If you were wondering, no, you don’t have to have Washington car insurance on your horseless carriage.

Not every motorized vehicle has to be insured in the state of Washington.

To clarify, the Washington car insurance talked about in this particular post is for Washington State, not Washington D.C. Now that we have that cleared up and our readers in the state of Washington are smiling in appreciation, let’s get to the information.

Alternatives to Washington Car Insurance

You don’t have to purchase Washington car insurance in order to drive; the state does allow you to choose other forms of financial responsibility. They will also accept:

• A certificate of deposit

• A liability bond

• Self-insurance

Self-insurance is only for vehicle owners that own 26 or more vehicles; which doesn’t pertain to most of our readers.

A certificate of deposit can be a replacement for Washington car insurance as long as it is for no less than $60,000. The deposit has to be made into a bank account for the state of Washington or with the State Treasurer. If you are ever asked for proof of insurance, you have to be able to provide proof of this certificate of deposit. The proof has to have the name of the driver covered for it and also the certificate number that was issued to you by the State Treasurer.

The liability bond is very similar to the certificate of deposit in that it also must be for no less than $60,000. It has to be filed by a surety bond company that is authorized to conduct business in Washington. Again, you have to be prepared to show proof of this liability bond if asked for proof of insurance. The proof must have the name of the company that issued the bond, the bond number and the name of the driver covered under the bond.

Washington Car Insurance Limits

While having alternatives to Washington car insurance is nice, most people just purchase the required car insurance. Washington car insurance requires that the drivers in the state purchase no less than $10,000 in property damage coverage.

Bodily injury liability coverage also has to be purchased with the property damage liability coverage. The coverage can be no less than $25,000 for the medical expenses of one person and $50, 000 for all medical expenses that may result from two or more people being injured.

Vehicles that Don’t Have to Have Washington Car Insurance

Some motorized vehicles are not required to carry Washington car insurance. They include:

• Motor-driven cycles

• Mopeds

• Motorcycles

• Horseless carriages over 40 years old

Yes, you read that last one correctly. So, if you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to find adequate car insurance for your horseless carriage, you can sleep peacefully now.

For the motorcycles, I know you don’t have to carry insurance, but I would seriously think hard before riding off into the sunset on your bike without this protection. There are inexpensive Washington car insurance policies for motorcycles that your agent can help you with; to protect both you and your bike on the road.

Keeping your West Virginia car insurance active is much cheaper than the fees and fines for getting caught without it.

Keeping your West Virginia car insurance active will give you nothing to worry about if chosen for a random insurance verification.

West Virginia’s car insurance requirements only require that you carry liability coverage to be able to drive. The liability coverage is meant to make sure that you can pay for any injuries or damages you may cause to another party. This not only protects other drivers from accidents that they are not at fault for, but it also protects you financially.

Without having liability coverage, you will be responsible to pay for all of the costs associated with the accident. Initially the other party’s insurance company may pay for a good portion of it, but they will come after you to get their money back. This can lead to lawsuits, collection agencies contacting you and even bankruptcy if you cannot pay.

The Required West Virginia Car Insurance

The minimum liability coverage that you are allowed to purchase and still drive legally is:

• $20,000 in coverage for injuries (or death) you may inflict on another person with your vehicle.

• $40,000 in coverage for all of the injuries in a single car accident that you are at fault for. This coverage is for when there are two or more people injured and is the most that your insurance company would pay out for medical expenses.

• $10,000 in coverage for damages you do with your vehicle to property that you do not own. This is not just limited to other vehicles you may hit; but also traffic signs, houses, fences, etc.

Random West Virginia Car Insurance Checks

Proof of West Virginia car insurance is required whenever you are asked for it by a police officer, register your vehicle or are sent a random insurance check letter by the DMV. When you receive this letter, you are required to return it with proof of the insurance coverage that you have. Your letter will have more details as to the exact proof they need and how you can return it.

If you ignore this letter, forget about the letter, or do not have insurance; you will find your driver’s license and vehicle’s registration suspended.

Reinstatement of Privileges after No West Virginia Car Insurance

Once you have lost your driving privileges (license and registration), to get them back you have to wait and pay. Waiting consists of 30 days before you can get your driver’s license back and 90 days if you are caught without insurance a second time. You also have to wait until you get car insurance back in force.

Now, for the fees you will owe to reinstate everything. Please keep in mind these are just reinstatement fees, this is not everything you will be required to pay as there are other fees and fines involved for driving without West Virginia car insurance.

First, to reinstate you vehicle registration you will be required to pay a $100 fee, plus another $50 if the DMV had to send a state police secure order on your plates. Second, getting back your driver’s license will require another $50 to reinstate.

Basically, you have just wasted almost $200 because you thought you would save money by not paying for the mandatory West Virginia car insurance that you have to buy now anyway to be able to drive again.

Michigan car insurance is in place to protect mainly you.

Michigan tries to simplify insurance through no-fault laws.

Michigan car insurance requirements are based on Michigan being a no-fault state. This means that you are required to carry insurance more to protect you in the event you are injured in an accident and not the other party. It also means that you will have coverage to pay for medical bills regardless of who caused the accident.

