Military Car Insurance: Helping Those Devoted to Protecting Us

What you need to qualify for military car insurance, who provides it, and why you should look into it.

Military car insurance is needed to protect the whole family.

Military car insurance is a way for insurance companies to support those that are in the armed forces by making at least their insurance needs a little easier to deal with.

It can come in the form of discounts on the insurance premium, special coverage adjustments for when active members are deployed or even whole companies devoted to the insurance needs of military members.

Requirements to Qualify for Military Car Insurance

The qualifications for military car insurance vary depending on the company that you are looking at going with.  Being active duty military is the only military status that is a guaranteed acceptance across the board at all companies.  Most companies also accept spouses, retired military and minor children of active duty military that are of driving age.  Other companies accept adult children whose parents are already signed up with them for insurance or have been in the past while the parents were active duty.

There are even companies that will allow you the military car insurance and all of the benefits that go along with it as long as you are affiliated in some way or a member of an organization affiliated with the armed services, such as a credit union.  But, to quality for military car insurance by affiliation is not as common.  It is best to talk to the company that you are getting insurance quotes from to find out what their specific requirements are.

Who Provides Military Car Insurance

Military car insurance is provided in two ways.  One, by companies completely devoted to the military personnel and their family’s needs, such as USAA and Armed Forces Insurance (AFI).  These companies provide more than just car insurance also so you can bundle all of your insurance policies together with one company.

The second way to obtain military car insurance is through a regular insurance company that is in business.  Usually the policy is written as a normal policy that is available to everyone that drives, but includes the military discount rate for the premiums.

Benefits of Military Car Insurance

The most common benefit that comes with military car insurance is that you will receive a discount on your insurance premiums.  This discount varies from company to company, but can be as large as 15%.

Other benefits can range from a special customer service number being available 24 hours a day for military personnel deployed around the world in other time zones and being able to easily change coverage on your vehicle to comprehensive only while it is in storage during a deployment.

Things to Keep in Mind about Military Car Insurance

• Always shop around for your car insurance to get find the best rates for the coverage you need. On top of that, talk to other people that you know in the service about who they are covered with.  They can tell you not only who they found had the best rates, but also which company was the easiest to deal with when they needed help with a claim or when they needed assistance with their policy while they were deployed overseas.
• If you decide to go with a company that does not deal exclusively with military personnel, don’t forget to tell them that you are or were in the military.  If you don’t let them know, they don’t know to apply any discounts or benefits that you may be entitled to.
• If you are unmarried and are active duty, you need to have a power of attorney in place and filed with your insurance company.  That way if you are overseas and something happens, the person that you have as power of attorney can take care of your insurance without any problems from the insurance company.