Washington car insurance regulations require all registered vehicles to have a liability insurance policy written to protect others from an accident that may be your fault. When you purchase auto insurance in WA, you may wish to do some comparison shopping. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to enter your Zip code into the quote tool on this page. This will give you a selection of Washington auto insurance quotes from which to choose.
The state of Washington requires all drivers to carry 25/50/10, which means that you will need to have $25,000 in protection to cover injury or death of one person, $50,000 in injury or death protection for more than two people and $10,000 in coverage for any property that you may damage. Additionally, you will not be covered for damages to your own vehicle under the mandatory liability law. You will need to purchase a comprehensive and collision policy in order to get insurance to cover damages to your vehicle if you are at fault.
You may also consider purchasing an uninsured or underinsured motorist policy along with a personal injury protection policy. The uninsured or underinsured policies will pick up when you are involved in an accident with someone who has little or no insurance to cover damages they did to you and your vehicle. The personal injury policy will help pay your medical expenses or loss of wages should you be in an accident. These are all insurance plans that are optional to you. You should be able to keep your cheap car insurance in WA while adding coverages that are more comprehensive.
The state of Washington says that all drivers must carry something that proves they have insurance with them when they are driving. You will need to show this proof to any law enforcement officer in case you are in an accident or you are stopped for another traffic violation. If you do not provide proof of insurance, the state laws presume that you do not have insurance, which will result in a fine determined by the courts. If you can provide proof of insurance after you have been cited, the courts may assess court fees, but dismiss the driving without insurance charge. It is a misdemeanor to falsify insurance information.
If you drive without insurance in Washington, you may be fined $450 for failure to comply with the state laws.
The minimum insurance may not be enough to cover accidents, especially to property. It is possible to obtain enough insurance needed to be protected without paying too much for it. There are several ways that a driver can help to defer the cost of an insurance policy. You can keep your driving and credit records clean. You can raise your deductibles, so you are insured for less. You can take public transportation to and from work. If you are part of a group, such as a union or other membership, there may be policy discounts available to you. Drivers of fuel-efficient cars with theft deterrents may be eligible for insurance discounts.