State DMV and DOT Car Insurance Requirements
Do All State DMV and DOT Require Car Insurance Coverage? Forty-eight states require DMV and DOT require car insurance coverage, so you might not need to carry a large car insurance policy in order to have a legal registration and driver’s license.
When you get a car, you get a lot of things – freedom, excitement, mobility and a lot of fees. Not only does that new car come with a bill, but it seems you also need to pay insurance in order to register it and drive it without the police coming after you. But there’s hope yet for those who live in Wisconsin, Florida, or New Hampshire. It’s actually not a compulsory law for you to hold liability insurance. So, if you live there, good for you! Everyone else, stay out of that state. They’re not going to pay up in an accident.
Most states require some sort of form of car insurance to at least cover bodily harm in the event of an accident. You simply can’t go running into people and not pay their medical bills because you were looking at the CD player. Since all states are different, you’ll need to check in with your local DMV to see what’s required of you.
Some states will simply require that you have proof you can pay $10,000 to $50,000 in bills if something bad happens. Or you can pay the small fee each month for car insurance. Seems like a silly decision to make, doesn’t it? Pay for it yourself versus making a car insurance company pay for it?.hmm. However will you decide?
Now, each state has different requirements in terms of how MUCH insurance you need to hold. Michigan, for example, has a low no-fault policy which means they don’t pay as much when something goes wrong.
And while it’s tempting to be a cheapskate and just hold the lowest insurance policy possible, chances are the day you sign up for that is the day that 18 cars will run into you because you were looking down at your cell phone. Then what are you going to do?
Is auto insurance required in all states?
No, not all states require vehicle owners to get auto-insurance. However, drivers need to show proof of financial responsibility. For example, bonds are an alternative to car insurance. All states have minimum insurance requirements. To find out more about insurance and financial responsibility, go through our pages of car insurance.