Required Michigan Car Insurance

Michigan car insurance has three required coverages that you must purchase to be able to drive and register your vehicle in the state.

• Personal Injury Protection

• Property Protection

• Residual Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Insurance

The personal injury protection coverage pays for your medical expenses in the event that you are injured in an accident. It also provides coverage for a long list of other expenses that you may have, including lost wages.

Property protection pays for damages you may create with your vehicle, to property that is not yours. It provides up to $1 million in coverage and covers everything except damages you may cause to another person’s vehicle, unless that vehicle is parked.

Residual BI/PD Michigan Car Insurance

Residual bodily injury and property damage liability insurance may seem odd if people pay for their own medical expenses and damages to their vehicles. This residual coverage is really a backup insurance in the event of extreme circumstances, as it only kicks in under very specific events.

The minimum you are allowed to carry for this coverage is 20/40/10 and it is only used when you are being sued for one of the allowable events under Michigan car insurance law.

Few Lawsuits allowed Under Michigan Car Insurance

With how Michigan car insurance is set up in the state, drivers are not allowed to sue each other. All medical bills are taken care of through your own car insurance; but as we talked about above, there are a few circumstances that lawsuits are allowed.

These lawsuit allowable events are the events that would fall under your residual BI/PD coverage:

• You can be sued up to $500 if you are 50% or more at fault for an accident and the other person has damage to their car that is not covered by insurance.

• You get into an accident outside of Michigan.

• You have an accident with a driver that is not a Michigan resident and the accident happened in Michigan.

• You kill or seriously injure another person with your vehicle.

Penalties for not Having Michigan Car Insurance

Michigan car insurance is not optional and comes with stiff penalties for not having it. If you are caught without the required car insurance coverage in Michigan you will be charged with a misdemeanor. You will also be fined up to $500 or get to spend a year in jail or even be penalized with both.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as there may be other fines and fees that you may be subject to after the initial penalties for driving without Michigan car insurance. You can also have your license suspended and not be allowed to renew your vehicle registration without purchasing a pre-paid Michigan car insurance policy that cannot be cancelled.

Insurance for drivers with a foreign driver’s license is not available everywhere.

If you are a driver with a foreign driver’s license and wish to find insurance in the United State, it is more difficult that you may first think.

Some insurance companies will insure a driver with a foreign driver’s license and others will not. The best way to find an insurance company that insures a driver with a foreign driver’s license is to call agents in your area and insurance companies to ask.

If you want to save time, make sure that this the first question you ask them. That way if they don’t insure drivers with a foreign driver’s license then you don’t have to waste your time going through the whole quote process for nothing.

Indiana car insurance bucks the norm of state required insurance coverage.

In Indiana some insurance is required, some can be waived, some is just optional.

Low property damage liability coverage, insurance coverages that are only partially required and required forms that you don’t fill out; these are just some of the things that make Indiana car insurance different. Indiana is a good example of how important it is to quickly learn the car insurance laws of any new state that you move to. Ignorantly thinking that the car insurance laws in one state are generally the same as in any other state will get you in trouble.

Liability Requirements for Indiana Car Insurance

The state of Indiana requires that you buy liability insurance with minimum limits of 25/50/10. The initial 25 represents the $25,000 that you must purchase in bodily injury liability coverage for the injuries that you cause to a single person.

The middle 50 is $50,000 of coverage in the second part of the required bodily injury liability coverage for Indiana car insurance. This half is larger because it is the most that your insurance company will pay out for all injuries in a car accident you cause, if there are multiple people that are injured.

At the end is the 10, which represents the measly $10,000 that Indiana requires you to carry in property damage liability coverage. Believe it or not, this is to cover the damages you cause to property that is not your own.

Trust me when I tell you that this is not enough coverage for most of the damage you can cause in a car accident. To be adequately protected talk to your insurance agent about the limits that would work best for your financial situation.

The Other Required, but not Required Indiana Car Insurance

In states around the country, more and more of them are starting to require that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage be purchased. Indiana car insurance requirements have joined this move and also require that you purchase this coverage to protect yourself in the event of an accident.

The coverage can only be used if the driver at fault for the accident does not have any insurance, or is not found after an accident. It can also only be used for medical expenses.

Now, the not required part of this Indiana car insurance requirement. You can sign a waiver stating that you don’t want the coverage and then you don’t have to have it. How’s that for being a required car insurance coverage?

The SR-21 Form and Indiana Car Insurance

We have talked about SR-22 insurance quite a bit in the past, but Indiana’s SR-21 form is something different. First, it is an informational form that is submitted to the state, not something you have to purchase from your insurance company. Second, it is only needed by the state if you have been in a car accident where the damages exceed $1000, there has been an injury or someone has died.

The form is sent from your insurance company to the state to basically confirm that you had insurance coverage on the date the accident took place. Unless, your insurance company fails to do this you really won’t be involved in this process. It is good to know about this process though, in the event you get a letter from the state asking for the SR-21 form to be filed to prove that you have Indiana car insurance.