New 2013 Car Insurance Laws

Drivers beware of new car insurance laws that became effective January 1st.

Life is definately not a day at the beach thanks to some new car insurance laws.

Okay, we are a month into a new year now and every year there were new car insurance laws that take effect as of January 1st. Were there any new car insurance laws in your state that you don’t know about and have been breaking for the last month? Was your car insurance coverage or premium affected by any new laws?

While we can’t cover all of the changes that were made January 1st, here 3 we wanted to share.

New Car Insurance Laws in Ohio

The Ohio legislature has passed this new insurance law, but it is still waiting to be signed by the governor before it becomes official. The new law would require a huge increase in the amount of liability coverage that Ohio drivers have to carry to be able to legally drive. The coverage would go from $7,500 in property damage liability coverage being required to $25,000 being required to drive.

You can be assured that this will raise your car insurance premiums if passed.

New Car Insurance Laws in Alabama

For Alabama, it’s not a new law that went into effect, but the enforcement of a law. As of January 1st, law enforcement officers, state employees that issue license plates, and the Department of Revenue all will now immediately check to make sure that drivers in Alabama are insured.

This immediate insurance verification will be verified through the State of Alabama’s Online Insurance Verification System. This information will be used whenever a driver is pulled over for a traffic violation, as well as when getting a license plate. The Department of Revenue will use the system to send insurance verification requests to residents that were convicted of violating the mandatory insurance law, had their driver’s license suspended, or have had their vehicle registration suspended.

New Car Insurance Laws in Florida

In the state of Florida, big changes were made to their PIP coverage as of January 1st. The states already mandatory PIP coverage was amended to try and cut back on the amount of car insurance fraud in the state. I have my own reservations about this reasoning as it seems that the only thing they really cut back on was the coverage that you are provided versus the amount you have to pay for.

Regardless of my opinion, the new law requires that any medical attention has to be sought within 15 days of the accident or your claim will automatically be denied.

The new law also splits the mandatory $10,000 in coverage that you have to purchase into two different categories: emergency and non-emergency. There will still be $10,000 for emergency coverage, but per the new law an emergency only exists if the patient health is in serious jeopardy, there is a serious impairment to bodily functions, or a serious dysfunction to an organ or body part.

All other injuries will only have $2,500 in coverage thanks to this new car insurance law.