A Modern Expedition: Missouri Auto Insurance
Ahh, the open road. In the Gateway to the West, the road has long called to those with a sense of adventure. Mark Twain poured the feeling into his fiction. Lewis & Clark took the challenge and ran with it. However, none of them had to navigate the fast pace of today’s highways –or decide how to best protect themselves when they take to the roads. So many companies offer Missouri auto insurance quotes these days that it takes a great deal of time to discern which works best for you. Make sure you know all the obstacles, as well as all the factors that can lower your premium.
The Starting Point
Just as St. Louis was the starting point for the Lewis & Clark Expedition, the minimum state requirements are the obvious baseline for your Missouri auto insurance quotes. The State of Missouri requires every driver to have the 25/50/10 in liability coverage, or $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $10,000 per accident for property. You’re also required to have uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury per person and $50,000 for bodily injury per accident. This protects you against hit-and-run drivers. You may find, however, that a good driving record and excellent credit history –two important factors to insurers –allow you to increase these minimum coverages without a significant increase in your Missouri auto insurance quotes.
Who’s at Fault?
Missouri traffic laws include a provision known as comparative fault. Essentially, this means that, in the event of an accident, insurers will investigate and determine the percentage of fault for the drivers involved in the accident. Your damages may go down if an insurer decided your percentage of fault is lower than initially assumed. This law doesn’t affect your Missouri auto insurance quotes, but you can turn to your insurer if you don’t agree with a comparative fault decision, so it’s important that you choose a company you trust.
Lowering Your Premiums
Cruising across the till plains, taking the family to the Lake of the Ozarks, or heading to a Chiefs game on a Sunday afternoon –however you use your car, there are ways to find lower Missouri auto insurance quotes. In the Heart of America, a single 36-year-old male who drives a Honda Accord to work five days a week will spend about $615 a year on his premium (for the state minimum coverage). But certain factors, like marital status and multiple cars on the same policy, have an effect. If he gets married, and adds his wife and her 2004 Ford Expedition to his policy, the total policy will cost about $760 –significantly less per person. If he begins carpooling, and only drives his Accord to work twice a week, that same policy falls to $660 a year.
Finding Your Happy Point
The best advice in finding the lowest Missouri insurance quotes is to shop around. In Missouri, auto insurance quotes are dependent on a lot of factors. If you compare Kansas City to Columbia, you’ll find that K.C. averages six times as many car crashes. Residents in Columbia spend six minutes less per one-way commute. And the number of car auto thefts per year has recently exceeded 5,000 in Kansas City, compared to about 220 in Columbia. The only way to know how things like anti-theft devices, carpooling, and safety devices will lower the premium in your city is to compare all the quotes.
