Auto Insurance Differences by
State
It’s a State Thing
Insurance rates are regulated by
state-run agencies and can,
therefore,
vary widely from state to state.
It’s pretty easy to understand why
some
states would be higher than others.
The most expensive state to insure a
car, New Jersey, is car-congested
with wrecks, thefts, and injuries
off
the chart on actuarial tables; the
least expensive, North Dakota, is an
insurer’s dream: You can cruise for
miles and miles and never see
another car to run yours into or,
for that matter, another person to
steal or vandalize it.
Forty-five states require that you
purchase liability insurance, so
it’s
important you check with your state
to see if you’re one of the lucky
ones.
PIP (Does Not Sing for Gladys
Knight)
Personal injury protection (PIP) may
be required in your state, but the
good news is that if you already
have decent health and disability
policies, you probably don’t need to
buy more than the state-required
minimum. It’s Always Something
Five states, South Carolina,
Virginia, Tennessee, New Hampshire,
and
Wisconsin don’t require liability
insurance, but don’t think that lets
you off the hook. South Carolina and
Virginia require that you register
as an uninsured motorist if you do
not have liability insurance, and
Tennessee requires proof of
financial responsibility. New
Hampshire and
Wisconsin don't mandate liability
coverage except in certain cases,
but
do require you have uninsured
motorist coverage.
I Didn’t Do It!
"No-fault" laws, meaning your auto
policy must pay medical bills for
injuries suffered in an auto
accident regardless of who caused
the
accident, are required in some
states. These laws were passed to
try and
reduce auto-injury fraud and keep
insurance costs down.
Make Sure You’re Protected
Uninsured motorists (UM) coverage
takes care of your injuries if a
hit-and-run driver plows into you or
you’re cratered by someone who
doesn't have auto insurance. It,
too, is required in many states.
Underinsured motorists (UIM)
coverage pays for the damage cost
over-run
that the at-fault driver’s liability
insurance doesn’t cover. Property
damage is also included by UM and/or
UIM coverage in some states. If
you’re smart, you'll want to have at
least the minimal amount of UM/UIM
coverage in the event the other
driver disappears into thin air so
any
damage caused by pain and suffering
on your part will be at least
partially taken care of.
Check Your State
To make everything easy for those of
us who are insurance
knowledge-challenged, here is a
handy-dandy chart (see below) you
can
run your eyes down and see exactly
what is and what is not THE LAW in
your state.
Here is what the mysterious
“Three Numbers” regarding liability
insurance mean in the chart below:
First number: bodily injury
liability maximum for one person
injured in
an accident Second number: bodily
injury liability maximum for all
injuries in one accident Third
number: property damage liability
maximum
for one accident. For example, in Texas the minimum
liability limits are $20,000 for
injury liability for one person in
an accident, $40,000 for all
injuries
in an accident, and $15,000 for
property damage in an accident.
State Liability required?/ Liability
minimum PIP required? No-fault
state? Uninsured motorist coverage
required?
Alabama Yes, 20/40/10 No No No
Alaska Yes, 50/100/25 No No No
Arizona Yes, 15/30/10 No No No
Arkansas Yes, 25/50/25 No No No
California Yes, 15/30/5 No No No
Colorado Yes, 25/50/15 Yes Yes No
Connecticut Yes, 20/40/10 No No Yes
Delaware Yes, 15/30/5 Yes No No
Florida Yes, 10/20/10 Yes Yes No
Georgia Yes, 25/50/25 No No No
Hawaii Yes, 20/40/10 Yes Yes No
Idaho Yes, 25/50/15 No No No
Illinois Yes, 20/40/15 No No Yes
Indiana Yes, 25/50/10 No No No
Iowa Yes, 20/40/15 No No No
Kansas Yes, 25/50/10 Yes Yes Yes
Kentucky Yes, 25/50/10 Yes Yes No
Louisiana Yes, 10/20/10 No No No
Maine Yes, 50/100/25 No No Yes
Maryland Yes, 20/40/15 Yes No Yes
Massachusetts Yes, 20/40/5 Yes Yes
Yes
Michigan Yes, 20/40/10 Yes Yes No
Minnesota Yes, 30/60/10 Yes Yes Yes
Mississippi Yes, 10/20/5 No No No
Missouri Yes, 25/50/10 No No Yes
Montana Yes, 25/50/10 No No No
Nebraska Yes, 25/50/25 No No No
Nevada Yes, 15/30/10 No No No
New Hampshire No, 25/50/25 No No Yes
New Jersey Yes, 15/30/5 Yes Yes Yes
New Mexico Yes, 25/50/10 No No No
New York Yes, 25/50/10 Yes Yes Yes
North Carolina Yes, 30/60/25 No No
No
North Dakota Yes, 25/50/25 Yes Yes
Yes
Ohio Yes, 12.5/25/7.5 No No No
Oklahoma Yes, 10/20/10 No No No
Oregon Yes, 25/50/10 Yes No Yes
Pennsylvania Yes, 15/30/5 No Yes No
Rhode Island Yes, 25/50/25 No No Yes
South Carolina No, 15/30/10 No No
Yes
South Dakota Yes, 25/50/25 No No Yes
Tennessee Yes, 25/50/10 No No No
Texas Yes, 20/40/15 No No No
Utah Yes, 25/50/15 Yes Yes No
Vermont Yes, 25/50/10 No No Yes
Virginia No, 25/50/20 No No Yes
Washington Yes, 25/50/10 No No No
Washington D.C. Yes, 25/50/10 No No
Yes
West Virginia Yes, 20/40/10 No No
Yes
Wisconsin No, 25/50/10 No No Yes
Wyoming Yes, 25/50/20 No No No
Play it Smart
Of course you want to save money –
anyone in their right mind would
rather put aside their hard-earned
cash for that once-in-a-lifetime
vacation to Aruba – but the
insurance industry and consumer
groups (the
people on your side) generally
recommend a minimum of $100,000 of
bodily
injury protection per person and
$300,000 per accident. This is
because
accidents can very easily cost far
more than the minimum limits
mandated
by most states. As you can see from the chart above,
these recommended amounts are
considerably larger than all the
state minimums, but unless you’re a
starving college student with
nothing to your name except your
1967 VW
microbus and six pairs of holey
jeans, you might want to seriously
consider upping your coverage. Just
because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s
smart – especially when you consider
you could lose that Aruba vacation
money, along with most of your other
worldly possessions, in a lawsuit
if someone gets seriously injured or
– heaven forbid – dies in an
accident caused by you.
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