Car Insurance Minimum State Requirements |
Most states require all car owners to carry a minimum
amount of auto insurance coverage. Further most states
require that you produce documentation of your insurance
policy if you are stopped by law enforcement or other
government authorities. The penalty for not carrying
the state's mandated amounts can lead to a fine of $500,
suspension of your license, revocation of your registration
and impoundment of your vehicle.
This is what a typical minimum state requirement looks
like:
(NOTE: Each state may require other insurance coverage
in addition to these.)
- A maximum bodily injury amount for one person, such
as $15,000
- A maximum bodily injury amount for all persons,
such as $30,000
- A maximum amount for property damages, such as $5,000
The state auto insurance minimums are generally listed
in that order separated by slashes or commas. For example,
automobile liability insurance coverage of 15/30/5 would
cover fifteen thousand dollars for bodily injuries for
one person (based on the first number 15 that is listed).
The middle number of 30 would cover thirty thousand
dollars for bodily injuries for all persons within one
accident, and the last number of 5 will cover the cost
of any property damages that may have been caused by
the accident. State minimums range from 10/20/10, like
Florida, and up to 50/110/25 for Alaska and Maine.
Note:
Wisconsin, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Virginia
are currently the only states that do not require a
driver to carry a minimum liability amount. Although,
they do have other requirements such as certificate
of self-insurance for those who chose not to by insurance.
To acquire a certificate of self-insured you must either
pay for an Uninsured Motor Vehicle (UMV) fee, have personal
funds or have Security Bonds. Generally buying the standard
liability state insurance minimum is more cost effective
and much easier then these other options. |
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Uninsured Motorists - (UM) |
About half of the states within the United States
of America require automobile owners to carry an uninsured
motorists policy.
Although this policy is not required by all states,
we recommend that you purchase this coverage since this
insurance does not cost much, yet can protect you from
tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. |
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Personal Injury Protection (PIP) & No-Fault |
A number of state are No-Fault states. This means
that if you are ever involved in an accident, your insurance
company will not try to determine who was at fault in
the accident -- and instead pay the claim. No-Fault
does have an upper limit, however, that is a maximum
amount that it will pay in a No-Fault settlement. Above
that dollar limit an insurance company may become involved
in proceedings to determine who was at fault.
Most no-fault states require divers to carry PIP or
Personal Injury Protection. PIP covers medical cost,
lost wages and other expenses that were caused due to
the accident.
If you are ever involved in a car accident you should
have our comprehensive
automobile accident guide to help guide you with
what to do. |
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Car Insurance & Your Bank Car Loan |
In addition to carrying the state minimum insurance
requirements, banks and lenders will require you to
carry collision and comprehensive insurance if you borrow
money to buy a new or used car. They require these policies
to protect their collateral, this is the car you are
driving.
The addition of collision and comprehensive along with
the mandated state minimums is considered 'full coverage',
a term used in the insurance industry. |
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Do You Need More Than Minimum Coverage? |
At InsuranceQuote4You.com you can receive up to 8
car insurance quotes within minutes. This means that
you have time to consider more than just the lowest
cost minimum policy. Adding more vehicle coverage often
costs very little extra and provides much more protection.
Sooner or later just about everyone is involved in some
kind of automobile accident -- so make sure that your
car is adequately covered. |
