Having the right amount of car insurance to cover you, your family and your vehicle is mandatory in almost every state. Unless you own 11 or more vehicles in the State of Nevada, it is the law that you must purchase automobile insurance through a licensed company in Nevada.
While each state sets its own requirements, basic liability and property damage are usually the minimum types of coverage that you need to cover yourself, your vehicle and any others in the event of an accident.
All drivers in Nevada must carry the following insurance whether you still use the vehicle or not: $15,000 bodily injury for one person in one accident; $30,000 bodily injury for the entire accident; and $10,000 property damage per accident.
Bodily injury coverage takes care of the other people who were involved in the accident if you were at fault. It pays their medical bills, compensation for lost wages, legal representation, rehabilitation, or nursing care, pain and suffering, and funeral expenses in the case of death.
Bodily injury does not cover you or any passengers in your car who are also on your insurance policy. Personal injury protection coverage takes care of those issues so you may want to include that on your policy.
Property damage coverage takes care of the repair of the property that you damaged, and replacement of the property including any other personal items that may have been damaged as well as a result of this accident.
As these are only the minimums required by the state you may want to add additional coverage to further protect yourself and your family. For example if you still owe money on your vehicle, your lender will require you to carry collision coverage to protect their investment.
Comprehensive coverage protects the value and replacement of your car in the event that it is damaged as a result of anything other than an accident, for example if your car is stolen, someone breaks into it or it suffers flood damage.
And uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage protects you if you get hit by someone who does not have insurance or doesn’t have enough coverage or if you are the victim of a hit and run accident.
You must carry your insurance card in your vehicle in order to provide proof of coverage if necessary. The state of Nevada has an Insurance Verification Program to find out who has coverage and who does not. Insurance companies send notification to the DMV every time someone purchases new car insurance or cancels a policy.
If the DMV determines that you do not have car insurance, they will send out a verification form for you to fill out and mail back, or you can fill out the information online. If you do not provide proof of insurance you could have your license suspended until you secure insurance coverage.
