Moving to a new state for a temporary assignment or project can seem complicated. You may not be planning to stay in Burlington, NC for long, so it can be difficult to determine if you need to change your auto insurance policy and register your vehicle in the new state. Ultimately, it depends on the situation.

Short-Term Plans

Temporary relocations that will only last for a week or two may not need a new policy. Generally, your insurance provider will automatically adjust your plan based on the state where you are driving if you are out of the area during an accident.

While you may not need to change your policy for a short-term relocation that will only last a few weeks to a month, you may need to inform your insurance provider and ask about the options before you leave the area. Some insurers may offer a plan that is specifically designed to address your situation.

Long-Term Relocation

Any time that you are moving to a new state for several months to a year, it is important to contact your insurance provider and change your policy. You will also need to follow state guidelines and standards for licensing and registration if your temporary move will exceed a few months.

State laws and concerns may vary, so the details regarding your options and requirements can vary. Generally, it is best to contact the department of motor vehicles to find out state laws for any relocation that will exceed a one to two month period and may require registering your vehicle.

It can be challenging to determine your options when you are moving temporarily. Contact us to speak to an agent for more details about your options.

It happens every time you rent a car in Burlington, NC: The cashier behind the counter asks if you’d like to take out rental insurance coverage.

What answer should drivers give? Not surprisingly, it depends on the individual motorist.

The simple answer: If you already have a good auto insurance policy, solid health insurance and a strong homeowners insurance policy, you probably don’t need to purchase collision auto insurance when you rent a car.

But if you don’t have much insurance coverage at all, taking out a rental insurance policy might make sense for the financial protection it will provide should you get into an accident while traveling.

Your first step before you rent a car should be to call your existing provider of auto insurance. Your insurer should be able to tell you whether your policy provides coverage for rental cars. Also, if you are purchasing your rental car with a credit card, your credit-card provider might automatically provide its own coverage, coverage that makes collision auto insurance redundant when you rent.

If you don’t have auto insurance or if your credit-card provider doesn’t provide protection, purchasing a collision damage waiver might make sense. This form of insurance typically eliminates your financial responsibility if your rental car is damaged or stolen. The cost of this insurance varies, but it could add $9 to $19 a day to your rental car costs.

Before you take your trip, though, be sure to compare insurance quotes online. Fortunately, the Internet is dotted with Web sites that allow consumers to enter their personal information to pull up insurance quotes from competing companies.

By doing this, you’ll increase your odds of signing up with an insurance company that provides the most protection. If you shop online for insurance, you’ll boost your odds of landing a policy that makes rental-car insurance an unnecessary expense.

You recently suffered a traffic accident, causing severe damage to your vehicle. Your question is the obvious one: Will my auto insurance policy pay to repair this damage?

The answer depends on the type of auto insurance you have.

States typically require that all motorists purchase liability auto insurance. This type of insurance covers the costs of repairing the dings that you cause to the vehicles driven by others or the property owned by others. If all you pay for is liability insurance, your insurance company will not pay for the repairs needed to your own vehicle following an accident.

However, if you also pay for collision coverage, then your insurer should pay for the repairs needed to your car. Collision coverage, after all, is designed to pay to fix your car if it is damaged in an accident that you caused.

You might also pay for comprehensive auto insurance coverage. This pays for repairs needed to your vehicle because of fire, road debris, hail, vandalism or other issues. It will also cover the cost of replacing your vehicle should a thief steal it.

Most states don’t require motorists to pay for comprehensive and collision coverage. However, depending on the age and condition of your vehicle, you might decide that investing in this additional coverage makes sense. If you own an expensive car, the protection that collision coverage offers might outweigh the negatives of the higher insurance rates that come with this coverage.

To make sure that you are paying the lowest possible rates for your insurance coverage — whether you’re investing in only liability or adding both comprehensive and collision — you need to compare insurance rates online. Today, you can enter your basic information on a host of Web sites to instantly bring up quotes from competing insurers. This is the most effective way to make sure that you’re not overpaying for the insurance coverage that you need.