$500 uninsured motorist fee no longer an option; Virginia drivers now required to have car insurance
RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Thousands of uninsured drivers in Virginia will now have to add another bill to their budget.
The law allowing drivers to pay the commonwealth $500 instead of getting insurance has been repealed, effective July 1.
If insurance is not obtained, license suspension is listed as a consequence.
Experts say in the past if you were hit by someone who was paying the uninsured fee, your insurance company would have to foot the bill for them.
“Now going forward, everybody would be on a level playing field because everyone will be mandated to carry auto insurance,” said Derek Wiley, an insurance agent Botetourt with Derek Wiley Agency, Inc.
He says the cost could be hefty if you’re getting car insurance for the first time ever. This is because companies look for insurance history when offering good rates.
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“It’s going to be more expensive, possibly than the $500 fine that people were paying previously in order to go uninsured,” said Wiley.
He says shopping for higher deductibles and lower limits is the smartest move.
“Get multiple rates, don’t go with the first option, get some quotes and see if you can find the lowest option for you,” explained Wiley.
Experts say auto insurance premiums have been one of the main drivers of inflation over the past year, meaning rates are higher than normal right now.
“When you couple distracted driving with supply chain issues, parts, repairs have gone up, cost of labor, that’s all driven things up,” explained Wiley.
The hope is that the new law will actually bring those rates down.
“Hopefully with more people being on the road and having actual insurance, the net effect of that will be we all share in the cost and the price will come down some because the insurance companies won’t have as many uninsured motorist claims that they’re having to pay out on,” said Wiley.
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Here’s how we evaluated each car insurance company in 2024 and the weights we placed on each category:
Financial strength (30%).
Consumer complaints (30%).
The best auto insurers excel at all of these categories. They provide the information people need to make a purchase without any surprises along the way. They offer insurance at a fair price and provide more than one way to buy and manage a policy. They're financially strong and able to keep their customers happy throughout the relationship.
$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
In states where required, minimum additional coverages were added. We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:
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For drivers with minimum coverage, we adjusted the numbers above to reflect only the minimum coverage required by law in the state.
For drivers with one at-fault crash, we added a single at-fault crash costing $10,000 in property damage.
For drivers with a DUI, we added a single drunken-driving violation.
For drivers with a ticket, we added a single speeding violation for driving 16 mph over the speed limit.
We used a 2021 Toyota Camry LE in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven. We analyzed rates for 35-year-old drivers.
These are rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
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