Summary

Announcer: As a new car owner you face a lot of big ifs: if you can’t avoid every obstacle, if you can’t avoid every hazard, if your current insurance doesn’t provide full replacement coverage. With MetLife auto and home you’re automatically covered at no additional cost for a full year, with no depreciation.

One more way we help you build a personal safety net with guarantees for the road ahead. Call on our expertise and we will help you navigate the “ifs” in life.

As the announcer speaks we watch Snoopy drive from the sales lot with his new vehicle and successfully avoid all the “ifs” that life can throw at him in this commercial.

Point of Commercial

This is a classic insurance commercial. MetLife Insurance doesn’t proclaim that they are the cheapest, the fastest at getting you a quote or even the biggest insurance company out there. They cutely tell you that they will be there for you “if” something bad happens to you in your vehicle.

Helping you during an accident is the exact reason we purchase car insurance and MetLife Insurance is playing on that point.

What They Want you to Do

MetLife Insurance wants you mostly to trust that they will be there for you if you choose them as your insurance company. They don’t push any certain method of contact through the commercial as you don’t actually get any contact information until the end of the commercial.

At the end the announcer makes a casual mention of calling them (classic call to action in a commercial) and then the end screen provides a 2 second shot of all the different methods they can be reached. These 2 seconds is just enough to register that the information is there, but not enough to write it down or remember them all.

My Opinion

This MetLife Insurance commercial is simple, cute, endearing (who doesn’t like Snoopy) and to the point. In other words, it provides entertainment while at the same time being clear as to what the commercial is selling.

I like commercials like these because then I don’t have to scratch my head after the commercial and wonder how in the world the commercial had anything to do with the product they were trying to sell.

I give this MetLife Insurance commercial two thumbs up.

Follow the exact directions you are given to verify Maryland car insurance.

Maryland car insurance requirements run a little higher than normal for what they require for bodily injury liability coverage, but about average for the required property damage liability coverage. Their insurance verification system however, is unique and can be tedious for both drivers and insurance companies. Unfortunately, if you fail to follow this Maryland car insurance verification system that the Motor Vehicle Administration has in place, stiff penalties await.

Required Maryland Car Insurance

Across the nation the property damage liability coverage that is required is always lower than what is required for bodily injury liability coverage. Maryland car insurance follows the same pattern and requires:

• $30,000 for bodily injury per person,

• $60,000 for bodily injury for two or more people, and

• $15,000 for property damage.

When you purchase this coverage, always discuss with your insurance agent if buying the minimum Maryland car insurance required is enough to protect you.

Penalties for no Maryland Car Insurance

If you are trying to get out of having to pay for Maryland car insurance and avoid getting caught for having no Maryland car insurance; the idea to forge your proof of insurance may come to your mind. As a strong word of advice, don’t listen to the idea in your head. Getting caught for providing false Maryland car insurance evidence will land you in jail for a year or with a $1000 fine (or both).

Now, if you don’t provide false proof of Maryland car insurance and just don’t provide any proof of insurance at all; it will be much easier on you. You will only face having your plates and registration suspended, $150 in fines for the first 30 days you are without insurance (after 30 days it is $7 a day), and cannot register any new vehicles or renew the registration on an already owned vehicle.

But hey, there’s no jail time involved.

Maryland Car Insurance FR-19

When the state requests proof of Maryland car insurance the only proof that they will accept is a FR-19 form. This request is usually triggered by cancelling your car insurance with a company, but can also be a result of buying a new vehicle or trading one in.

Insurance companies don’t notify the state when you have new insurance, only when you have cancelled insurance. This means that the state only knows that you no longer have the required insurance coverage; they don’t know that you replaced the coverage that you cancelled. Hence, the reason they need to verify that you have new coverage.

The requested FR-19 form can only be filled out by your insurance company. If your insurance company does not send the required FR-19 form then you are the one that will be penalized, so it is very important to contact your insurance company immediately to have them send the form.

It is also important to follow up with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to make sure they received your FR-19 to verify you Maryland car insurance coverage.

Summary

Commercial opens with the State Farm agent, Jessica, in her office. On the screen are the words “State of Savings”.

Jessica: State Farm this is Jessica.

Jerry: Hey Jessica, Jerry Neuman. I know I dropped you guys for the whole 15-minute sign up thing, but I’m having second thoughts right about now. Is now a good time to start a new policy?

Jessica: Is your car up a pole again?

Jerry: (laughing) You’re funny. No it’s in the garage; it’s not going anywhere.

Here we see Jerry’s car with the front end sticking out one side of the corner of the garage and the back end sticking out the other side of the corner of the garage.

