If you live in Northern Virginia you already know that calling that particular patch of ground home is going to suck most of your paycheck each month. Rent alone is going to put a huge dent in your spending cash! Rent isn't the only thing you've got to worry about when you live closer to D.C. though. The closer you get to the capital, the more expensive your Virginia auto insurance is going to be.
When you're talking about auto insurance rates there is one truth that is 100% accurate, 100% of the time. Only one? Maybe! The absolute truth of the matter is, the only thing auto insurance companies are worried about when they start handing out premiums is relative risk. In other words, how likely are you to be in a tragic accident and cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance claims!
If you're new to the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia area you might not know this yet, but the traffic up there is terrible. Incredibly, ludicrously terrible. Terrible enough to make even the most stout-hearted of travelers sit up and take notice! (If you're seriously doubting that, just ask country western singer Blake Shelton about his recent trip from Baltimore to Northern Virginia. He'll tell you all about it!)
When you're all but guaranteed to spending hours a day stuck in bumper to bumper traffic with drivers who are just as sick of the D.C. rush as you are, accidents are going to happen. No one has an exact number of the accidents that take place on I-95, 66, 50 and Rt. 1 each year, but it's ugly. So you can't blame your auto insurance company for being a little cautious about insuring their drivers up there! Yes, your insurance company is there to help you out, but like any company their primary goal is to make a profit-and the only way they're going to do that is to bring in more in premiums each year than they pay out in claims.
That doesn't mean you're doomed to paying a small fortune for your auto insurance for the rest of your life. Anything but! If you're going to enjoy affordable insurance you have to understand what makes the insurance industry tick and how you, as a Northern VA driver/D.C. commuter can make that work for you.
To keep your auto insurance rates as low as possible:
1) Keep your driving record clean.
2) Talk to your auto insurance agent(s) about any potential discounts you may qualify for.
3) Shop around. (Not all auto insurance companies are created equal.)
4) Check the Highway Loss Data Institute website before you go shopping for a new car.
There's no getting around the fact that traffic in the D.C./Metro area is horrible, but with a little preparation you can keep your auto insurance rates from driving to relocation. Or insanity. Whichever comes first.
