Auto Insurance for Nurses

Working in the health care field can be both stressful and rewarding. With advances in technology and a growing population of Baby Boomers, the need for licensed nurses in all health care environments is growing.

As a trained and licensed nurse, you’ll be able to find jobs in doctor offices, clinics, hospitals, and other respected establishments.

Becoming a nurse can change more than just the professional aspect of your life. Your profession could alter the way you look at life and live life.

Nurses see the devastation that a sickness or an accident can cause. That’s why nursing professionals tend to be safe drivers.

If you’re looking for auto insurance as a nurse, you need to choose the right limits from the right carrier. Let’s discuss what you should know.

If you are in the nursing field and want to find better car insurance rates, start comparison shopping today by entering your ZIP code above!

Buy Insurance Because It’s The Law

You can live life without home insurance, renter’s insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, and even medical insurance.

You may be fined by your lender, your landlord, or the Internal Revenue Service, but you won’t face criminal charges if you choose not to carry most types of property or health coverage.

The rules are different when it comes to auto insurance.

When you own a car, not only do you need insurance to satisfy the requirements laid out in your auto loan, you also need insurance to satisfy state law.

If you fail to carry the insurance that the law says that you must have, you can be more than just fined.

In addition to being fined, you can face criminal charges that could affect your background.

Consequences of Having No Insurance Can Affect Your Career in Nursing

You have to pass a criminal background check to get your state-issued nursing license. You also have to go through a rigorous background check to get employed through many hospitals and clinics.

If you’ve been caught driving without insurance and it’s on your record, that could affect your license and job offers.

One conviction might not be the biggest deal, but multiple convictions could lead to mandatory jail time and serving time in jail could definitely have a negative effect on hiring decisions.

It might feel like a minor mistake when you’re cited for driving without insurance, but it’s not worth it when you consider how the mistake could affect your career.

How much will auto insurance cost?

If you’re worried about how much you’ll pay for your coverage, there’s no real way to tell how much you’ll pay unless you start getting quotes.

Insurance costs vary by company. They can change in the blink of an eye. They are also strongly influenced by personal factors.

You might not be able to reference an article that can accurately tell you how much you should set aside to pay for insurance, but there are some pieces of data that can help give you a round about idea of what people are paying currently.

The average premiums vary by state, but nationwide drivers pay an average of $518 per year for liability coverage and $841 for full coverage.

Auto Insurance Rates Are Influenced By Several Factors

What personal factors would affect my rates? It’s a common question asked by many insurance applicants who simply don’t understand how the industry works.

Even experienced drivers who have been driving for years are surprised to learn just what insurers are looking at when calculating their rates.

Some of the factors that influence personal auto rates are obviously important and others are a bit surprising. No matter how unrelated a factor might look, studies show that each and every personal factor used does have an effect on claims and loss.

Here are the most common factors that insurers use:

• Vehicle Type – the year, make, model, body style, crash tests, and safety records will be considered
• Driver’s Age and Gender – younger drivers and seniors pay more for coverage because of accident statistics
• Driver’s Licensing Experience – how long someone has had their driver’s license can help qualify the driver for discounts
• Driver’s Motor Vehicle Record – when there are moving violations on a driver’s record, the rate will be surcharged
• Driver’s Accident Record – at-fault accidents and several non-fault accidents can affect rates, add surcharges, and disqualify you for discounts
• Garaging Zip Code – the zip code where your car is parked could raise premiums if there are several claims in the area
• Vehicle Usage and Mileage – commuters will pay more than pleasure drivers who don’t work or don’t drive to work
• Credit Rating – having poor credit could make you a higher risk for filing a claim

Being a Nurse Could Work In Your Favor

Most companies have several discount offerings that their clients can take advantage of. When you’re buying regular consumer goods, it’s not every day that being a nurse will save you money.

Luckily for you, being a professional nurse could work in your favor if you’re buying insurance through a provider that offers occupational discounts.

Many personal car insurance companies offer occupational discounts or affiliation discounts that will help make premiums more competitive.

The premise behind the occupational discount is that some professionals work in an industry that will make them less likely to file a claim or get into an accident.

