At $1,385 per year, drivers in the State of Washington pays just a little less than the national average of $1,420. However due to intense competition among hundreds of auto insurance companies and agencies that do business in Washington, a savvy consumer can find better-than-average insurance rate by comparing quotes online. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect driving record or if you are a high-risk driver, your job is to find the best rates available to you from a company that will be more forgiving to your weaknesses and give you discounts for your strengths.

Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Washington

If you are in an accident your car insurance is something that makes you feel that much better because you know that the expenses that will be associated with the crash are going to be covered. This is why Washington State have mandatory insurance requirements.

The requirements are 25/50/10. This means you must have at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage for each person in the accident. This will cover the expenses for any medical or funeral costs that may happen. $50,000 is for the all person in the accident. This is not a lot if there were a quite a few people in the accident. These are only minimums so seeking higher limits is always a very good idea.

The last number represents the amount of property damage coverage you need to have on your policy. $10,000 to cover anything that needs to either be repaired or replaced. Again, this is not a lot of money. Most repairs or replacements of vehicles will come back will bills much, much higher than $10,000.

If you have a fleet of vehicles, more than 26, you can get a special self-insured dispensation. Or if you happen to have $60,000 to put down on a liability bond you can get around having insurance altogether. However, for most of the regular working folks out there this is really nota viable option and standard insurance is going to be the way to go. You also do not have to have insurance on your vehicle if it is a moped or a collector which is over 30 years old.

There are fines up to $450 for not having insurance. This is really expensive, not to mention that you will have to pay for the damage you caused to the other person’s vehicle if you hit them and you are uninsured and they do not have uninsured motorists coverage which is not required in Washington.

The Northwest is known for being extremely rainy. With good reason, Washington gets over 27 inches of rain every year. There are places that get more like Alabama, which gets over 56 inches every year. Part of the reason that Washington’s rain statistic is not higher is that the precipitation only happens west of the Cascade mountain range. East of this mountainous dividing line is high desert, which is extremely dry and arid. The majority of the plus 27 inches of rainfall that happens is on the Westside of the range in places like Seattle and Tacoma.

Rain slicked roads can be very hazardous to drive on because they cause a condition called hydroplaning. When this happens the tires no longer are connecting with the surface of the road, but are actually riding on the water surface itself. The faster the car is going the more it lifts off the ground. This makes it impossible to stop because there is no way for the tires to grab on to anything, they will simply spin in the air and the car will continue to go forward at the momentum it is traveling at. Many times the application of the brakes will cause the car to start spinning as well, which aggravates the situation even more. If you are in traffic when this happens you can just imagine the disaster that will ensue. So make sure you have adequate insurance on your vehicle at all times. Compare Insurance Rates and Save Today!