TEXAS STATE MINIMUM INSURANCE COVERAGE

The minimum auto insurance required in a state is the amount of bodily injury liability and property damage liability that a driver must carry on their auto insurance policy to maintain their vehicle registration in the state that they live in. This coverage is mandatory because it provides reimbursement for injuries to the people in the other vehicle and the damages to their property resulting from an accident you caused. It also protects you from having to pay for the injuries and damages you cause out of your pocket unless your policy limits are exceeded.

Remember that State Minimum Auto Insurance only pays for the injuries you cause to another person and the damages you cause to their vehicle or other property. This type of auto coverage does not cover your injuries, the injuries to the passengers in your vehicle, or the damages to your car. 

What does State Minimum Insurance cover?

Bodily Injury Coverage provides coverage for injuries that you cause to another driver, their passengers, or a pedestrian. In the case of Texas’s minimum required bodily injury limit, your car insurance carrier would pay up to $30,000 per person that you injure but will pay no more than $60,000 in total for the injuries that you cause to the people in another vehicle, or a pedestrian, in any one accident. 

Property Damage Coverage provides coverage for the repair or replacement of the vehicle or property belonging to someone else that you damaged in an accident. The $25,000 property damage limit that Texas requires would be the maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay to repair or replace the other person’s or people’s property in any one accident.

In the case of both bodily injury and property damage, if the accident you cause results in total injuries exceeding your bodily injury limit or damage exceeding your property damage limit, you can be held directly responsible for paying the additional expenses to the other party.

Consider purchasing higher coverage limits rather than meeting the minimum car insurance requirements to better protect yourself. Because minimum coverage requirements don't cover your medical bills or those of your passengers, consider adding personal injury protection or medical payments to your vehicle's insurance policy. Finally, if you want the damages to your vehicle to be covered, consider purchasing comprehensive and collision coverages.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, if you are caught driving without liability insurance in Texas, you must pay a penalty of $175-$350 if it is your first offense. You may also be ticketed by the police for driving without car insurance, which can result in an increase in your insurance premium or potentially the cancellation of your auto insurance policy altogether. In the case of a second offense or more, you will have to pay a penalty of $300-$1,000 and risk that your car could be impounded for up to 180 days and incur the accompanying storage fees, which can cost up to $36.80 per day that the car is impounded. 

If you are involved in an accident and found to be without car insurance on your vehicle, you could be penalized up to $4,000, your driver's license may be suspended, and you may even have to serve up to one year in jail. In addition, you would be 100% responsible for the cost of the injuries and damages that you cause to other people and their property in the accident.