No-Fault Insurance Minnesota Drivers Must Have

If you live in Minnesota, you need to learn about no-fault insurance. Minnesota is a no-fault state, which means that it doesn’t matter who is at fault in an auto accident. Insurance coverage will automatically cover a number of damages incurred in the accident, which many people would not be able to afford without this coverage. Some of the things that are covered by the no-fault insurance Minnesota drivers must have include:

• Lost Wages – If you are injured and are unable to work as a result of an auto accident, your no-fault insurance will pay your wages so you can still take care of your everyday expenses.
• Replacement Services – If you need to have help around the house until you are up and mobile again, your insurance will pay for cleaning services, child care, etc. This can come in pretty handy if you are not able to move around enough to do the work yourself.
• Medical Expenses – If you require medical services, your insurance will pay for the costs. These expenses can also include your mileage to and from medical appointments.
• In-Home Nursing Care – It may be that you will require in-home care after an accident, which will be paid for by your no-fault insurance.
• Home Renovations – If the accident left you or another member of your family disabled, your insurance will help pay to remodel your home for wheelchairs, lifts and other medical aids/devices.
• Vehicle Modifications – If you have been disabled in an accident, your insurance will pay for vehicle modifications, which may include hand controls and wheelchair lifts.

Eliminate the Confusion

The Minnesota no-fault insurance laws can be extremely confusing to the lay-person. When you are shopping around for insurance quotes, make sure that you ask about the no-fault insurance Minnesota drivers are required to have. You should know about the many different statutes that are involved. This way you will understand all of your legal rights if you are in an auto accident. Some of the statutes that are included in Minnesota no-fault insurance are:

• Parked Vehicle
• Mandatory Insurance
• Motorcyclists
• Wrongful Death
• Non-Residents
• Out-of-State Accidents
• Exclusions from Benefits
• Deductibles
• PIP Benefits
• Insurance Medical Exam

Of course, these are just a few of the statutes for Minnesota no-fault insurance. Your insurer can tell you more, or you can also find out all you need to know on the Internet. You can also ask about the statutes when you are shopping around for insurance quotes.

First-Party Cases

When you reside in a no-fault state such as Minnesota and you are in an accident, the insurance companies of both drivers are required to pay for damages to the other parties. It doesn’t matter who caused the accident. In Minnesota, the no-fault law is divided into first-party and third-party cases. With a first-party case, the victim’s insurance company pays the no-fault benefits, which are also referred to as PIP, or personal injury protection, benefits. These benefits will take care of medical expenses arising from an accident, as well as lost wages for up to three years. Other benefits that are paid include home nursing care and mileage to and from medical appointments for a certain period of time.

You Need to File Your Claim as Soon as Possible

If you are in an auto accident, no-fault insurance Minnesota drivers are required to have will pay for damages, but you need to file your claim as soon as possible following the accident. If you wait longer than one year, your claim will be denied and you will not be entitled to any insurance benefits. When you file for damages, you must claim everything, including any medical expenses that you had as a result of the accident. If you wait longer than one year, you will not be eligible to receive any financial compensation.

Some Things Are NOT Covered

You may find that if you are in an accident there are some expenses that will not be covered by your insurance, and you end up having to sue the other driver in order to make up those costs. In order to be able to do this, you must file your lawsuit within one year of the date of the accident or when the expenses were incurred. If you wait longer than one year, you will not be entitled to receive any payment for damages by the other party involved in the accident.

Getting Additional Coverage

In addition to having the no-fault insurance Minnesota drivers are all required to have, you may want to consider having additional coverage, just in case. It may be that your no-fault coverage will not take care of all of the expenses you have following an auto accident, but if you have that extra coverage you won’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from to pay for the added expenses. Many people choose to have full coverage, which will pay for damages to their vehicles, medical expenses and more.

Getting Quotes Is the Smart Way to Shop for Auto Insurance

The best way to make sure that you are not going to end up paying too much for the no-fault insurance Minnesota requires all drivers to have is to get quotes from as many insurance companies as possible. You should check with local insurers as well as the national insurers to see who is offering which products at which rates. If you don’t do this, you will never know if you are getting a good deal or if you are paying way too much for your no-fault insurance and other insurance products.

Getting quotes from insurance companies is easier than ever. You don’t even have to make any phone calls. Just give us your zip code, and we will search our data bases to get many quotes from local and national insurers. The more quotes you have, the better you will be able to make your final decision about which insurer you want to deal with.