Insurance Group is using these stories (there is a whole series of these types of commercials) to show that no matter how odd your claim may be, they will be there to help.

What They Want you to Do

Mercury Insurance Group is looking for two courses of action from you. First, they want you to think about your current insurance company and how helpful they are to you. Would they go out of their way to help you like Mercury Insurance Group is saying that they do for their customers?

Second, they want you to visit their website. They show you the website address at the end and also verbally ask you to visit their site. The phone number is also shown, but I really think that it is just there for the few potential customers that don’t use the internet.

My Opinion

I am really split on this commercial. Yes, it was entertaining. No, it is not true story.

I also am not feeling a huge urge to rethink my current insurance or to contact Mercury Insurance Group for a quote. So, there is no inspiration in this particular commercial that would cause me to take any action; which is a must if you want to sell insurance.

I give this Mercury Insurance commercial a thumbs up and a thumbs down.

The state allows you one “oops” for having no Missouri car insurance before they start increasing the penalties.

Keep your insurance active instead of being faced with escalating suspensions and fines.

Missouri car insurance laws require that if you are a resident of Missouri, you have to carry the minimum amount of liability and uninsured motorist coverage Missouri requires. If you aren’t a resident of Missouri, you have to be carrying at least the minimum insurance coverage that the state you live in requires.

So, because we can’t go over the coverages in every single state here, let’s just go over what is required in Missouri.

What Liability Coverage is Required for Missouri Car Insurance?

The state requires that you carry a minimum of $25,000 in liability coverage to pay for the expenses that come from injuring another person with your vehicle. You are also required to purchase $50,000 in coverage for the same expenses, just in case you injure more than one person.

Missouri car insurance laws also require that you purchase insurance coverage that pays for the damages you cause to property that is owned by another person. The minimum that you are allowed to purchase is $10,000.

This $10,000 may sound like a lot of money, but in reality, when it comes to damages you can cause with your car it’s really not very much coverage. You may want to talk to your insurance agent about what amount of coverage would be best to protect you from financial trouble after a car accident.

What Uninsured Motorist Coverage is Required for Missouri Car Insurance?

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you, not the other person, in the event of a car accident. This coverage is for injuries only and can be used if you are hit by a driver that has no insurance or has left the scene of an accident.

The minimum required coverage for uninsured motorist is the same as the required liability coverage ($25,000/$50,000).

What are the Penalties for not Having Missouri Car Insurance?

If you don’t have insurance on your vehicle, you can see one of the following happen to you:

1. Your driver’s license is immediately suspended.

2. The court can order the Driver License Bureau to supervise your insurance coverage (to make sure you keep it active).

3. The court will enter a conviction against you and 4 points will be assessed against your driving record.

If you end up with a suspended license, the time period in which you can’t drive escalates the more suspensions you receive. For your first suspension, there is no mandatory suspension period. You simply have to provide proof you have insurance in place now and pay a $20 reinstatement fee.

The second suspension will find you without a license for 90 days. To get your license back you will have to provide proof of insurance and pay a $200 fee. The third suspension comes with a 1 year suspension and a $400 fee to get your license back, after you have provided proof of insurance.

Twelve tales to emphasize that GEICO Insurance really can save you 15% or more on car insurance.

Summary

Each of the twelve commercials opens with the GEICO announcer asking two questions.

Announcer: Could switching to GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance? (Enter 2nd question here)……………

1) Is Ed “Too Tall” Jones too tall?

2) Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle?

3) Does a 10 pound bag of flour make a really big biscuit?

4) Did the cavemen invent fire?

5) Was Abe Lincoln honest?

6) Is having a snowball fight with pitching great Randy Johnson a bad idea?

7) Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?

8) Can fútbol (soccer) announcer Andrés Cantor make any sport exciting?

9) Does a former drill sergeant make a terrible therapist?

10) Does Elmer Fudd have trouble with the letter “r”?

11) Do woodchucks chuck wood?

12) Did the little piggy cry “wheee-wheee-wheee” all the way home?

Point of Commercial

We have reviewed some of these GEICO commercials before, but I thought that having a whole collection of them in one post would be a perfect way to show how identical each of these commercials are. As you watch each of these commercials you will notice that the announcer asks the same question each time and the same point that GEICO can save you 15% or more is made with each commercial.

There is no deviation from the base point in each commercial; the only thing that does change is the comical second question to confirm the announcer’s first question.

What They Want you to Do

GEICO wants you to visit GEICO.com. This is the only contact information they give and it is only at the end of each commercial. Thinking about it though, this is the only contact information I ever remember for GEICO and I don’t watch TV, so I guess their advertising is working.

My Opinion

I am actually going to refrain from giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down on these commercials as there are 12 of them here, and I don’t feel the same way about all of them. There are some that I like (the woodchucks) and some that I would possibly live a better life if I never saw again (the little piggy).

Overall, GEICO does a good job in making the commercials memorable as they are not easily forgotten. This works well for them, because then people will think of GEICO when they are trying to remember companies they can contact for insurance quotes.