Learning More About No-Fault States

When it comes to securing your car insurance, you need to be familiar with the type of car insurance required by your state. Only one state does not require some type of auto insurance policy coverage to drive legally. For every other state you had better be familiar with exactly what type of coverage you need. Get caught driving without the proper type of auto insurance and you could be issued citations and fines for illegal driving.

Not only that but when you try to finally get an insurance policy if you have had a lapse of more than 30 days, you could be looking at much higher monthly premiums. Also, in the worst case scenario, if you are the at-fault driver in a collision without mandatory auto insurance coverage you will be in trouble legally plus be financially responsible for the other driver’s damages and medical expenses out of your own pocket. Avoid these problems by making sure you understand the importance of auto insurance in your state.

State-by-State – Know Your Requirements

It doesn’t matter if you are new to a state or just getting your auto insurance policy for the first time, not knowing the minimum requirements is not a good enough reason to drive illegally. It is crucial that you be familiar with your state requirements. One thing that is important to know is which states are no fault states.

• The 16 No-fault states include: Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Utah.

Of course, you may be wondering what exactly no-fault states mean by their insurance requirements. No-fault insurance is like PIP insurance coverage, which stands for Personal Injury Protection. The basic idea is that each driver is legally required have an auto insurance policy which covers him or herself. In the unfortunate case of an accident, each person’s insurance policy takes care of their own medical bills and property damage, regardless of who is at fault.

The reason for no-fault states requiring this type of policy is to make sure that each injured party gets the medical attention needed immediately without waiting to haggle over insurance coverage liability and financial responsibilities. The other reason is an attempt to cut down on the need for lawsuits. If each driver’s car insurance is paying for their own expenses there would be little need to sue the other driver or insurance company.

Other Details

There are still a few things you should realize such as :

• The minimum for some states is lower than others. Check with your own provider to see what your no-fault states requirement is.
• In many cases it is as low as $10,000. The down side to this is anything over this amount is still your responsibility to cover out of your own pocket. Your best bet is to up the amount or else you will be in court trying to recover your losses.
• Use just your zip code and you can find out how low your rates for your no fault states coverage will be.