Auto insurance
is absolutely necessary in Minnesota. Every driver in the state of Minnesota is required by law to hold at least the state minimum amount of auto insurance coverage in order to drive a car. Knowing and understanding the laws and regulations on auto insurance in Minnesota can help you avoid heavy penalties and fines.
Types of Coverage
There are four types of required auto insurance coverage, and two optional types of coverage in the state of Minnesota. Required coverage includes Personal Injury Protection (PIP), what is commonly known as "No Fault" insurance, and pays you and your family medical expenses, lost wages and other benefits up to the policy limit if you are involved in a crash. Liability is also a required insurance. This covers claims from another driver if you are in a collision and found to be at fault for the accident. Underinsured coverage, along with your PIP coverage, help pay for expenses if the other driver is at fault for an accident but does not have sufficient coverage to pay the claim owed to you. Uninsured insurance coverage helps cover expenses after your PIP is exhausted and the at fault driver has no insurance.
Optional types of insurance coverage are Collision, covering any damage done to your car if you collide with an object or vehicle, and Comprehensive, which covers anything that may happen to your car that is not a collision. Types of claims may include theft, weather or running into an animal.
Minimum Coverage Amounts
The state of Minnesota requires a minimum amount of coverage for each of the four required types of insurance coverage. An auto insurance policy must have at least much coverage in each specific area: PIP requires $40,000 of coverage. This number includes $20,000 for hospital and medical expenses and $20,000 to make up for lost wages. Liability is $30,000 for an injury to one person, $60,000 for an injury to two or more people, and $10,000 to cover damage done to another person's vehicle or property.
Underinsured covers $25,000 for an injury to one person, and $50,000 for an injury to two or more people. Uninsured covers $25,000 for an injury to one person, and $50,000 for an injury to two or more people. Every reputable insurance company will know and understand these minimum requirements, and any policy purchases in Minnesota should carry at least this much coverage.
Cancellation of a Policy
In Minnesota, insurance companies have the right to cancel a policy within the first 59 days of it being issued for any reason, except for the following: employment status, housing status or not previously having an auto insurance policy. After 59 days, they are no longer allowed to cancel an insurance policy, unless the insured fails to pay for the policy, or commits some form of insurance fraud with the policy.
Rental Car Coverage
Minnesota state law requires all auto insurance policies to offer a minimum of $35,000 of coverage to rental cars. This means that people insured within the state of Minnesota do not need to worry about purchasing additional insurance when renting a car. When renting a car in the state of Minnesota, rental agencies are required to inform customers that purchasing additional insurance is not necessary if their auto policy comes from Minnesota.
Loaning a Car to a Friend
If a friend is driving your car, and is in an accident, his auto insurance policy will cover all injuries. The damages to the car itself will be covered by your auto insurance policy.
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