Car Insurance for Drivers 2016 online

What Is Broad Form Insurance? aka Insuring Your License

Broad Form Named Operator insurance is commonly called ‘insuring your license’. Washington is one of the few states that allows insurance companies to offer Broad Form Named Operator insurance policies. In many states, including Washington, insurance companies also offer a Non-Owned Named Operator policy that only covers non-owned vehicles that are not available for regular use. If you read that restriction again, you will see why the policy we are discussing is considered “Broad Form”.

Unlike a common auto insurance policy, which lists your specific car(s), a Broad Form insurance policy provides coverage for the listed driver(s) on the policy (usually just 1) no matter what kind of personal passenger vehicle they are driving. The policy premium is not affected by the number of cars owned, whether it is one car, four cars, 20 cars, or none since only one can be driven at a time. Although most companies only allow a single driver on Broad Form policies, Dairyland Insurance does offer a family policy that allows up to two household members on a single policy, helping to keep premiums down a bit.

Since there is no way for the insurance company to know if a 1996 Taurus or a brand new Lexus is being driven, a Broad Form insurance policy has no way to provide physical damage coverage such as comprehensive and collision. Therefore the policy will never pay for repairs to the car being driven.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM) coverages can also be included on a Broad Form policy in order cover injuries to the driver and passengers caused in an accident..

An SR-22 filing can also be added to a Broad Form Named Operator policy for those needing to reinstate their driving privileges.

Important Limitations of Broad Form Insurance

• Only provides coverage when the driver(s) listed on the policy is driving.
• No insurance provided while anyone else is driving, so if anyone else is driving, the policy will not pay and you may be sued to cover the damages.
• No coverage while driving a motorcycle, motor home, or while driving for business purposes.
• No physical damage for the car you are driving.
• Broad Form insurance is always secondary, meaning that if any other policy covers the car you are driving, this policy only pays if there is anything owing after that primary policy pays. For example, if you are driving a someone’s car and get into an accident, the insurance claim must first be made through their policy.

When Does Broad Form Insurance Makes Sense?

• If you do not own a car but want to make sure you have insurance if you borrow someone’s car.
• You own multiple cars and no one else ever drives them.
• You want the minimum coverage possible.
• You need SR-22 insurance but don’t want your current preferred auto insurance company to know you lost your license.

Where Can You Buy Broad Form Insurance?

• Most insurance companies don’t offer broad form insurance and many agents are completely unfamiliar with it.
• The insurance professionals at Mid-Columbia Insurance are the Broad Form car insurance experts in South-Eastern Washington. If you are looking for a great price on Broad Form insurance, call or come into Mid-Columbia Insurance today, or get an online quote right now!