Someone told me that in the state of Wisconsin the car insurance carriers were only permitted to look back 3 years on your driving record. Is this true? I live in Wisconsin.

Neve

Kenosha, WI

I am not aware that insurance companies can only look at your driving record for three years in Wisconsin. Auto insurance carriers generally can go back 3, 5 or 7 years to look at a person’s driving record.

Most minor moving violations stay on your record for three years while major traffic violations can remain on your record for seven years or more. Many insurance providers will look 3 years back on a driver’s record for minor infractions but will look back for major offenses, i.e. DUI, for a longer period of time, such as 7 years.

On applications for car insurance many carriers will request information on previous accidents and moving violations and indicate how long proceeding the application date they will want you to list. If they request more than 3 years back, then you will need to list the moving violation and/or accident that happened during the time frame they requested information on.

I just have some questions regarding physical damage coverage. I’m from Wisconsin, and I am not exactly sure what collision coverage actually provides. Help?

Brin

Kenosha, WI

Brin, what collision coverage normally provides is the payment for whatever the damages are going to be in the event that your vehicle gets involved in a collision regardless of your vehicle hitting another object or another car or of it getting damaged in instances that it overturns. In an accident, the collision coverage is the one that shall be paying for the repair of the vehicle with the amount going as far as to equal the amount of its value before the accident took place. If you think about it, this is actually cool because the automobile insurance company shall pay for the expenses of the damage even if the party at fault in the accident is you.

Now, the maker and the model year of your car are very important because these things are going to be the basis of your collision premiums. Needless to say, before you purchase this type of coverage, it is highly recommendable that you evaluate the current market value of your vehicle and your financial capacity to afford the same car in the event that your car is destroyed because if your car has diminished its value or if it is within your capacity to replace your car with a similar one, then collision coverage is going to be useful to you.

But to be sure, you can check your state’s insurance web site because I am not sure if the same clauses apply there in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Is there a state where you will not be required to have auto insurance? What about Wisconsin? Who would be the cheapest?

Tom

Eau Claire, WI

There are some states in which car insurance is not required but you are mandated by those states laws to have a type of financial responsibility in effect to cover damages you may cause in an accident if you choose to not have car insurance on your motor vehicle.

Every state requires auto insurance or that you meet financial responsibility requirements through a bond or some other way which shows you are able to pay if you cause damages to other party or property in a auto accident. Each state renews and/or changes their laws annually, so those states that had no insurance requirements in the past now do. The state of New Hampshire probably has the least amount of requirements.

Most people believe that Wisconsin does not require car insurance, which is true but you must have other means to pay for the damages you cause if you are at fault in an accident.

The cheapest depends on your driving record, your vehicle and the area of town which you live plus the deductible amount.