A lapse in your auto insurance is when your vehicle doesn't have the minimum coverage required in your state. A lapse occurs after your coverage expires until you acquire new insurance. Lapses occur for many reasons like nonpayment, late payment, not renewing, or cancellations due to numerous traffic violations. If you find yourself in the middle of a car insurance lapse, follow the below four steps.
1. Contact Your Insurance Carrier
When a lapse occurs, the first step to take is to call the carrier your lapse occurred with. If this is your first lapse, they may be willing to reinstate your policy with minimal penalties, if any. This would be the ideal solution.
2. Use an Alternate Form of Transportation
Driving a vehicle without insurance is illegal. Do not use your vehicle while it is not protected. Ask a friend or family member to take you to work and school or apply for a bus pass and use public transportation for the time being.
3. Shop For New Insurance
Long lapses in insurance can reflect negatively on your driving record. Find a new insurance as soon as possible. If you wait too long, you may be labeled as a "high risk" driver and your premiums will increase. High-risk drivers often have trouble with car insurance prices if a carrier will insure them in the first place.
4. Avoid Future Car Insurance Lapses
The most important thing to do once you have insurance on your vehicle again is to avoid a lapse in car insurance in the future. Make sure you do the following to avoid a similar situation:
As you can see, lapses sometimes occur due to a variety of reasons. After a lapse in coverage, be sure to follow the above four steps to help you regain insurance coverage. Talk to experts like Western Insurance Agency for more information.
Share3 March 2015
When I got married, I knew that there were a few things that I needed to learn about the way the world worked. For starters, I had to figure out how insurance worked since I wanted to make the most of my life without worrying about money. I started focusing on the policies that I had in place and gradually moved towards acquiring new life insurance and the like. Having each of these coverages helped give both me and my spouse peace of mind. We both knew if something happened to me that the other would be okay. Check out this blog to learn more about insurance needs.