The state of Montana has followed many other states in making auto insurance mandatory. The number of vehicles on the road is increasing everyday and so does the number of accidents. In the case of an accident, the at-fault driver must be able to pay for the damages caused to the not at fault driver. This is in accordance with the tort system of rules the state of Montana follows. The tort system also says that the not at fault driver can sue the at-fault driver for damages. Auto insurance is mad mandatory to ensure that each driver has enough finances to pay for the damages. This is known as financial responsibility.
The minimum liability or the minimum amount that one has to be insured for on the roads of Montana is of the form 25/50/10. This stands for twenty five thousand dollars for bodily injury per person, fifty thousand dollars for bodily injury per accident in total and ten thousand dollars for property damage.
Bodily injury is used to cover the medical costs incurred by the victim. Property damage will cover costs of repair and replacement of the victim’s car along with any damage to buildings, fences and lamp posts. While these are just the minimum sums to be insured for, accidents cost a lot and it is better to be insured for much larger sums. The insurance industry says that the ideal sum would a hundred thousand dollars for bodily injury per person and three hundred thousand dollars for bodily injury per accident.
This article focuses on a few factors that determine your auto insurance rates.
The factors that determine auto insurance can be classified into two divisions. The first being factors you can alter and the second being factors you cannot alter.
The foremost among the factors you cannot alter would be your age. It plays a huge role in deciding your insurance rate. A driver below twenty five years of age is considered to be a rash driver. The chances of his being in an accident are high and so are his insurance rates.
A driver above fifty and below sixty five years of age gets into the least number of accidents say statistics. Therefore, they are charged very low rates. A married person drives carefully when compared to non married person. Therefore, the rates for a married person is much lower that that for an unmarried person. Women are considered to be safe drivers and hence are charged lower rates as well.
The next division is factors you can change. This includes your location. The place you stay plays a huge role. If you stay in the centre of a bustling city with lots of traffic, there is a high chance of your being involved in accidents. Therefore, you will be charged high rates. The person who stays in the suburbs with lesser people and lesser cars will have lesser chances of being involved in an accident. He will therefore have to pay very low rates. Your credit score can affect your insurance rates. A good credit score can get you low rates whereas a bad score ensures very high rates.