Jessica: Well you could switch back to State Farm for auto. On average people do save 480 dollars.

On screen is the $480 with “Switch and Save” above it as well as a disclaimer below it. The disclaimer reads “Average annual per household savings based on a 2010 national survey of new policy holders who reported savings by switching to State Farm”.

Jerry: Really?!?!

Jessica: Yep, and nobody gives more discounts to more drivers. Like the multi-car discount.

Jerry: Multi car? Is that for a person with one car, but multiple accidents? ‘Cause that might really interest me.

Jessica: Not exactly, but that savings could get even bigger when you combine your auto and your home.

Jerry: Awesome, I just combined them.

Jessica: You did what Jerry?

Jerry’s car finishes rolling onto its side, taking out the corner of the garage that was still standing at the beginning.

Jerry: Actually I’m going to have to call you back.

Jessica: Anytime. Our call center is available 24/7 at 1-800-State Farm. With discounts like these, State Farm is the only quote you’ll ever need.

Jerry: Actually I’m going to need a quote for a stone mason.

Announcer: You could save an average of 480 dollars on auto. Get to a better state and a better rate, call 1-800-state-farm today.

Point of Commercial

Jerry is brought back again for another not-so-subtle jab at GEICO. State Farm wants to point out that they can save you money just like GEICO claims to, but that with State Farm you will have an agent to help you. With GEICO you don’t get that agent assistance as you purchase the insurance coverage directly through them.

What They Want you to Do

State Farm wants you to call them. Not call your local agent (which is surprising) or visit their website, but call them. This is very evident with how many times they tell you the phone number as well as their phone number being on the screen for 95% of the commercial.

My Opinion

Honestly, I would love to see more Jerry commercials. Not because I am a big fan of State Farm, but I want to see how many other ridiculous accidents the writers can come up with for him.

The commercial is memorable, which makes State Farm stick out in your head. It is also getting people talking, as you can see by the discussion thread from the last State Farm Jerry commercial I posted. Both of these things mean that the commercial is effective.

I give this commercial two thumbs up.

Just like a lighthouse, Maine car insurance requirements sit high above what other states require.

The state of Maine has very high insurance requirements for its drivers. Most states only require 2 coverages (bodily injury and property damage liability) for their drivers to be able to drive. Maine on the other hand requires 5 separate coverages to be purchased and is among the few states that have this many coverage requirements.

On top of the number of coverages required, they also have some of the highest liability limit requirements in the nation.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance Liability Coverage

Liability coverage is mandatory in almost all of the states across the nation, but Maine car insurance is at the top of the list as far as the high amounts required for bodily injury liability coverage. While most states usually require 25/50 limits for their bodily injury coverage, Maine requires that their drivers carry 50/100.

What exactly does 50/100 mean? It means that you have to carry no less than $50,000 in coverage for the medical bills that another person may have after you injure them in a car accident that is your fault. If there are two or more people injured in an accident that you are at fault for, you have to have $100,000 in coverage on your insurance to pay for all of the medical bills together. These limits are the minimum you are allowed to buy, but are the maximum your insurance company will pay if an accident does happen.

The requirements for property damage liability coverage on a Maine car insurance policy are really no more or less than most other states require. The minimum limit that you can buy for this coverage is $25,000 and it covers the damages you do with your vehicle, to property you do not own.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance UM/UIM Coverage

UM/UIM stands for uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist coverage. These coverages protect you from other drivers that flee the scene of an accident, don’t have insurance or don’t have enough insurance. It only pays for the expenses that result from injuries and does not cover the damages that may be done to your vehicle.

You can have no less than 50/100 for your UM/UIM limits, just like with the bodily injury liability coverage. If you have more than 50/100 for your bodily injury liability coverage, your UM/UIM has to be the same. There is a form you can sign with your agent though, that will allow you to carry lower limits than your bodily injury liability limits; but the UM/UIM coverage still cannot fall below 50/100.

Mandatory Maine Car Insurance MedPay Coverage

MedPay (Medical Payments) coverage is for expenses that arise from injuries you received from a car accident. It is available for you to use regardless of who is found to be at fault for the accident you were in.

With MedPay you are required to carry no less than $2000 in this coverage on your Maine car insurance policy.

It's best to just follow the insurance laws in Mississippi before you find yourself up the river with no steamboat.

The state of Mississippi requires a decent amount of liability insurance for its drivers, but just the liability insurance. They don’t require uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist or personal injury protection like other states do. Meaning that purchasing the minimum required Mississippi car insurance shouldn’t be as expensive as it could be if all of the other coverages were required as well.

