How to Find Out If a Car Has Insurance
When you're in an accident and your vehicle is damaged or stolen, you need to know how to find out if a car has insurance coverage. BMW 435i Cheap Car Insurance Cost assume that just because you have the right to drive a car, the insurance is already included in the car. However, that is not the case. Coverage for accidents and thefts is only available to those who have purchased car insurance.
The first thing you can do to determine whether you have coverage or not is to call the Insurance Information Institute. They have a website where you can enter your vehicle's identification number. This number will determine how much coverage you are insured for. While this information is readily available to most insurance agents, it is not listed in any brochures or forms you receive at your door step.
If your car has no insurance card, you will have to use the plate part of your license number. Use the letters A through L to search for the next letter, which is your insurance card number. This method may prove to be tedious. It is also time-consuming, as you may have to go from agency to conduct this search. You could also spend days at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to get all the information you need.
Contact your auto insurance company. Once you have determined that your vehicle is insured, you can make a claim. However, before you submit your claim, it is advisable to check with your state to see if your vehicle is covered under a privacy protection act. Your state may require that you obtain permission from the auto insurance company before submitting a claim. If your state requires permission, it is wise to have a copy of this beforehand to give to your insurance company.
Check your DMV records. Your state DMV can provide you with a license plate number. This number is listed on your policy, so if you are able to trace the vehicle's registration, you can also find out whether your claim is valid. This method is often effective, but can take a long time, especially if you need to search multiple insurance policies.
Search online. If you cannot locate the license plate, search online using a trusted vehicle lookup service. Most reputable vehicle lookup services can find both the vehicle name and address of the driver of an insured vehicle. They can also provide other detailed information, such as whether or not the vehicle is currently insured, if so, the premium you will pay, the name of the insured, and whether the vehicle has been previously stolen.
Use a trusted online database. The Internet is a powerful investigative tool that allows you to trace vehicle ownership, including ownership history and ownership records for vehicles. If a person has borrowed a vehicle from a friend, it may be listed on a background check, but it is almost always recorded in the DMV. You can also perform an automatic vehicle identification (AEI) scan of a license plate number to check whether the vehicle you want is in fact covered by auto insurance coverage.
Call the state department. If you have tried all of these methods and still have not been successful, contact your state department of motor vehicles (DMV). Contacting the DMV directly is the best way to obtain the results you want. They will be able to provide you with the name, address, and phone number of the current owner of the vehicle. If the name and address do not match the one listed on your auto insurance policy, or if the person did not register the vehicle, you will need to file a report with your local law enforcement agency.
