Washington’s New Car Insurance Laws You May Not Know

New to Washington in the past few years are some car insurance regulations that may affect the price of your policy. There were two pieces of legislation that passed, that many Washingtonians aren’t aware of. These pieces of legislature pertain to car-sharing and usage-based car insurance services. Car-sharing is not allowed in most states or covered under regular insurance policies.

Let’s go over these new pieces of legislature, to fully understand how you may be affected by the new Washington Car Insurance legislation. 

Car-Sharing Availability in Washington:

Car-sharing is an opportunity for those who don’t use their car much to make some money off their vehicle, while it would normally be sitting idle. Insurance companies don’t particularly like this idea.

PRWeb states, “The bill now legalizes what some have already been doing: making extra income by keeping the cheaper car insurance policies they can find for personal use while lending out their vehicle to a sharing service. It does so by transferring liability from the owner’s insurer to the sharing service’s insurer while the car is loaned out.”

Now, insurance companies are protected in the circumstances involving a car being loaned to another driver. The usual penalties of cancellation and non-renewals are no longer an option because the liability is shifted away from the owner’s insurer. This reduces the liability and keeps both parties safe while still allowing a car to be covered and loaned out.

Usage Based Car Insurance in Washington:

Have you heard of Progressive’s Snapshot Insurance? This is basically a usage-based insurance policy. This plan is based on your actual driving record and how you drive. You plug in a device to your car, which keeps track of how safely you drive. Your coverage is then determined by the information this device gathers.

This year, both of these bills were signed into law by the Governor,

These recent changes in Washington car insurance laws are helpful to drivers. They should lend a helping hand to Washington policyholders who want to rent out their cars, as well as those who would benefit from usage-based programs.