You do have two options if you still don’t want to purchase the required Mississippi car insurance though. One, you can opt for an alternative form of financial responsibility. Two, you can pay the $1000 fine for driving without car insurance and walk during the year your driver’s license will be suspended.

Required Mississippi Car Insurance

Mississippi requires that all of its drivers carry liability insurance to make sure that they are protected from each other. A driver in this state cannot legally drive without purchasing the minimum Mississippi car insurance of 25/50/25 in liability coverage. For those that don’t speak the language of insurance this means:

• $25,000 in coverage for the medical bills of a single person that you injure or kill in an accident.

• $50,000 in coverage for ALL medical bills that may result from an accident you are responsible for, where you injure two or more people.

• $25,000 in coverage to pay for the damages to other people’s property that resulted from a car accident you caused.

Other Proof that is Not Mississippi Car Insurance

Mississippi does allow its drivers to show proof that they can pay for damages from a car accident beyond just purchasing Mississippi car insurance. There are two alternatives allowed:

• A cash or security deposit of $100,000

• A bond posted for $100,000

If you don’t have that type or cash lying around, I would suggest that you should just purchase the required Mississippi car insurance. In the long run, the insurance premium for Mississippi car insurance will probably be cheaper anyway. If you think about it, if you are paying $1000 a year for insurance, it will take you 100 years to match what is required for the alternatives.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many people that drive for 100 years.

Penalties for No Mississippi Car Insurance

The state of Mississippi is a real stickler that you not only carry Mississippi car insurance, but that you also have proof of it in your vehicle at all times. If you are pulled over and cannot provide this proof, you will be fined $1000 and have you driver’s license suspended for a year.

When you go to court for this particular violation, if you can provide proof that you now have Mississippi car insurance the fine will be dropped to $100 and your driver’s license will be reinstated. If you can provide proof that you had car insurance on the date you were given the violation, your driver’s license will be reinstated and all fines will be dropped.

Is there a lesson to be learned from this? Yes, always carry proof of Mississippi car insurance.

Not every motorized vehicle has to be insured in the state of Washington.

To clarify, the Washington car insurance talked about in this particular post is for Washington State, not Washington D.C. Now that we have that cleared up and our readers in the state of Washington are smiling in appreciation, let’s get to the information.

Alternatives to Washington Car Insurance

You don’t have to purchase Washington car insurance in order to drive; the state does allow you to choose other forms of financial responsibility. They will also accept:

• A certificate of deposit

• A liability bond

• Self-insurance

Self-insurance is only for vehicle owners that own 26 or more vehicles; which doesn’t pertain to most of our readers.

A certificate of deposit can be a replacement for Washington car insurance as long as it is for no less than $60,000. The deposit has to be made into a bank account for the state of Washington or with the State Treasurer. If you are ever asked for proof of insurance, you have to be able to provide proof of this certificate of deposit. The proof has to have the name of the driver covered for it and also the certificate number that was issued to you by the State Treasurer.

The liability bond is very similar to the certificate of deposit in that it also must be for no less than $60,000. It has to be filed by a surety bond company that is authorized to conduct business in Washington. Again, you have to be prepared to show proof of this liability bond if asked for proof of insurance. The proof must have the name of the company that issued the bond, the bond number and the name of the driver covered under the bond.

Washington Car Insurance Limits

While having alternatives to Washington car insurance is nice, most people just purchase the required car insurance. Washington car insurance requires that the drivers in the state purchase no less than $10,000 in property damage coverage.

Bodily injury liability coverage also has to be purchased with the property damage liability coverage. The coverage can be no less than $25,000 for the medical expenses of one person and $50, 000 for all medical expenses that may result from two or more people being injured.

Vehicles that Don’t Have to Have Washington Car Insurance

Some motorized vehicles are not required to carry Washington car insurance. They include:

• Motor-driven cycles

• Mopeds

• Motorcycles

• Horseless carriages over 40 years old

Yes, you read that last one correctly. So, if you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to find adequate car insurance for your horseless carriage, you can sleep peacefully now.

For the motorcycles, I know you don’t have to carry insurance, but I would seriously think hard before riding off into the sunset on your bike without this protection. There are inexpensive Washington car insurance policies for motorcycles that your agent can help you with; to protect both you and your bike on the road.

Keeping your West Virginia car insurance active will give you nothing to worry about if chosen for a random insurance verification.

West Virginia’s car insurance requirements only require that you carry liability coverage to be able to drive. The liability coverage is meant to make sure that you can pay for any injuries or damages you may cause to another party. This not only protects other drivers from accidents that they are not at fault for, but it also protects you financially.

