The Nitty-gritty of Pennsylvania Auto Insurance - the Facts Some Car Owners Miss Out

If you have made some research on Pennsylvania auto insurance or PA auto insurance rates, by far you know that besides purchasing the mainstream insurance coverage or policies from PA auto insurance companies, you can also go for self-insurance. For getting yourself self-insured, you'll be required to submit some essential papers to PennDOT. Firstly, you got to complete the self-insurance application form.

Then you need to go through the formalities of master self-insurance agreement and the security agreement. You also need to submit your present balance sheet along with your income statement. Besides these essential papers, you're required to submit a security deposit of 50,000 US dollars per vehicle, and another 10,000 bucks for every additional car. These deposits could be funded easily by cash, bonds or treasury bills. You can also submit other types of collateral as well.

Whether you like it or not, you also need to deal with the papers of your auto insurance as a proof along with some other papers that prove your financial responsibility. PennDOT is not set to receive any word directly from your auto insurance carrier. This means that, you'll need to prove you have met the minimal insurance requirements of the state. For doing so, you need to provide copies of the following papers (sometimes, any one would do) -

* Auto insurance ID card
* Declaration page of the auto insurance policy
* Insurance binder (but you're required to resubmit proof once the binder's validity expires)
* Application for Pennsylvanian Assigned Risk Plan (should be signed or approved by your auto insurance agent.
* Letter from the insurer which demonstrates your current auto insurance coverage (must be signed or approved by your auto insurance agent or any representative of the auto insurance company).

Did you know that certain penalties apply for situations when someone fails to maintain a minimal financial responsibility? In other words, you got to know the consequences of having proof of auto insurance. Things depend a lot on your actions taken, though. If someone turns in her plates to PennDOT immediately, no penalties apply, but the driver won't be allowed to drive. And the same thing applies when the auto insurance lapse had been anything less than 31 days or the car owner provides proof she didn't operate the vehicle in that time frame.

Otherwise, the car driver might face a $300 or even higher fine for car driving with no insurance. This could be coupled with a 3-month registration suspension or cancellation of driver's license. If that happens, you'll end up with a $50 registration restoration fee and another $50 free for the reinstatement of driver's license.

You'll be sent a formal letter from PennDOT when it suspends all your driving privileges. All you need to do is follow some guidelines mentioned in the official letter to undergo the reinstatement of your driving license or registration. But you also need to bear in mind that nobody is allowed to drive cars on Pennsylvanian streets during the suspension period of the registration. That's the way PA auto insurance is for majority of the people.