Hello, wondering if anyone can offer advice here. I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and I just started working. I am a new driver and I plan to buy my first car soon. What basics should I look at first in getting car insurance? I do plan on having a long relationship with my car and treat it as a valued possession.

Matt

Pittsburgh, PA

Hello there, Matt and congratulations on your move. That is a fine idea you have there, practical and not wasteful. Based on my experience, you buy the automotive insurance based on what you plan to do and how you’ll use your car. I’ll also suggest checking state laws first, on what’s the bare minimum of auto insurance that a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania car owner should have. Also bear in mind that too little or too much insurance is bad. You can either get caught unprepared in an emergency situation or get caught stuck with payments you can’t afford.

Here is one basic tip that I think you should check out. If you are a new driver and looking at acquiring an expensive brand new car and you’re confident about dealing with deductibles, you can look at having collision and comprehensive coverage in your auto insurance. With collision coverage, you’ll be prepared for vehicular accidents on the road i.e. you hit another car or another car hits yours. With comprehensive coverage, your car is insured for damages that are not caused by other vehicles. Let’s say, by some freak event, a tree just drops on your car, the resulting damage to your car will be covered by your auto insurance

I live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My daughter is going to college in a different state and I am planning to transfer the title under his name so he could get her own car insurance. My question is, should he get car insurance here in Lancaster or where she is attending school.

Robert

Lancaster, PA

Typically a person insured their vehicle to where they are a resident of, which in your case in Lancaster. If your daughter is an out of state college student, she is still considered a non resident to that state.

So if your daughter is going to register and insure the vehicle in Lancaster she needs to make sure that she will be covered when she attend college in a different state. Your daughter would need to makes sure that he will be insured in the state where she will be doing most of her driving. She may speak with the car insurance carrier to get more information

You may be able to get more information on registering the vehicle with the PennDOT.

What should I do if I was issued a ticket in for driving without insurance on a car that I do not own and and the car had no insurance? I live in Pennsylvania.

Parker

Levittown, PA

If you were issued a ticket for no insurance on a car that you did not own you should first determine if the ticket that you received was written to you personally or to the car. In most states such as Pennsylvania the law enforcement officer has the option of citing the car (owner) or the driver of an uninsured car.

Most states will suspend your license and require you to get proof of insurance with regards to your state’s financial responsibility laws if the citation was written against you personally. State laws will differ on this. If the citation is for you call the department listed on the ticket to determine what steps you need to take to rectify the situation.

I was not aware that my car insurance was canceled and I reinstated as soon as I became aware. I did not have insurance for 12 days in Pennsylvania. What will be the penalty for this?

Joe

Bethlehem, PA

You will have to contact PennDOT to know what is next with them but I can tell you what likely the penalties will be for your lapse in car insurance is in Pennsylvania.

Even though your lapse was only 12 days if you drove the car during this time normally PennDOT would suspend both your driver’s license and vehicle’s registration for 3 months.

If you drove the vehicle during the period of your car insurance lapse you may want to contact either PennDOT directly or seek legal advice to check if since your lapse was short and you reinstated your coverage as soon as your realized that it was canceled if there is any way to obtain a hearing and try to keep your registration and driver’s license from being suspended for the normal three month term.

If I got involved in a car accident without insurance and driver’s license in Pennsylvania however it is not my fault. Could I be charged with a crime if someone got killed in the accident?

Fred

Pittsburgh, PA

Operating a vehicle without insurance and without a valid license are both against the law in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania laws states that every car that is required to be registered should be covered by financial responsibility (FR). Most motorists choose to get Financial Responsibility in the way of auto insurance.

The penalties for not having auto insurance, or another form of FR, can include:

1. A three month suspension of your driver’s license
2. A minimum of $300 fine
3. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your driver’s license
4. A three month suspension of your vehicle registration
5. $50 reinstatement fee to restore your vehicle registration
6. That the car may not be driven by anyone while the registration is revoked or suspended.

Since you were driving without the required state insurance and without a valid license you will likely received some of the penalties above if you were convicted by the responding law enforcement officer. There might be other penalties too if you get involved in an accident and if a death occurred.

I’m from Allentown, Pennsylvania and I’m thinking, what are the penalties if you get caught driving without insurance?

Paul

Allentown, PA

If Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) finds your car insurance has lapsed for over thirty one days you will have your car’s registration suspended for three months. If you get caught operating the vehicle without car insurance your license will be suspended for three months as well.

The vehicle’s registration plate, card , sticker and your driver’s license must be surrendered to PennDOT to serve the suspension. Reinstatement fees of $50 and proof of valid car insurance must be submitted prior to the time your registration and/or driving privileges are to be returned.

Other than these penalties for not having car insurance on your automobile if you are cited and stopped for operating a vehicle, your car might be impounded and fines will likely result, as well as the aforementioned suspensions.