Reader question:

A few months ago I came to the U.S. from Belarus. Over there, I had a great driving record, so why is it that over here I’m paying so much for car insurance rates?

M.

Sorry to hear that.

Unfortunately, driving records don’t carry over from one country to the next, so when you moved to the United States, even though you had a good record over there, over here it was like you were starting all over again. While you don’t have to suffer the same rate problems as do teenagers and people with bad driving records, it’s still like being someone with no credit trying to get a car. You’re going to end up paying more.

It normally takes about three years to get it set that you have a good driving record over here or a bad one, so within that time you should see a significant drop in your rates and you might even qualify for some good discounts.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.