Congratulations to the many states that saw decreases in their insurance premiums in 2012.

It’s a new year and we have new leaders in the average premium rankings. Many states are breathing that sigh of relief that their insurance premiums went down this year (compared to last year’s premiums). Sadly, drivers in other states got hit in the wallets again with higher insurance premiums.

But, this is the way it goes every year.

Keep in mind also that these premiums are averages for your state; they may not accurately represent what you are paying for insurance. However, it may be time to start getting insurance quotes from new companies if your insurance premium went up and the state average went down.

Information provided by insure.com

The person liable for the accident you were in and who caused the damages to your vehicle is the one that has to pay for the damages.

Because you are the person that caused the damages, it means that you or your insurance has to pay for the damages to your vehicle. In addition to any other damages that you may have caused to property that is not yours.

Now, the term “full coverage” technically does not exist. If you are saying that you have comprehensive and collision coverage on your vehicle, then your insurance company can help pay for the damages. That’s what the coverage is there for right?

You do not have to pay anything out of your pocket (if you have coverage) other than your deductible. Unless you decide to not have your insurance company pay for the damages, then you have every right to pay for them out of your own pocket.

Minnesota is another state that requires as much coverage for you as they do for others on your Minnesota car insurance policy.

If you are every injured in a car accident, the required car insurance coverage won't leave you feeling like you are alone on an island.

Minnesota car insurance has so many different backup coverages that medical expenses should have no problem being paid for if you are in an accident. It’s really the damages that you may cause to another person’s property or damages that are caused to your vehicle that you have to worry about being paid for in Minnesota.

Mandatory PIP for Minnesota Car Insurance

Personal injury protection coverage is part of the no-fault law in the state of Minnesota. In the event of a car accident where you are injured, your PIP coverage is what will pay for the medical expenses. PIP coverage will kick in regardless of who is at fault for the accident.

You are required to carry $40,000 in PIP coverage per person/per accident on your Minnesota car insurance policy. This coverage breaks down to $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for non-medical expenses.

Mandatory Liability for Minnesota Car Insurance

Bodily injury liability coverage is required as part of your Minnesota car insurance, just like it is for almost every other state. For Minnesota, they require that you carry no less than $30,000 in coverage for the medical expenses for one person in a single accident. This coverage is paired with the requirement of having to carry no less than $60,000 in coverage for two or more people in a single accident.

You may be asking yourself why you have to carry bodily injury liability insurance if you live in a no-fault state. The bodily injury liability coverage is to cover for when medical expenses exceed that of the limits of the PIP policy for the other party.

Property damage liability coverage is also required as part of the mandatory liability coverage on a Minnesota car insurance policy. A measly $10,000 is required to be carried to cover any damages that you do to another person’s property. It is highly recommended that you carry more coverage than this though. This $10,000 won’t cover much and you will be left with paying for whatever the insurance policy didn’t.

Mandatory UM/UIM for Minnesota Car Insurance

Uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverages are the backup insurance to the backup insurance.

For example, say that you are injured in an accident that is caused by another person. Your medical expenses would first be covered under your own PIP coverage. Once your expenses exceed your PIP limits, you would go after the other person’s bodily injury liability coverage to cover the remaining expenses. Now, here is where the uninsured motorist and the underinsured motorist coverages come in:

1) If the other person does not have enough bodily injury liability coverage for your medical expenses your underinsured motorist coverage would kick in.

2) If the other person does not have any bodily injury liability coverage at all, you uninsured motorist coverage would pick up your medical expenses from where your PIP ended.

For both UM and UIM you are required to carry $25,000 per person and $50,000 for two or more people on your Minnesota car insurance policy.

Iowa car insurance is not a requirement in the state of Iowa to be able to drive or register a vehicle.

Iowa is a rare state in the spectrum of car insurance laws.

Yes, that is correct; you are not required to purchase Iowa car insurance to be able to drive in Iowa. Although, purchasing an Iowa car insurance policy is recommended to protect yourself from financial difficulties you may face if you cause an accident.

Instead of Iowa car insurance requirements, the state has another law in place that requires financial responsibility. However, this law doesn’t kick in until the driver or owner of the vehicle has already been in an accident or has been caught driving while intoxicated.

