At sixteen when he first got his driver’s licence, the car in front of him was going to run the yellow light, so he was too. But at the last second the driver in front decided he couldn’t make it, and Eddie ended up pushing this guy’s car clear across the intersection. Both cars were a complete write off.
A few months later - still at sweet sixteen, he was driving while trying to read a bill board when some brake lights suddenly caught his attention. Too late . . . he slammed into the car ahead of him.
At twenty, Eddie bought a car and the second day he had it he got into another accident. A 5 car pileup, which he was sandwiched somewhere in the middle.
He had insured this car with his dad “Herman” as the primary driver, because he was eventually going to buy the car from him. After the third accident the insurance company sent Eddie a letter saying that he had to be the primary driver, the accident will be taken care of, but . . .”Hello” we’re cancelling your policy.
His insurance rate had become too high anyway, $8,400, so he parked the car and didn't drive it, but others did.
His dad, Lurch, got pulled over in his car for speeding and Eddie got a ticket for not having insurance. Later on, his mom, Lily Munster, used his car and got into an accident. Eddie got another ticket for not having insurance.
Eddie is now 22 and is getting married, and asked me “I understand being married can reduce your car insurance cost, right?”
Okay so here’s the deal. It may shock you to know that every driver with a valid driver's licence is guaranteed the right to get insurance.
There are things that you can do to reduce your rate. Marring someone for a discount is not on my recommendation list. Driving lessons would be a good one.
While the ‘marital status’ can shave a little off your rate, driver’s training can reduce your rate substantially, by around 15% for six consecutive years.
In Eddie’s case at 22 years old, the 2 accidents he got when he was 16 years old should be close to falling off his record. Accidents over 6 years old should not affect your insurance rate with most insurance companies. His other accident should be around 3 years old, which will affect his insurance rate.
His cancellation should not affect his rate as all insurance companies have their own cancellation rules for multiple tickets and accidents. Whereas one company may cancel you another insurance company would not.
The accident his mom had will not affected his rate. The two tickets he got for not having insurance would be considered major and would affect his rate for 3 years.
When being quoted Eddie will be rated on a 3 year old accident and 2 tickets, which may be close to falling off his record. What I’d suggest the little Munster do; is buy an older car and insure it only for Liability coverage.
Interestingly I’ve found huge savings depending on the postal code you live in. If you’re just getting married and before you decide where to live, go to one of those online insurance comparison sites and enter in the postal code of areas you’d like to live. You can literally save thousands of dollars depending on your postal code.
My final suggestion is to try selling your story to a reality TV show and use the royalties to pay for collision and comprehensive insurance coverage.
Lee Romanov