Shore-side Safety: Virginia Beach Insurance
For a city with the reputation as a beach town, Virginia Beach offers a lot of variety. For music, you can catch major national acts like Taylor Swift, or see indie bands at The Sandler Center. If you’re in the mood for sightseeing, you can find treasures by land or sea, including the Adam Thoroughgood House, one of the state’s oldest surviving Colonial homes, and the lighthouses at Cape Henry. There’s a sense of preservation combined with forward momentum that belies the beach town ethos. And yet, the oceanfront is still teeming with hotels, restaurants, and people, and East Coast Surfing Championships still draw a considerable crowd. No matter what else happens, you can depend on the beach for a little respite. Virginia Beach insurance is a similar way to find peace of mind. While Virginia Beach insurance quotes might reflect modern times, the protection they offer is vital, and the smart shopper can make them affordable.
Home on the Beach
Although Hurricane Isabel came through in 2003, Virginia Beach generally avoids hurricanes and other tropical storms. You can probably feel secure with standard coverage for wind damage in your home insurance policy. But how much should you pay for Virginia home insurance? Homes in Virginia Beach average approximately $138,000 in value, but all Virginia Beach insurance quotes are unique. Start by getting an updated appraisal of your house. Then, figure that you’ll need to protect the house, or dwelling, for at least 80% of its value; for a 2,200 square foot home, that’s about $144,000. When you begin comparing quotes, some things will already determine your profile, such as income, education level, and credit history. But you should always inquire about discounts, such as those for safety (fire alarms) and security (theft prevention). And if you haven’t filed a homeowner claim in the past 10 years, you may be able to save as much as 20%.
Cruising by the Seaside
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Virginia Beach has the longest pleasure beach in the world. Throw in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the world’s longest bridge-tunnel complex, and it seems pretty likely that some extended weekend driving could be in the cards for a lot of residents. Whatever you do, find the right car insurance policy before you pack up the blankets and coolers. Although you can legally drive without insurance in Virginia by paying a $500 fee to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, you’ll do so at your own risk, with no protection against liability in an accident. If the damages reach tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, as they very well might, you’ll wish you had searched Virginia Beach insurance quotes to find a good deal. In addition, going without insurance for a period of time tends to increase your premium the next time around. A 33-year-old woman in Virginia Beach, who drives a 2004 Saturn L300 about 20 miles a day, can get minimum car insurance for about $890 a year. By foregoing car insurance for a couple months, her Virginia Beach insurance quotes will go up by $110 or more.
Handy Combinations
If you take your car to work every day, and also use it to take your spouse or family to the beach, or to places like the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, you may be tempted to view your car insurance through a one-person tunnel. This isn’t the means to the cheapest Virginia Beach insurance quotes. Take a 39-year-old local man. He drives a 2006 Toyota Highlander. For a minimum policy, he’ll pay around $1,040. Simply by adding his wife’s 2005 Honda Element, he might save around $500 per driver on their Virginia auto insurance policy. Making a package deal with your other policies also saves money-often hundreds of dollars. If you purchase car and home insurance, or add life insurance, as a single policy, you’ll be rewarded. Use a free service like NetQuote.com to compare Virginia insurance rates, or poke around yourself. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to save.
