Why is Car Insurance in Alaska So Expensive?
Reader’s Question:
Is it true that even short gaps in my insurance coverage can cause my auto insurance rates to go up? I recently moved to Alaska and I was wondering if this could be the reason my insurance rates are bigger here than where I came from.
Chuck
Anchorage, AK
Increased auto insurance rates, or in rare cases being denied auto insurance protection, can definitely be due to lack of or gaps in your insurance coverage. Driving without any form of car insurance protection is not very advisable, and is even considered illegal under the financial responsibility laws of many states, since this makes car insurance providers perceive you as a high-risk driver (due to taking the risk of driving without adequate financial protection). There is basis for this as studies have shown that people who pay high amounts for insurance actually drives in a much safer manner as those without.
There could be other factors involved that made your auto insurance rates there in Alaska. It is possible that it is just simply more expensive to get insurance there in your new location as compared to the old one. If you did not change providers, it is also possible that your comprehensive insurance clause became more expensive due to increased likelihood of accidents caused by snow-storms, skidding in ice and other natural events that may cause damage or loss of your vehicle.
Did you change to a more expensive vehicle? This could also affect but if nothing much has changed other than that you relocated and did not have coverage for an extended span of time, the gap in your coverage could have definitely increased your rates.
I Need My Own Auto Insurance Policy in Alaska
Reader’s Question:
I was under my parents’ auto insurance and I never really paid attention to it because I was not the one paying for it. Now that I have to get insured on my own, I need to know, what protection would auto insurance give me and my car?
Danielle
Anchorage, AK
Aside from the fact that auto insurance is required by law, you would really want to have it. The state requirement for auto insurance if referred to as liability insurance for property and bodily injury. This kind of auto insurance would give protection if you damage a vehicle, an individual or any property. There are also other kinds of auto insurance that would give you protection from uninsured and underinsured motorists who collide with you while you are driving your car or as a pedestrian. You may also have gotten off your parents’ health insurance and don’t have your own yet so this can be very essential.
You have to be certain that you have high coverage to give you protection against personal liability if you are at fault in an accident. However, that is not everything that your auto insurance in Anchorage, Alaska can do for you. There are other kinds of auto insurance such as collision insurance that would cover the damages to your vehicle from crashes that you cause. Also, comprehensive insurance would cover the damages to your vehicle from other things that are not caused by accident such as storms and theft.