Reader’s Question:

I am planning to buy an SUV this year but my wife disagrees with me since apparently, auto insurance premium rates for SUV’s cost a fortune. How correct is my wife with this information on auto insurance she got here from Anchorage, Alaska?

Basty

Anchorage, AK

Insurance carriers consider the possibility that a particular brand of car will be vandalized, stolen, or involved in a crash insurers use different rating systems and to determine their car symbol.

Plus, insurance carriers look at industry wide statistics and also their own experience with car insurance claim payouts to determine the car insurance rates. Each of these rating factors go into deriving a statistical auto insurance rate.

Typically SUV are not in the top 10 list of most stolen cars so that factor is not as big. The simplest auto insurance factor to look at is size and the cost. A car that costs more to repair after a crash or can cause more damage when they have impact will be a higher risk than less expensive and smaller cars.

Generally the cost to insure an SUV is 15% more than the average vehicle because of the greater cost for repairs in a property damage liability insurance claim or medical damages. Other factor that most people do not know is that SUVs do not have to meet the federal government’s standards set for bumpers on vehicles relative to commuter traffic or parking lots so, even though they are bigger they really are not safer.

So basically yes a larger SUV will cost more to insure than smaller cars. Those with safety features though will be cheaper to insure.

Tags: auto insurance, car insurance

Reader’s Question:

My daughter just got into an accident in Anchorage, Alaska with two other vehicles and totaled her car and it was her fault. As it turns out her insurance had cancelled on her before the accident. Will she have to pay out of pocket for the damages to the other cars or will the insurance on the other two vehicles cover it?

Jane

Anchorage, AK

There are 2 types of uninsured motorist coverages, one is for bodily injury and the other one is for property damage coverage. The other vehicle owner would need to have the property damage coverage to claim the damages on their cars with uninsured motorist. If the motorists do not have this coverage they might have collision coverage which they could make their vehicle damage claims under.

Even if the other car owners have insurance to cover their damages they might decide to come after your uninsured daughter to reimburse them for their deductible or damages. If the motorists do not have coverages that will take care of their own property damage then most states including Alaska would allow them to take your daughter, the at-fault party, to court to try and get a judgment against her that would pay them for their damages.

Tags: car, car insurance

Reader’s Question:

My husband had a record of DWI in Alaska and he got an SR-22 with Geico. He was told by his employer that he still cannot drive a company vehicle because their insurance (State Farm) will not allow it. Why?

Mary

Anchorage, AK

As you may be aware of, DWI in Alaska is serious offense. DWI offenders face both administrative license action and criminal prosecution once arrested for drunk driving. The AK Division of Motor Vehicles will disqualify your husband’s privilege to drive a commercial vehicle for a minimum period of years as required by law. The disqualification period can be one year or for life, depending on the degree of the DWI offense.

As for your husband’s restriction to be enrolled to his employer’s insurance policy, I would suggest speaking with the State Farm’s representative regarding his employer’s insurance policy covering the company vehicles. He can then further ask the insurance company why he is not on the policy and if there is a way he could be added.

Due to your husband’s DWI, State Farm’s underwriters may find your husband too much of a risk to be added to the commercial or business policy. Or, it may be that the cost of having your husband included to the policy would be much too high so his employer has opted to not have him on the policy.

If your husband is unable to get the answers he needs neither from his employer nor State Farm, he can contact the Alaska Division of Insurance to know for sure what is allowable according to your state laws.