As you shop online for the best auto insurance deals you may begin to ask yourself what exactly is required by law when it comes to auto insurance. Fortunately this article outlines the auto liability insurance state minimums that you are required to have in order to legally drive in the United States. No matter what state you drive in all of them have financial responsibility laws and require motorists to purchase minimum amounts of auto liability insurance except for Tennessee, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.
Many websites and advocates of insurance (to include myself) recommend having a minimum of $100,000 for bodily injury protection per person and at least $300,000 for property damage costs and physical injury costs. The main reason for this is due to the increased amount of money needed to rectify an accident is usually more then what the states declare as the minimum amount of insurance coverage needed.
I have compiled the following information from the American Insurance Association, the Property Casualty Insurers Association, and the Insurance Information Institute. It shows the auto liability insurance state minimums as required by each state. In order to understand the numbers you must know what the mean. The first two numbers are for bodily injury liability and the third number represents the minimum amount of property damage liability.
As an example my home state of Missouri shows the following – Missouri 25/50/10. This means Missouri requires as a minimum coverage up to $50,000 for all persons injured in an accident, subject to a limit of $25,000 for one individual, and $10,000 coverage for property damage.
Alabama 20/40/10 Alaska 50/100/25 Arizona 15/30/10 Arkansas 25/50/25
California 15/30/5 Colorado 25/50/15 Connecticut 20/40/10 Delaware 15/30/5
D.C. 25/50/10 Florida 10/20/10 Georgia 25/50/25 Hawaii 20/40/10
Idaho 25/50/15 Illinois 20/40/15 Indiana 25/50/10 Iowa 20/40/15
Kansas 25/50/10 Kentucky 25/50/10 Louisiana 10/20/10 Maine 50/100/25
Maryland 20/40/15 Massachusetts 20/40/5 Michigan 20/40/10 Minnesota 30/60/10
Mississippi 10/20/05 Missouri 25/50/10 Montana 25/50/10 Nebraska 25/50/25
Nevada 15/30/10 New Hampshire 25/50/25 New Jersey 15/30/5 New Mexico 25/50/10 New York 25/50/10 North Carolina 30/60/25 North Dakota 25/50/25 Ohio 12.5/25/7.5
Oklahoma 10/20/10 Oregon 25/50/10 Pennsylvania 15/30/5 Rhode Island 25/50/25
South Carolina 15/30/10 South Dakota 25/50/25 Tennessee 25/50/10 Texas 20/40/15
Utah 25/50/15 Vermont 25/50/10 Virginia 25/50/20 Washington 25/50/10
West Virginia 20/40/10 Wisconsin 25/50/10 Wyoming 25/50/20
Remember these figures only represent auto insurance liability state minimums. Many experts agree that more insurance is needed in order to fully protect yourself in the event you’re involved in an automobile accident.
By: Tim Gorman
Posts Tagged ‘Amount Of Money’
What Are The Auto Liability Insurance State Minimums For My State?
January 20th, 201010 Auto Insurance Savings Ideas
January 6th, 2010
Auto insurance is one of those necessary items that many people don’t realize they can save money and still get the right coverages. So how do you go about lowering your auto insurance costs? Here are 10 money-saving tips.
1) Raise your deductibles. Your deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance coverages kick in. The lower your deductible, the higher your premium. You could save a lot of money just by increasing your deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage.
2) Compare quotes from different insurers. Auto insurance companies base their rates on several factors, and because of this, rates vary quite a bit from company to company. You could save hundreds by doing some comparison shopping for the lowest rate. You should get at least three different quotes for comparison. An online insurance comparison Web site is a convenient place to start.
3) Drive fewer miles. One of the factors that affects your rate is amount of miles you drive annually. Many companies offer a discount for lower mileage drivers.
4) Maintain good credit. This is controversial, but the fact is many auto insurers evaluate risk against credit ratings because they say that there is a correlation between good credit and good insurance risk. The better your credit score, the better rate you may receive.
5) Stay a safe driver. Driving safely means lowering your risk of a collision — and a claim. Too many claims can raise your auto insurance costs. Some insurers will reward accident-free drivers with a good driver discount as well.
6) Keep a clean driving record. Along with being a safe driver, following traffic laws will ensure that you avoid traffic tickets, which can raise your rate considerably.
7) Combine your auto and home insurance. Most companies will provide a discount on your rate if you insure your home and car with the same company.
Pick the right coverages. Too much coverage for your situation may cause you to pay a higher premium than necessary. On the other hand, if you cut your coverages too low you could end up paying a lot if you have a claim or are at-fault in a collision. Think about your limits of liability carefully and discuss with a qualified agent if you have questions.
9) Choose your car carefully. If you are going to buy a vehicle, look into the costs of insurance. Different types of autos get different risk ratings. If you find a vehicle you like, get some auto insurance quotes.
10) Take advantage of discounts. Most auto insurers offer a variety of discounts. Make sure you are getting all of the discounts that you can. You could save money for being a good student, a senior driver, having safety features and anti-theft features on your vehicle and more.
By: Justin Scott
Ever Wondered What An Auto Insurance Claim Adjuster Does?
December 24th, 2009
An auto insurance claim adjuster works for the insurance company with whom you purchase a policy. Some insurance companies use independent adjusters so that they get an unbiased report. When you have an accident and make a claim on your insurance, the company will send out an adjuster to access the damages and come up with an amount of money that will be needed to complete the repairs. The auto insurance claim adjuster has to contact the garages to get an estimate of what the parts and labor will cost.
When you report a claim for an accident to your auto insurance, they will contact the appropriate adjuster. The auto insurance adjuster assigned to your case will contact you to get the details on where he/she can assess the vehicle. Then you will receive a report from the insurance company regarding the assessment the auto insurance claim adjuster submits. If the damages exceed the value of the vehicle, it will be “written off”.
The amount you get on your auto insurance policy depends on the policy itself. If the auto insurance claim adjuster determines that the vehicle is written off, the insurance will pay you the book value of the vehicle. This could be more or less than what the car is worth. With some auto insurance policies, you can pay extra to have a clause included stating that if the vehicle is written off within the first two years, you get the full amount that you paid for the automobile.
There is a certain process that an auto insurance claim adjuster has to use to come up with the amount the insurance company will pay. You will usually get two quotes – one that will see the car getting repaired at a top of the line garage and another if you take a cash settlement on the claim and get the work done yourself. The auto insurance adjuster knows that many people have friends who can do the work cheaper and often take the money.
Once you decide how you want to proceed, the insurance company will issue a check. If you are paying on the vehicle, the check will be made out jointly to you and the lender. Otherwise the check comes directly to you. The job of the auto insurance adjuster is only to access the damages, Any dispute you have regarding the report made by the auto insurance claim adjuster has to be done through the insurance company. Keep this in mind because the adjuster is only an ordinary person like yourself trying to make a living.
An auto insurance claim adjuster doesn’t have an easy job.
By: Peter Crump