If you have recently bought your first car or you are planning to buy one in the near future, you should take some time to read the state regulations regarding car registration and insurance at state level.
All this information is made available for all interested citizens by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The first thing you have to know is that it is absolutely mandatory to have car insurance in Texas in order to be able to register it. Texas requires drivers to carry at minimum the following auto insurance coverages: Bodily Injury Liability: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. Property Damage Liability: $25,000. Personal Injury Protection (PIP): $2,500 unless you reject this coverage. This type of coverage is required for registration and must be renewed continuously for all the time periods in which the vehicle is licensed.
The personal injury protection is meant to cover you or other members of your family, in case of injury, regardless of who caused the accident, whereas the property damage liability is meant to cover all damage caused by you or any other member of your family, as a result of a car accident.
Texas is one of the states where car insurance is mandatory and not optional. One thing that you must bear in mind is that you require Texas coverage, meaning that you will need a policy issued in Texas by an insurance provider licensed in this state. If you are changing your state of residence, you cannot keep your previous policy, you have to ask your agent to help you transfer your insurance in Texas.
If you fail to comply with these rules, meaning that you are found driving on public roads without insurance or without a proper one, the following will occur: First-time offenders will, by law, be cited and fined between $175 and $350. Additionally, a surcharge of $250 will be added to your annual driver’s license fee for each of the next three years. Added up, getting caught driving without insurance in Texas the first time will end up costing you between $925 and $1100.
There are also other special situations that are regulated by state law. If you live in a different state, meaning that you are not a Texas resident, but for various reasons you spend more than 90 days per year here, consecutive or not, then you are required to have a policy according to Texas state law.
In the same way, if you own more than just one vehicle, you will be required to insure all of them according to the laws in Texas, for the entire period of time when they are registered, regardless of how often you drive them. One way to cut down your insurance cost for a vehicle that you don’t use is to surrender the license plate and registration for the entire period of time in which you will not drive the vehicle. This way you can cancel your insurance policy without any risk.
In the end, we recommend you to make sure you have a valid policy at all times, although we sincerely hope you will never have to use it.
This Blog was posted for you By Falcon Insurance Services in San Antonio