Broken Arrow Car Insurance
If you are fortunate to call Broken Arrow home, then you know how good life is. Award-winning ball fields for the kids and an all-around great place to call home right outside Tulsa. Buying auto insurance adds to your quality of life, just in case accidents threaten your peace of mind. In Oklahoma, as in all 50 states, vehicle insurance is not just a good idea, but the law.
The minimum amount of insurance that you are obligated to buy when you have a vehicle registered in the state is 25,000 dollars per person you injure or kill with at least 50,000 dollars in coverage per accident. The minimum property damage liability coverage is 25,000 dollars per accident.
Enter your zip code in our FREE tool above to compare car insurance rates now!
You might see this listed short-hand as 25/50/25 on your policy declaration statements or on any quotes. Most states have not updated these figures in nearly 20 or more years and are considered bare minimum.
Comparatively, though, Oklahoma has at least required more minimal coverage than other states, which demonstrates responsibility toward its citizens.
Other states require half as much insurance basically and it leaves their drivers more vulnerable to hefty lawsuits. While you may have noticed double-digit-percentage insurance increases cumulatively in the past seven years, it is still imperative you buy more than minimum coverage.
Understanding Price Increases
Other than the obvious, such as moving violations or other traffic citations and accidents, insurance costs increase. Many drivers have lost jobs and had a harder time keeping up with their financial obligations, which has impacted their credit score. Lower credit scores and a history of late or missed payments will increase insurance rates.
If you have a copy of your most recent insurance policy declaration page, you can compare it to your new declaration page, so wherever costs have increased, you have an opportunity to improve your insurance costs.
For one, if you have a moving violation, then sign up for a safe driving course. Many insurance carriers offer coursework to make you a better driver. It can save you up to 20 percent on insurance over the course of the next few years.
Sometimes storms roll on through and it causes widespread losses for the insurance carriers in the whole state. That is unavoidable and may account for rising insurance costs from one policy period to the next.
How do you lower insurance costs?
- No claims discounts
- Safe driving coursework
- Good student discounts for high school students
- Alarm and on-board monitoring systems or Lo-Jac
- VIN etching on the car
Look for multiple-vehicle and multiple policy discounts when you buy insurance for more than one policy and vehicle from the same insurance carrier.
Who pays for hit-and-run?
It is not fair to have to pay if you are the victim of an accident, yet it is wise to carry uninsured and underinsured liability insurance. This covers you, your passengers and family members who reside with you against such drivers. It pays for injuries and death but does not pay for repairs to your car.
Uninsured Motorist pays you for personal injuries caused by an uninsured motorist, an underinsured motorist or a hit and run driver, and the damage to your vehicle is covered under your collision coverage.
What might scare you off a bit when involved with a driver who has no liability insurance is when you are faced with the prospect of filing a claim. Will your insurance rates go up for having filed a claim? According to Oklahoma law, you cannot take the bad rap, receive increases in insurance or points on your license, for filing a claim in response to an uninsured driver.
Only in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma has an Eagle Mediation department that handles unresolved issues dealing with driver disputes. Oklahoma also has "comparative negligence" in which multiple drivers may be at fault for causing an accident. They determine the drivers to be part of the whole. For instance, comparative negligence could be 60/40 or 70/30.
Understanding Collision and Comprehensive
When purchasing insurance, do not be fooled by the assumption of having collision coverage. Yes, you buy it and would be responsible for paying a deductible in order for the insurance carrier to pay for repairs.
Collision costs only cover up to the actual cash value of your vehicle at the time of the accident, and this is the reason that many people just drop collision and comprehensive on their cars.
For instance, if you are driving around in a 15-year-old vehicle that is worth 1,000 dollars, your insurance carrier would pay up to 1,000 to you. Factor in a deductible of 500 dollars and a policy rate for coverage of 500 and there is no return on your money. In other words, you would be better off putting the money into a bank account every time you are to renew your policy.
That would give you a financial cushion to pull from in the case of an accident to fix or replace your vehicle. The insurance carrier does not give you money to go out and buy a new car, or replacement value. It is actual value.
Rely on Yourself
The name of the vehicle insurance game is: maintain responsibility for yourself. To that end, always have a contingency plan for getting another car. For instance, if you are involved in an accident with another driver who is at fault, they may not have good insurance coverage.
If they did, then you might receive a temporary, or rental vehicle through their policy. Though, if they do not, you would need to have your own rental agreement on your vehicle's insurance policy. Always carry this unless you can afford to rent a car for a couple months while yours is repaired.
One more note on vehicles. The rates that insurance companies charge factors in the safety of your vehicle in a collision. That's why when you buy a car, you should get insurance quotes for every make and model you are considering.
Long after you paid off the car, you will be paying for insurance.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an organization supported by the insurance companies. NHTSA tests vehicle safety to inform car insurance rates. The state of Oklahoma has a thorough set of resources for you to tap for information. For additional tips on how to buy insurance, check out the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner's site.
Always compare rates from different carriers. This will help you save a tremendous amount of money. Or, at least you will guarantee yourself the best value for your money. Be sure that the carriers:
- Have strong creditworthiness
- Have good customer service ratings
- Pay out efficiently and effectively on claims
- Offer competitive rates for insurance
Buying insurance is not a fun experience. Quote comparisons make the process easier pull you through the experience much faster. Best of all is comparing quotes makes it easier for you to save money. Start comparing car insurance rates now by using our FREE tool below!