Auto insurance is mandatory in most states owing to the increasing number of accidents on the roads. The mandatory auto insurance will ensure that the guilty party in an accident will be able to bear the financial responsibility for the damages caused by them. There are minimum requirements set in most states for the auto insurance that every driver on the roads of Montana has to carry. Not possessing the minimum liability insurance to be carried by law, will incur severe penalties. Staying aware of the law will also help those looking for auto insurance, to take a proper decision on the coverage they will need.
The minimum liability in the state of Montana is twenty five thousand dollars for bodily injury per person and fifty thousand dollars for bodily injury in total per accident. The fifty thousand dollars will cover two people. Property damage coverage worth ten thousand dollars is also made mandatory. Property damage will cover the costs of repair and replacement to the other driver’s car in case you are determined to be the driver responsible for the accident. It will also pay for any damages caused to buildings, fences, lamp posts etc. Bodily injury covers all the medical costs a person might incur due to the accident.
The state of Montana follows the Tort system of rules. According to this system, in case of an accident, one of the drivers involved have to be found responsible. The driver found responsible will then have to pay for all the damages caused by the accident. Most of the states follow the tort system. A few states follow the no fault system. In the no fault system, each driver is paid for the damages by his own insurance company. The not at fault driver will be allowed to sue the at fault driver for damages only if the damages cross a certain limit.
Apart from getting auto insurance, there are a few other methods to establish financial responsibility in the state of Montana. There quite a few surety companies in Montana that are allowed to operate. You can get a surety bond from any of these companies to prove your financial responsibility. Another option would be to make a bond with the state treasurer. The amount of the bond must be at the lease fifty five thousand dollars.
Montana is one of the states that make it mandatory for every registered vehicle to have auto insurance or financial responsibility. It is the carrier’s duty to inform the state that you have auto insurance. However, the rulebook says that you should also show proof of insurance in case a law enforcement officer asks for it. The easiest way to carry proof of insurance would be your current insurance card. To ensure this is always with you, keep it in the car along with other documents. If you have a surety or a treasurer bond, make sure this is in the vehicle at all times as well.
Failure to comply with the rules will ensure a penalty in the form of fines or suspensions of license. The fine may go up to five hundred dollars or maybe even ten years in jail.
With the tort system, Montana differentiates itself from 12 of the states which follow a no-fault insurance system. In case of no-fault insurance, every person’s insurance provider will compensate for his or her damages, unlike in the tort system where the liability insurance has to be compensated by the guilty party. The downside of specifying a minimum liability insurance to be owned is that, a lot of people tend to ignore other types of coverage and just stick to whatever is mandatory. This will save money for them in the short term, as far as premium for the insurance coverage is concerned. However, in case of an accident or a natural disaster, the damages could empty your wallet if you don’t own the right kind of coverage protection.
It is always a better option to hunt and shop for cheap insurance rather than compromising on the protection you have, altogether. A higher deductible could be one of the solutions to lower your premium, as you will be paying a greater share at the time of an accident. Montana is midway in terms of most expensive auto insurance in the country and hence the prices are neither too high nor too low. You can look for various types of discounts too from the auto insurance providers that will lower your premium or offer more coverage for the same premium. Discounts are usually offered for senior citizens, housewives, teens with excellent grades, working professionals with excellent credit history, those with impeccable driving record or those who have certifications from driving schools. Shopping and requesting for free auto insurance quotes will give you a great idea of the range of prices that auto insurance will cost you and what you can afford and what you cannot.
While looking for inexpensive auto insurance you should be careful to avoid certain traps that aren’t very obvious, especially when you are purchasing auto insurance for the first time. The easiest way to avoid landmines is by researching for more information on the general consensus about an auto insurance provider. Customer satisfaction ratings are released for most auto insurance providers that have a sizeable customer following. By looking at the customer satisfaction rating, you can get a good idea of which insurance provider treats policy holders with respect and which provider tricks them. In fact this information can also be obtained from angry customers who write their feedback on various auto insurance forums. So, if your preferred auto insurance provider turns out to be one with a low rating, it is time to give up on discounts and look for reliability. Talking to body shop operators would also give you a great deal of information related to insurance providers. You will get a good idea of which customers leave happy and smiling from the service station and which ones don’t. Understanding each and every clause in the policy is therefore extremely important to stay prepared and avoid surprises during crunch situations.