Without having liability coverage, you will be responsible to pay for all of the costs associated with the accident. Initially the other party’s insurance company may pay for a good portion of it, but they will come after you to get their money back. This can lead to lawsuits, collection agencies contacting you and even bankruptcy if you cannot pay.

The Required West Virginia Car Insurance

The minimum liability coverage that you are allowed to purchase and still drive legally is:

• $20,000 in coverage for injuries (or death) you may inflict on another person with your vehicle.

• $40,000 in coverage for all of the injuries in a single car accident that you are at fault for. This coverage is for when there are two or more people injured and is the most that your insurance company would pay out for medical expenses.

• $10,000 in coverage for damages you do with your vehicle to property that you do not own. This is not just limited to other vehicles you may hit; but also traffic signs, houses, fences, etc.

Random West Virginia Car Insurance Checks

Proof of West Virginia car insurance is required whenever you are asked for it by a police officer, register your vehicle or are sent a random insurance check letter by the DMV. When you receive this letter, you are required to return it with proof of the insurance coverage that you have. Your letter will have more details as to the exact proof they need and how you can return it.

If you ignore this letter, forget about the letter, or do not have insurance; you will find your driver’s license and vehicle’s registration suspended.

Reinstatement of Privileges after No West Virginia Car Insurance

Once you have lost your driving privileges (license and registration), to get them back you have to wait and pay. Waiting consists of 30 days before you can get your driver’s license back and 90 days if you are caught without insurance a second time. You also have to wait until you get car insurance back in force.

Now, for the fees you will owe to reinstate everything. Please keep in mind these are just reinstatement fees, this is not everything you will be required to pay as there are other fees and fines involved for driving without West Virginia car insurance.

First, to reinstate you vehicle registration you will be required to pay a $100 fee, plus another $50 if the DMV had to send a state police secure order on your plates. Second, getting back your driver’s license will require another $50 to reinstate.

Basically, you have just wasted almost $200 because you thought you would save money by not paying for the mandatory West Virginia car insurance that you have to buy now anyway to be able to drive again.

Michigan tries to simplify insurance through no-fault laws.

Michigan car insurance requirements are based on Michigan being a no-fault state. This means that you are required to carry insurance more to protect you in the event you are injured in an accident and not the other party. It also means that you will have coverage to pay for medical bills regardless of who caused the accident.

Required Michigan Car Insurance

Michigan car insurance has three required coverages that you must purchase to be able to drive and register your vehicle in the state.

• Personal Injury Protection

• Property Protection

• Residual Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance

The personal injury protection coverage pays for your medical expenses in the event that you are injured in an accident. It also provides coverage for a long list of other expenses that you may have, including lost wages.

Property protection pays for damages you may create with your vehicle, to property that is not yours. It provides up to $1 million in coverage and covers everything except damages you may cause to another person’s vehicle, unless that vehicle is parked.

Residual BI/PD Michigan Car Insurance

Residual bodily injury and property damage liability insurance may seem odd if people pay for their own medical expenses and damages to their vehicles. This residual coverage is really a backup insurance in the event of extreme circumstances, as it only kicks in under very specific events.

The minimum you are allowed to carry for this coverage is 20/40/10 and it is only used when you are being sued for one of the allowable events under Michigan car insurance law.

Few Lawsuits allowed Under Michigan Car Insurance

With how Michigan car insurance is set up in the state, drivers are not allowed to sue each other. All medical bills are taken care of through your own car insurance; but as we talked about above, there are a few circumstances that lawsuits are allowed.

These lawsuit allowable events are the events that would fall under your residual BI/PD coverage:

• You can be sued up to $500 if you are 50% or more at fault for an accident and the other person has damage to their car that is not covered by insurance.

• You get into an accident outside of Michigan.

• You have an accident with a driver that is not a Michigan resident and the accident happened in Michigan.

• You kill or seriously injure another person with your vehicle.

Penalties for not Having Michigan Car Insurance

Michigan car insurance is not optional and comes with stiff penalties for not having it. If you are caught without the required car insurance coverage in Michigan you will be charged with a misdemeanor. You will also be fined up to $500 or get to spend a year in jail or even be penalized with both.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as there may be other fines and fees that you may be subject to after the initial penalties for driving without Michigan car insurance. You can also have your license suspended and not be allowed to renew your vehicle registration without purchasing a pre-paid Michigan car insurance policy that cannot be cancelled.

In Indiana some insurance is required, some can be waived, some is just optional.

