I am planning to buy car insurance in PA but I would like to know if I need to get drivers license first to purchase insurance? What auto insurance companies in Pennsylvania are the easiest to work with and have the best rates?

Lee

Philadelphia, PA

No, you do not need to get drivers license to get Pennsylvania automobile insurance.

Although you can buy automobile insurance without your drivers license, if you just moved in PA you will need to get drivers license to register and title your vehicle.

The minimum liability limits required in the state of Pennsylvania are:

• $15,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident
• $30,000 for injury or death of more than one person in an accident
• $5,000 for damage to property of another person

This insurance is usually referred to as 15/30/5 and it is better to get higher limits to better protect yourself and your assets.

If you are leasing your car, your lien holder may require you to get physical damage liability of collision and comprehensive coverage.

Hello there. I hear the type of car you have can affect the auto insurance rates you pay. Can anyone give me some tips? I’m planning to buy a nice new car soon.

Alex

Philadelphia, PA

Hey there, Alex! I’m sure you’re all excited to get your new car. Sometimes, it’s real easy to get carried away when you’re looking to buy the car you have always dreamed of. Still, unless you’re swimming in money, it would be best to choose a practical vehicle as the auto insurance costs for the lavish cars almost always comes with a high price tag.

If you want to walk on the safe side, I suggest you buy a car that isn’t so expensive to insure. Veer away from the vehicles that cost a lot to repair. Also stay away from cars that are favorites of car thieves. You can check out the car’s safety ratings as this will also affect the auto insurance prices that you pay. You can even get discounts for having additional safety and anti-theft devices installed. If this isn’t your first car, maybe you can ask your auto insurance company for a discount as you will be insuring multiple cars with them. You will need all the discounts you can get to ensure that you can buy enough coverage for your car. In general, you would need more coverage for a new car as it is more expensive to repair or replace. So do shop around online and get your free auto insurance quotes. Happy car shopping!

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.

I got involved in an accident and was informed that my license was suspended and my auto insurance was not valid prior to the accident in Springfield. What will the penalties be?.

Richard

Springfield, PA

In Pennsylvania the penalties for driving with a suspended license will differ depending on the reason for your license suspension. If it was suspended due to driving a car without auto insurance it will likely be three months before you can have it reinstated.

If you are found by police officer to be driving without insurance in Springfield PA, you could face the following penalties and expenses:

• A minimum fine of $300 for driving uninsured;
• A three month suspension of your driver’s license;
• A three month suspension of your vehicle’s registration;
• A $50 restoration fee to restore your vehicle’s registration;
• $50 restoration fee to restore your driver’s license;
• Your car may not be driven by anyone while the registration is suspended.

In addition if you were at fault in the car accident, you likely will be held personally liable for the damage to the other driver’s car. You may contact the Pennsylvania Driver and Vehicle Services to get more information regarding the penalties.

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.

Living a life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania can be so demanding. Maybe that’s just for me because I’m getting ready to buy my teenage daughter her own car. But, of course, I would also have to worry about the auto insurance. What cars for teens would be the best for low insurance rates?

Emily

Philadelphia, PA

In general, the less expensive a vehicle is to purchase, the less costly it is to insure. Typically, vehicles that have high horsepower, high dollar or expensive to repair are the most expensive to insure. Higher horsepower cars are statistically favored by risky drivers that would likely drive the car faster and get into more accidents. That would send insurance rates to go up for everyone who owns a similar car.

Your insurance company might charge you higher rates if the car that you will buy for your daughter is popular target for thieves. Insurance companies feel there is a higher risk for it to be stolen and parts might be in higher demand, thus, would cost more. It would also likely cost more to fix after a collision if it is a high-priced car. This can actually cause insurance to be higher on that type of car. You can get quotes for each car that you are interested in buying for your daughter to find out which one is cheaper to insure. I’m confident enough to say that you can always get an online rate quote for great car insurance in Pennsylvania from this site.

I’m from the state of Pennsylvania and I did not have car insurance in NC. What will be the penalty for that?

Lee

Erie, PA

It looks like you are licensed in PA but that you were stopped and ticketed in North Carolina for driving without insurance. In North Carolina driving without insurance is a three point violation and can cause you to lose your license plate.

Since you do not reside in NC, the penalty could be different, such as a future proof of liability insurance and fine. To get more information on the specific penalties contact the entity listed on your citation ticket or the NC Department of Transportation (DOT).

As for back in Pennsylvania, since both states are part of the Drive License Compact (DLC) usually they report to each others DMV tickets received. In Pennsylvania a lapse in insurance results in the suspension of your vehicle’s registration for thirty days. If it is also determined that you drove your car while uninsured your driver’s license will also be suspended for thirty days.

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.

My brother lives in New York and wants to insure her vehicle under my insurance policy in Pennsylvania. Her vehicle is registered in New York. Is this possible?

Helen

Philadelphia, PA

No, normally this would not be possible for a few reasons.

One reason is that likely your insurance provider would not permit you to insure an out of state car that is not garaged at your home, not driven by a member of your household and not registered in PA. If you did not give your insurance provider the information that it was your brother’s car registered, driven and garaged in NY when adding the vehicle, nor have your brother listed as a driver on your insurance policy then this could be determined to be misrepresentation, a form of insurance fraud.

Another reason that you cannot insure your brother’s NYS registered car with PA car insurance is that New York laws require vehicles to be insured with NYS insurance.