US Car insurance

[Twirl]

Hi. I am moving with my family to the Washington DC area in about 10 weeks time. Can you tell me your experiences of car insurance please? How expensive to insure? How hard to get insured? Who to go with? Thanks.

Hi Twirl,

How expensive the car insurance is depends on the type of car you have. Luxury cars, i.e. Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, etc. are expensive to insure. Cars that are on the most 'stolen or wanted' (for parts) are expensive to insure. Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds are 2 good sites for useful tips and hints about cars.

How hard to get insured? Shouldn't be too hard. But I've no idea of any requirements needed to be insured.

Who to go with? My DH swears by (not at) GEICO. Absolutely terrific service and he has referred others to GEICO. AVOID ALLSTATE. People have been dropped after their first claim and further those that have their house with ALLSTATE who file a claim after a natural disaster, no one is there at ALLSTATE.

Side Note: SS# is to be used for tax and employment and NOTHING else. Although conveinent for some businesses to ask for the SS#, they have NO right to require it and deny you service if you refuse to give the number. Any thing that has a line for SS# I've drawn a line through it or left it blank. If the person demands it, walk away and take your business elsewhere. This number is a unique identifier in America and for only Gov't usage. Unfortunately businesses see the ease of using it and you run the risk of your SS# and personal information ending up in the garbage or rubbish bin somewhere. Protect your SS#.

Good Luck

Thanks so much for the advice and info!

I think you may well need a social security number to get car insurance (you need it for almost everything else, including getting a credit card unless you can make a special arrangement with your bank). I would apply for a ssn as soon as you possibly can.

When we moved here they refused to take our no claims/ driving experience into account so we were classed as new drivers. It cost us a fortune, about $1000 every 6 months for a really old car that is worth nothing.

Also, some insurers (like GEICO) won't insure you unless you have a US driving license. We were in CT and were able to drive for 12 months on a UK license before having to do our test. It varies from state to state though and I don't know what the rules are in DC. Initially we went with State Farm. Once we got our licenses, Geico were cheaper.

HTH