It seems like career would have nothing to do with your rates unless you’re driving for business purposes. Although it seems this way, occupation does have a lot to do with insurance rates because some professionals are exposed to more losses than others.

There are high-risk groups and safer groups. On the positive side, nursing professionals tend to be safer drivers because of the environment that they work in.

Why are nurses considered safer drivers?

Being a nurse works in your favor but you might wonder why. After all, doctors tend to pay more for their insurance just because they are doctors. Data analysis shows that doctors file more accident claims through their car insurance policies than the average professional.

The same study indicates that the field of nursing has a much lower proportion of drivers with claims. Many believe that doctors drive under more stress than nurses.

Nurses also see how much devastation irresponsible driving can cause and this curbs their habits behind the wheel. These are some reasons why the statistics work in the nurses’ favor.

How will your commute affect your rates?

Not all nursing professionals drive to a single office or site every day. Some nurses will go to their patients’ homes or multiple offices throughout the day.

How your day is set up can really have a bearing on your rates because of how your driving habits are assessed. It can even affect your annual mileage, which is also considered to set your premiums.

If you drive to the same medical office or hospital five days out of the week, you’ll be classified as a commuter. If you take a position where you go to several locations, you’ll be considered a business driver and you’ll pay higher rates.

Nurses who carpool, ride their bikes to work, or take public transportation will be rated as pleasure drivers. Pleasure drivers pay the lowest rates.

Can you buy insurance through the American Nurses Association?

Nurses who are licensed and actively working in the field can apply to become professional members of associations like the American Nurses Association (ANA).

When you become a professional member of the ANA, you’ll enjoy many different benefits.

One big benefit is that you’ll be eligible for a particular auto insurance product sold just to nurses who are members of the ANA.

You will still have to pay a premium, but insurers that offer insurance to ANA members will sell the insurance at a group rate. You’ll end up getting a discount just for being a member of the association.

If You Don’t Choose Adequate Limits, It Could Affect Your Profession

Nurses have to complete training and then prove themselves in a practical setting before they can climb their way up the ladder. With experience in the field of nursing comes more responsibility and higher pay.

While everyone needs to purchase adequate limits, it’s crucial for people in higher income brackets to buy sufficient coverage.

If you decide to take out a policy that only has the state minimum limits, it could have an effect on your profession and your future earnings.

In most states, you have to pay for the damages that you cause while you’re driving. If your policy can’t cover all of the damages after a claim is filed, the party can file a civil lawsuit against you in court.

When the suit is filed, the judge will review the case and the bills that are presented by the plaintiff. The insurer may provide you with legal counsel when you’re taken to court under your supplemental payments provision but they will not pay above your limits to settle damages.

If damages are found, you could be ordered to pay for them out of your pocket. Your wages could be garnished, and you could be forced to liquidate the assets that you’ve worked hard for.

Since you’re a nurse, the victim in the accident may be influenced to ask for more because they believe that they will be able to collect more.

How much insurance is enough insurance?

There’s no perfect formula that tells you how much insurance you should buy based on how much you make and how much you own.

Unfortunately, some serious accidents can result in just thousands of damages and others can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

There’s no way to predict how much will be enough, but most experts recommend having at least:

• $100,000 per person in Bodily Injury
• $300,000 per accident in Bodily Injury
• $100,000 per occurrence in Property Damage
• $100,000 per person in Uninsured Motorist Coverage
• $300,000 per accident in Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Why is it so important for you to compare insurance rates?

No company has the same rate. If they all did, the insurance market wouldn’t be a very competitive one.

States allow companies to set their own unique rates so that consumers can choose from competitors and find the best deal.

Since all insurance marketplaces in all states are competitive, the only way to find a good deal on auto insurance that’s for nurses is to shop around and compare rates.

When you change your career, you need to change your insurance as well. Being a nurse will work to your advantage if you keep a good driving record.

Be sure to use your occupation to your advantage and find a carrier that offers discounts for the profession.

If you are trying to find a good rate in a limited amount of time, shop around online now, and you can compare rates in just minutes.

Start comparison shopping today for better auto insurance rates! Enter your ZIP code below to begin!