No Mandatory Iowa Car Insurance

There is no mandatory Iowa car insurance for the drivers of this state. There is no bodily injury liability coverage or property damage liability coverage that you have to buy to be able to drive or register your vehicle in Iowa. On top of that, there is no insurance coverage that you have to buy to cover the medical expenses that you may have in an accident either.

However, before you celebrate too much, you still have to be able to provide proof of financial responsibility if you were to get into an accident. That is, you have to provide proof that you can pay for the damages and injuries of the other party if you cause an accident.

Iowa Car Insurance Substitution

The Financial and Safety Responsibility Act is the state’s substitution for Iowa car insurance (sorta). What it does is that it suspends the registration and driver’s license of the driver or owner that could not show they had financial responsibility in place for an accident. This means that they had nothing set up to pay for the damages or medical expenses caused by a car accident.

The Financial and Safety Responsibility Act also requires that anyone who has had their driver’s license suspended due to unsatisfied judgment, violation, or conviction of the Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Law to prove financial responsibility in order to drive. This is to protect other drivers on the road from any future injuries or damages that this type of driver may cause.

Proof of Financial Responsibility Instead of Iowa Car Insurance

If you are in a car accident, you have to provide one of the following as proof of financial responsibility:

• Iowa liability insurance

• Post a payment to the Office of Driver Services with cash, certified check, cashier’s check, bank draft or postal money order.

• Be relieved of all liability by decision from a civil damage action.

• Have all other injured or damaged partied provide you with a release.

• File an agreement with the injured or damaged parties to pay restitution on an installment plan.

• File evidence that a settlement for all injuries and damages has been completed.

• “Execute a warrant for confession of judgment which includes an agreement upon payment schedule.” (Iowa.gov)

Even though it’s not required, buying an Iowa car insurance policy for the liability coverage would probably save you a lot of money in the event of an accident, as compared to some of these other options.

Kansas car insurance requirements have the most specific mandatory coverages in the nation.

The state of Kansas will direct you with specifically what car insurance coverage you need to have.

States around the country are usually content with just requiring that their drivers carry liability insurance, so that everyone on the road is protected somewhat. Kansas car insurance does that plus more. They require not only liability coverage to protect anyone that you may hit with your vehicle, but a good deal of coverage for yourself as well.

Kansas car insurance is not alone in starting to require that drivers carry some sort of protection for themselves like; personal injury protection, medical payments, underinsured motorist or uninsured motorist. What makes Kansas car insurance requirements stand out from the rest are the very specific coverages that they require you to carry under your personal injury protection coverage.

Kansas Car Insurance Liability Coverage

Kansas car insurance laws require that all drivers be protected from each other by mandating that everyone carry liability insurance. The bodily injury liability coverage is required so that you have a way to pay for the medical expenses of a person you hit with your vehicle.

The state requires that you have at least $25,000 in coverage to pay for these expenses for a single person that you injure or kill. It is also required that you carry no less than $50,000 in coverage to cover the medical expenses that arise for all injuries or fatalities in a single accident.

In addition to having coverage to pay for injuries you may cause, you also have to carry coverage for any property damage that you may do with your vehicle. You can have no less than $10,000 in Kansas car insurance coverage to pay for the damages to people’s property.

Kansas Car Insurance PIP Coverage

The personal injury protection (PIP) that you have to have on your Kansas car insurance is extremely detailed as to the specific coverages that are to be included. As an overview, PIP coverage is for the medical expenses that you or anyone in your vehicle sustains in a car accident. This coverage can be used regardless of who caused the accident.

The minimum PIP coverage you are allowed to have on your Kansas car insurance:

• $4,500/person for medical expenses

• $25/day for in-home services for one year

• $900/month for one year for disability/loss of income

• $2,000 for funeral, burial or cremation expense

• $4,500 for rehabilitation expense

• Survivor Benefits: Disability/loss of income up to $900/month for one year

Kansas Car Insurance UM/UIM Coverage

The state of Kansas requires that you carry uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage pays for the medical expenses that you may have if another driver hits you with their vehicle and they do not have any insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage is to protect you in the event that you have more medical expenses than the other driver has in insurance coverage.

Kansas car insurance law requires that you carry no less than $25,000 in coverage for a single person and no less than $50,000 total in coverage for two or more people.