Low property damage liability coverage, insurance coverages that are only partially required and required forms that you don’t fill out; these are just some of the things that make Indiana car insurance different. Indiana is a good example of how important it is to quickly learn the car insurance laws of any new state that you move to. Ignorantly thinking that the car insurance laws in one state are generally the same as in any other state will get you in trouble.

Liability Requirements for Indiana Car Insurance

The state of Indiana requires that you buy liability insurance with minimum limits of 25/50/10. The initial 25 represents the $25,000 that you must purchase in bodily injury liability coverage for the injuries that you cause to a single person.

The middle 50 is $50,000 of coverage in the second part of the required bodily injury liability coverage for Indiana car insurance. This half is larger because it is the most that your insurance company will pay out for all injuries in a car accident you cause, if there are multiple people that are injured.

At the end is the 10, which represents the measly $10,000 that Indiana requires you to carry in property damage liability coverage. Believe it or not, this is to cover the damages you cause to property that is not your own.

Trust me when I tell you that this is not enough coverage for most of the damage you can cause in a car accident. To be adequately protected talk to your insurance agent about the limits that would work best for your financial situation.

The Other Required, but not Required Indiana Car Insurance

In states around the country, more and more of them are starting to require that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage be purchased. Indiana car insurance requirements have joined this move and also require that you purchase this coverage to protect yourself in the event of an accident.

The coverage can only be used if the driver at fault for the accident does not have any insurance, or is not found after an accident. It can also only be used for medical expenses.

Now, the not required part of this Indiana car insurance requirement. You can sign a waiver stating that you don’t want the coverage and then you don’t have to have it. How’s that for being a required car insurance coverage?

The SR-21 Form and Indiana Car Insurance

We have talked about SR-22 insurance quite a bit in the past, but Indiana’s SR-21 form is something different. First, it is an informational form that is submitted to the state, not something you have to purchase from your insurance company. Second, it is only needed by the state if you have been in a car accident where the damages exceed $1000, there has been an injury or someone has died.

The form is sent from your insurance company to the state to basically confirm that you had insurance coverage on the date the accident took place. Unless, your insurance company fails to do this you really won’t be involved in this process. It is good to know about this process though, in the event you get a letter from the state asking for the SR-21 form to be filed to prove that you have Indiana car insurance.

The state where liability coverage is required, but the coverage to protect you is only half required.

Not only do you need liability coverage for other people you may hit, but Illinois car insurance laws also require that you carry insurance coverage to protect yourself. However, all of their insurance requirements are not as simple as they are in other states.

Illinois Car Insurance Liability Minimums

The minimum liability insurance allowed in Illinois is $20,000 for one person and $40,000 for multiple people. For any damage that you do to the property of others, $15,000 is required in coverage.

Illinois Car Insurance UM/UIM Minimums

Bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage make up only half of what is required to drive legally in Illinois. The other half of the requirements are Uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage.

Uninsured motorist (UM) is used when another driver with no insurance hits you and you are injured. You can carry no less than $20,000 per person and $40,000 for the total accident with UM coverage. In order to be able to use this coverage the other driver has to be at fault for the accident or the accident has to be from a hit-and-run driver.

Underinsurance motorist coverage (UIM) is only required if you purchase more than the minimum limits required for UM.

UIM is for when you have more medical bills than the driver that was responsible for the accident has in liability coverage. For example, if your medical bills were $60,000 and the other person only had $40,000 in bodily injury liability coverage; the UIM could be used to help pay for the remaining $20,000 still left over.

Mandatory Illinois Insurance Coverage (For Insurance Companies)

Yes, even the insurance companies are required to have mandatory insurance by the state; but not in the way you think. This mandatory insurance is in the form of being forced to provide insurance coverage to drivers in the state that can’t get insurance anywhere else.

These are the drivers that have had accident after accident that they were at fault for. They are also the drivers that have had so many traffic violations that only the state and the insurance companies have been able to keep track of the count. In other words, these are the bad drivers that insurance companies don’t want to have to provide insurance for.

Because insurance is mandatory in Illinois, if you have become this type of driver you are only going to be able to find insurance coverage through the Illinois Automobile Insurance Plan. However, there are requirements to get into this program as well:

• The vehicle you drive has to be mechanically and legally safe to drive.

• You have to have a valid driver’s license or can apply for one (your license can’t be suspended).

• You cannot owe any insurance companies money for insurance you had in the last 36 months.

• You have to have been turned down by other insurance companies when you applied for car insurance with them.

If you are able to get insurance through the Illinois Automobile Insurance Plan, expect to pay a very high premium for insurance. If you don’t meet the requirements of this plan and can’t get Illinois car insurance anywhere else, you need to stop driving!