Your car insurance cost will vary depending on several factors that typically include:
Your auto insurance cost will depend on many different factors including the coverage you choose, your age, where you live, and your driving history.
Some people get the bare minimum coverage, while others prefer the comfort and security of more protection. Let us help you find the coverage you want at a price you can afford.
Get a free quote to see how much you could save.
Washington state only requires Liability insurance. Car liability insurance pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others. A good rule of thumb is to buy enough liability insurance to cover what can be taken from you in a lawsuit.
Uninsured Motorist coverage (UM) is mandatory in some states but optional in Washington. Uninsured motorist insurance pays for you and your passengers’ medical bills and other expenses if someone crashes into you and they don’t have enough (or any) liability insurance.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is also equired in some states but not in Washington. This coverage will cover injury claims for you and your passengers up to the limits you chose.
Collision and Comprehensive insurance is usually required by the bank if you have a car loan or lease. They are two separate coverage types often sold together. Collision and comprehensive insurance pay for your vehicle repair bills due to problems such as car accidents, car theft, fires, floods, severe weather, falling objects, vandalism and collisions with animals.
In Washington, it’s against the law to drive without insurance . Washington drivers are required to have at least the following minimum car insurance coverage:
Depending on your budget and your needs, you might want to consider carrying higher limits of liability and other coverages such as Uninsured Motorist and Personal Injury Protection medical. We’ll help you customize your Washington car insurance to get the coverage you want at a price you can afford.
Yes, state law sets the minimum amount of auto insurance coverages but you may want more. We can help you find the coverages you want at a price you can afford. We try to make it easy for you to customize your car insurance.
Required auto insurance coverages.
These pay for damages or injuries to other people and/or their property caused by an accident you're found at fault for.
Washington state only requires:
The amount of protection for these coverages can be increased above state minimums. You may want to consider the kind of cars you typically see around town. If you're in an area where people drive expensive cars, do you have enough coverage to fix or replace one (or more) of them if you cause an accident?
Additional car insurance coverages.
Although not required by the state, these coverages provide you with an extra layer of protection. These coverages normally take care of damages and/or injuries to you:
Would you be able to pay to repair or replace your vehicle if it's damaged from an accident? If someone in your car was hurt in an accident, do you want your car insurance to help pay the medical bills?
Extra car insurance coverages
These cover expenses that may not break the bank if you had to pay them out of pocket but are nice to have.
If your car is in the shop for 3 weeks after a covered accident, would you need a rental car? At $40 or $50 a day that expense can add up fast.
To accurately compare auto quotes across insurers, you'll want to select the same set of coverages, limits and deductibles for each quote.
Choose your coverage
Consider your state's requirements and any specific coverage types you might want, like collision or comprehensive.
Consider your limits
Think about your personal needs as well as state laws when choosing your coverage limits.
Select your deductible
Coverage can come with a deductible, or the amount you'll pay toward a claim.
You would not buy a car just by calling a handful of car dealerships and ask for the price of the cheapest car on each lot, and then picking the lowest. Why would you do that when you are buying car insurance?. Decide on the coverages you want then request quotes for that exact coverage. Make notes as to what agent is most helpful, not just being an order taker but giving valuable advice for you to consider when choosing coverages. If your requirements change as you talk with the various agents, go back and update the prior quotes.
To best compare car insurance quotes from various companies, make sure each quote contains the same:
If you get caught driving without proof of insurance, regardless of the reason you are pulled over, will cost you up to $550 in fines and penalties.
You receive a proof of insurance card from your insurance company either on paper or electronically when you start your car insurance and at every renewal. If you are stopped by the police, you are required to show this proof of insurance card to the officer.
Worse still, if you are involved in an at-fault accident and do not have insurance, you could have your license suspended for up to 3 years, be required to file an SR22 to get your license reinstated, pay for the damages and injuries you caused, and pay the traffic fines.
Appealing your no insurance fine. If you did have insurance in force at the time you got the ticket, you may be able to get the fine reduced to court costs. If you purchased insurance after you got the ticket, most judges are lenient and will reduce the fine substantially.
Washington is not a no-fault insurance state. Washington state is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning that all parties involved in a car accident may share some responsibility when determining compensation for damages. Comparative negligence may allow both the claimant and the plaintiff to recover compensation for damages even if they are partially at fault for the accident.
Washington state requires all drivers all drivers to carry a minimum amount liability insurance to legally drive in the state. You are required by the Financial Liability Law to be able to show proof of financial responsibility if you are driving a vehicle. The easiest way to satisfy these requirements is to purchase auto insurance.
The minimum car insurance required in Washington state is as follows:
Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured Motorist coverages must be offered by the insurance company but the law allows you to reject them by signing a rejection form. Not only must you have insurance, the law requires that any time you are driving in the state, you must be able to show your proof of auto insurance to law enforcement. Failure to show proof of coverage when requested by a police officer is considered an infraction and can result in fines of up to $450.