Driver's Insurance

[NCWife 0]

Hi....

A little bit of background about me... I have been living in NC since June 2008 and got my driver's permit back in November 2009 and have been driving around since then, with my mother in law, who is a licensed driver. I have a drivers license from my country for more than 10 years.

Anyways, in NC, you need to show proof of insurance to DMV before they allow you to take the driving test. I have checked with State Farm, the insurer for our cars and trailer, and they told me my premium is like 200% for 6 months since I have not been driven for a long time! We certainly can't afford that much of money.

Does anyone here in NC experienced the sam problem and how did you solve it? Or just gave in and pay the crazy insurance?

Any help is appreciated!

Cheers..

[Anh map 2,098]

North Carolina does require each driver to carry liability insurance even if they don't own a car. Premiums for new drivers can be quite high in any part of the US.

I know that some insurers will accept a certified good driving record from an immigrant's home country. We discovered this when my wife was first licensed here (Mass).

I will ask a friend who is an insurance agent in NC if they know anything about this and post back their answer.

[NCWife 0]

Aaahhh, really appreciate your help in asking your friend!! Thank you so much! Cheers.

P/S: Please excuse all my typo, was too "anxious" LOL

North Carolina does require each driver to carry liability insurance even if they don't own a car. Premiums for new drivers can be quite high in any part of the US.

I know that some insurers will accept a certified good driving record from an immigrant's home country. We discovered this when my wife was first licensed here (Mass).

I will ask a friend who is an insurance agent in NC if they know anything about this and post back their answer.

[milimelo 4,498]

Tru USAA insurance - you don't have to be a service member to get it, even though my husband is military. We got it after we figured just how much Geico was ripping us off just because they considered me a "new" driver even though I've been driving for over 5 years when I moved here 3 years ago.

The USAA accepted what I told them.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_logon/Logon

[Kirsten UK 2]

What a coincidence, my husband added me to his insurance policy on Friday so that I can take my driving test on Tuesday. I had never driven anywhere before I moved here and basically by adding me to his beaten up old truck (rather than our nice new vehicle) the insurance simply doubled....so he was paying something like $400 every quarter or six months (can't remember how often) and now its just a tiny bit over $800 per period. Hope this helps. His sister is in the insurance business so took care of it for us. That was the cheapest we could do it. Oh, and we put me down as for leisure use only as I don't have a job yet (that would cost more if you say you'll be driving to work).

[NCWife 0]

Wow.. that's big money for the insurance but at least they didn't try to charge you 200%. Your info definitely helps. However, I think my husband does not have the driver liability insurance. His truck is insured with the collision and damage insurance. He moved from Michigan years ago and over there, liability insurance is not a requirement to get a drivers license unlike NC. He doesn't even know how he got away with it when he switched his MI license to NC license. The DMV officer didn't ask him for his proof of insurance. Kinda weird.

So, the first step is that he has to get insurance too and see how much it would cost us both. We will try to get the quotes online like recommended by some here, just to see what the difference is. Usually they will ask for Social Security Number when getting an online quote, is it safe? I know they want to check my credits (as if I have any) but I hate to enter information like this into a commercial site with all those spyware here and there. I guess I have no choice...

Thanks y'all and please keep the information flowing in! Cheers..

What a coincidence, my husband added me to his insurance policy on Friday so that I can take my driving test on Tuesday. I had never driven anywhere before I moved here and basically by adding me to his beaten up old truck (rather than our nice new vehicle) the insurance simply doubled....so he was paying something like $400 every quarter or six months (can't remember how often) and now its just a tiny bit over $800 per period. Hope this helps. His sister is in the insurance business so took care of it for us. That was the cheapest we could do it. Oh, and we put me down as for leisure use only as I don't have a job yet (that would cost more if you say you'll be driving to work).

[Lisa and Ian 7]

What a coincidence, my husband added me to his insurance policy on Friday so that I can take my driving test on Tuesday. I had never driven anywhere before I moved here and basically by adding me to his beaten up old truck (rather than our nice new vehicle) the insurance simply doubled....so he was paying something like $400 every quarter or six months (can't remember how often) and now its just a tiny bit over $800 per period. Hope this helps. His sister is in the insurance business so took care of it for us. That was the cheapest we could do it. Oh, and we put me down as for leisure use only as I don't have a job yet (that would cost more if you say you'll be driving to work).

Holy Toledo! They just added you as a driver on the same vehicle and it was that much more?

Mine said if I added Ian to my auto policy, it would reduce the premium $40 every 6 months (Allstate). It shouldn't double unless you have a second vehicle.

Edited January 15, 2010 by Snowbunnies

[Kirsten UK 2]

We do have two vehicles - one 1995 chevy truck and a new Honda. I was added as a driver to the old truck, that was the cheapest option. It basically doubled the insurance, so effectively I pay as much as my husband did before he added me, which if you look at it like that doesn't seem too bad. Its still alot of money but I read on here a long time ago that NC class all immigrant drivers the same regardless of how long they have been driving abroad, and I had never driven anything before October! Compared to what I would have paid in the UK, $800 a year for me isn't bad at all!

[NCWife 0]

I agree. Paying the same as your husband is quite a good deal. My husband has finally settled on his insurance and got his NC insurance for both his truck and trailer. They are still looking to have me pay 200% if I want to be added to his policy. We are looking for another option or company or if we need to, we will switch to another company. Right now, we have State Farm. Now we have another out of state vehicle to be insured here in NC and I will probably be added to that one since it's an older car.

Oh btw, what insurance company did you use?

Cheers..

We do have two vehicles - one 1995 chevy truck and a new Honda. I was added as a driver to the old truck, that was the cheapest option. It basically doubled the insurance, so effectively I pay as much as my husband did before he added me, which if you look at it like that doesn't seem too bad. Its still alot of money but I read on here a long time ago that NC class all immigrant drivers the same regardless of how long they have been driving abroad, and I had never driven anything before October! Compared to what I would have paid in the UK, $800 a year for me isn't bad at all!

[Kirsten UK 2]

We use Nationwide as my sister-in-law works there. I don't know if I could have got it cheaper elsewhere as my brother insists on helping his sister out by using her. I'd still go ahead and use an internet search engine for insurance quotes.

[Anh map 2,098]

I finally heard back about the credit for good record from abroad. It's a company by company decisions. Nationwide does not do it. He couldn't tell me about others.

My insurance carrier, Commerce, does. I don't know if they write policies in NC.

Go Tar Heels

[Jo1973 0]

Depending where in NC you are, try Farm Bureau in Durham (and other areas, I can give you a contact # if you need). When I first came over I emailed my UK Ins. co. for my driving/insurance record and luckily FB was able to use that as proof of driving record etc. Admittedly I am still on the hubby's insurance but we have 3 vehicles and it costs him around 160 every 2 or 3 months.

Hope this helps some. :-)

Edited January 23, 2010 by Jo1973