Best Car Insurance in Montana

No, you cannot insure a car with a salvage title in Montana. Salvage vehicles are cars that have been declared a total loss, meaning they're too damaged to be worth repairing and cannot be driven legally. As a result, no legitimate car insurance company writes policies for them.

Although insurance companies in Montana won't insure a car with a current salvage title, you can get coverage if you have the vehicle repaired and inspected by a state-certified mechanic. If it's declared safe to drive, the DMV will issue the car a rebuilt salvage title. Several insurance companies, including Allstate and Geico, sell policies to vehicles with a rebuilt salvage title.

Keep in mind that some insurers will only sell liability insurance for rebuilt salvage cars, meaning that they won't pay for any physical damage to the vehicle. Even if you are able to get collision and comprehensive insurance, your policy may not cover the full value of the car if it's totaled again.

Insurance companies in Montana do not have a specific amount of time in which they must settle an insurance claim. Instead, state law requires them to settle claims "reasonably promptly".

Even though Montana does not require a specific timeframe for the resolution of insurance claims, you still have the right to an efficient settlement. If you think that your insurance company is violating the law or operating unethically, you can file a “bad faith” lawsuit, which can award you the original settlement amount with added interest and penalties.

With that being said, it's important to remember that several factors can affect exactly how long it takes for an insurance company to settle a claim. For example, severe accidents, claims involving bodily injury, and poor communication between involved parties can all slow down the process.

Car insurance usually follows the car in Montana. The types of car insurance that follow the car in Montana are bodily injury liability, personal injury liability, collision, and comprehensive. You're required to carry bodily injury liability and property damage liability in Montana.

If you let someone borrow your car and they cause an accident in Montana, bodily injury liability insurance pays for injuries to the other driver and their passengers. Property damage liability insurance will pay for damage to the other driver's car. If the person who borrowed your car causes damage that exceeds your coverage limits, their liability policy can act as secondary coverage. But their coverage only kicks in after yours is tapped out.

You won't need to use your PIP or MedPay coverage if someone caused an accident while driving your car because PIP and MedPay follow the driver. You will have to use your collision and comprehensive insurance to pay for damage to your car, though. These optional coverage types pay for your car to be fixed no matter who was driving, but it is a claim on your policy.

It's always a risk to lend your car to someone else, because you could definitely end up filing a claim using your own insurance in Montana. When someone borrows your car, they also borrow your insurance coverage in most cases.

You can get car insurance discounts in Montana based on how you drive, the car you own, and your relationship with your insurance company. In Montana, car insurance companies are allowed to consider factors like employment and residential status when setting premiums. That means there are also discounts available for owning a home or being affiliated with certain employers or educational institutions.

Almost anyone can get a discount on car insurance in Montana because most insurance companies make it easy to qualify for a variety of savings. Montana insurers typically offer discounts that fall into one of three categories—policy discounts, driver discounts, and vehicle discounts.

Policy discounts typically reward customer behavior that is desirable to the insurance company. For example, most Montana drivers can save by registering for paperless billing or getting both home and auto policies from the same company. Driver discounts are available to Montana residents who are lower-risk to insure, like those with clean driving records. And vehicle discounts help drivers save if their car has certain safety features or anti-theft systems.

Car Insurance Discounts in Montana

Remember, discounts vary among different insurance companies, so it's always best to contact the provider directly to determine which discounts you qualify for.

Full coverage insurance in Montana is usually defined as a policy that provides more than the state's minimum liability coverage, which is $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, up to $50,000 per accident, and $20,000 in property damage coverage. Full coverage in Montana also includes optional collision and comprehensive insurance. As a result, full coverage insurance costs an average of $1,462 per year in Montana, while a state minimum policy costs $395.

If you can't afford to repair or replace your car after an accident, collision and comprehensive are important coverage types—even if they're not required. Collision insurance covers repair or replacement costs if you are in an accident, drive into an object, or flip your car. Comprehensive insurance covers repair or replacement costs if your car is damaged by falling objects, natural disasters, floods, fires, theft, vandalism, or animals. Full coverage insurance costs an average of $1,462 per year in Montana, while a state minimum policy costs $395. Lenders usually require collision and comprehensive in addition to the insurance you must have under Montana law when you finance a car.

Most people should also choose higher liability coverage limits than what is required by Montana law. If you cause an accident and your liability limits don't cover the whole bill, you are still personally responsible for the rest. In the end, “full coverage” means having the right amount of coverage to protect your assets in a worst-case scenario.