Texas Vehicle Insurance
Reader’s Question:
What is the required Texas vehicle insurance?
Valerie
Dallas, TX
Texas vehicle insurance is uncomplicated. Financial responsibility laws in this state mandate that every resident driver should have liability coverage before they can get their cars registered. The limits for each accident you cause are $25,000 for injuries or death of one person, $50,000 for injuries or death of two or more people, and another $25,000 for any other property you may have damaged. Having such coverage limits in your Texas vehicle insurance will get you minimally insured.
But don’t be surprised if most car insurance companies initially offer you coverage limits of at least $100,000 for bodily injury liability. The reasoning behind this is that medical expenses can unexpectedly rise as you can never really tell how bad an accident can get or how much settlement the other driver is willing to agree on. The state has stiff penalties for drivers who think they can drive around uninsured. First-time offenders may be fined anywhere from $175 to $350. This can exponentially increase on the second and third offense. A third offense can result in driver’s license suspension and your car gets impounded by the state. At this point, you could also be forced to pay an additional penalty every year for up to three years even you already obtain Texas vehicle insurance. This is what they call in this state as a surchargeable violation.