Wisconsin Car Insurance

Recent changes in legislation just made Wisconsin car insurance a little more affordable.

Welcome to Wisconsin- The Land of Changing Insurance Requirements

Every time a political party regains control of their state, there is always the chance that new laws will be put into place according to that party’s agenda. Wisconsin recently went through their own political party shift and the newly in control Republicans took aim at changing Wisconsin’s car insurance laws.

Now, the insurance laws that the Republicans recently changed were just put in place about 2 years ago by the Democrats that then had control of the state. Which serves as a reminder to us all of how connected politics are to our car insurance. (I promise that is the only political message I have today).

The Old Required Wisconsin Car Insurance

Prior to November 1, 2011, the minimum liability limits required in the state of Wisconsin were very high for liability injury coverage and uninsured motorist coverage. These required limits are just about the maximum that insurance companies sell and seem to be ridiculously high for being the lowest limits that a driver can purchase. They look even worse considering the fact you only had to have $15,000 in property damage coverage on your Wisconsin car insurance.

Wisconsin Car Insurance Minimums (prior to 11/1/11):

• $50,000 for injuries to a single person

• $100,000 for the total cost of all injuries in the accident

• $15,000 to cover property damage that you do to another

• $100,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for injuries to a single person

• $300,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for total cost of all injuries in accident

The New Required Wisconsin Car Insurance

Thanks to new legislation that was passed in Wisconsin in early 2011; Wisconsin drivers got a break in how much insurance they have to carry in order to be able to driver legally.

As of November 1, 2011 the minimum required coverage for Wisconsin car insurance dropped to the following levels:

• $25,000 for injuries to a single person

• $50,000 for the total cost of all injuries in the accident

• $10,000 to cover property damage that you do to another

• $25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for injuries to a single person

• $50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for total cost of all injuries in accident

As you can see the state dropped the required bodily injury requirement in half and the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage was dropped to over a quarter of what was required previously.

This decrease in Wisconsin car insurance requirements was done to give Wisconsin drivers more options for their insurance coverage. It also allows those with lower incomes to be able to purchase cheaper insurance so they can drive, instead of having to drive illegally because they can’t afford coverage.

Safety Responsibility Law for Wisconsin Car Insurance

In the state of Wisconsin if you are in a car accident, you have to report it to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if there are any injuries or fatalities. You also must report any accident that causes more than $1,000 to another person’s property; even if there are no injuries in the accident.

You have 10 days to report the accident to the DMV, the only exception being if a police officer took an accident report at the scene. In this case, the officer will file the report for you with the DMV; you will still have to file the claim with your Wisconsin car insurance company though.