Nevada Auto Insurance

Introduction to Nevada Auto Insurance

Nevada Auto Insurance is based on the Tort System. Tort refers to a negligent act which causes damage. In Nevada, the notion of financial responsibility is based upon the law of negligence. According to Nevada Auto Insurance Law, every car owner should be financially responsible for the bodily injury and property damage caused to third party due to the car accident, for which he is at fault.

Minimum Liability Insurance Coverage in Nevada

Nevada Auto Insurance Law requires that every car owner in Nevada should buy an auto insurance policy which provides bodily injury liability coverage of at least $15000 for one person, of at least $30000 for two or more persons and property damage liability coverage of at least $10000. This is the minimum liability coverage that every car user in Nevada should have. But, they are free to choose higher liability Coverage for extra protection.

Penalty for not having Auto insurance in Nevada

If, one who owns a registered vehicle in Nevada uses it or allows others to use it without having an auto insurance policy, is charged a Reinstatement Fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

If one owns and uses a car without any auto insurance in Nevada and is found guilty by a law enforcement officer, then the penalty is determined by a court of jurisdiction.

If someone drives a car without auto insurance and the car meets an accident, then the registration of the car and the License of the Driver is cancelled according to Nevada Auto Insurance Law.

If someone uses his car for certain period of time without buying auto insurance policy, then he is sure to find difficulty in finding auto insurance companies to insure his car when he decides to buy an auto insurance policy.

Mandatory Nevada Liability Coverage

• Bodily Injury Liability Coverage
  
  If the policyholder or any other driver covered under the Nevada Auto Insurance Policy makes a car accident, which causes bodily injuries to a third party, then this bodily injury liability coverage covers:
  • Medical Expenses
  • Lost Income
  • Pain and suffering
  • Legal Cost incurred due to the accident if the third party who suffered from injuries files a lawsuit against the policy holder or the insured driver.
  The buyers of bodily injury liability coverage are required to select a limit for the coverage. This limit determines the maximum amount to be paid per person, per incident. The decision on the coverage limit should be taken by considering one’s need to protect his assets at the time of car accident. Ii is generally found that additional cost for higher coverage tends to be low.
  
  
• Property Damage Liability Coverage
  
  If a policy holder is found to be at fault in a car accident which causes damages of third party’s property, then this property damage liability coverage covers:
  
  • General Damage to the third party’s property
  • Legal costs incurred from the car accident
  
  The policy holder is required to mention the limit for this property damage liability coverage in his Nevada Auto Insurance Policy. This is something very important because, this limit determines the maximum amount that will be paid per accident by the Nevada Auto Insurance Company.
  
  Other than these two mandatory insurance coverage, there are a lot of other coverage which the car owners in Nevada can opt for.
  
  
  Optional Nevada Insurance Coverage
• Medical Payments Coverage
  
  If the policy holder or the passengers in his car become injured due to a car accident, then this specific type of coverage of Nevada Auto Insurance provides:
  • Medical Expenses including
    • Surgical Treatment Expenses
    • Dental Treatment Expenses
    • Hospitalization Expenses
    • Nursing Services Expenses
    • Funeral Expenses in case of death due to the car accident
  
  
  This Medical Payment Coverage is applicable not only for the policy holder but also for his family members even when they are riding someone else’s vehicle.
  
  The Coverage Limit for this type of coverage suggests the maximum amount that will be paid per person, per accident by the particular Nevada Auto Insurance Company.
  
  
• Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury Liability Coverage
  
  If the policy holder himself or the other drivers insured other auto insurance policy get injured in a car accident caused by a driver who has no auto insurance, then this uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage compensates for the bodily injuries. This coverage actually covers:
  • Medical Expenses
  • Lost Income
  • General Damage Costs
  
  This coverage benefit can be obtained by not only the policy holder but also by the authorized policy members and passengers of the policy holder’s car.
  
  
• Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Coverage
  
  This coverage helps when the policy holder’s car and other property are damaged in an accident made by a driver who does not have any auto insurance policy. This coverage then pays for the damages. But, to opt for this coverage, buying the uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage is compulsory.
  
  When buying this coverage, the policy holder is required to select Coverage Limit and also the level of deductibles.
  
  If one buys this coverage for multiple cars, according to Nevada Auto Insurance Law, he is required to select the same coverage limit for all his cars.
  
  
• Comprehensive Coverage
  
  This coverage is optional in Canada. This coverage compensates for the damages caused to car and for other damages which take place due to Vandalism, Fire, flood, storm or any other natural disasters and not due to collision. This Coverage covers
  • Damages caused to car which are not resulting from collision
  • Car Theft
  
  
  
• Collision Coverage
  
  Collision Coverage cannot be purchased without purchasing Comprehensive Coverage. But, one must remember that, both these coverages are optional according to Nevada Auto Insurance Law.
  
  This coverage compensates for all the damages caused to the insured car due to collision. This coverage actually covers
  • The Repair Cost
  • The Replacement Cost in case of car damage.
  
  Though this collision coverage is optional according to Nevada Auto Insurance Law, the car owner may be forced to buy this coverage, if his car is leased or bought by borrowing money from any financial institution.
  
  The other Optional Nevada Insurance Coverage are:
  
  
• Rental Car Coverage
  
• Customized Equipment Coverage
  
• Loan/Lease Gap Coverage
  
  Nevada Auto Insurance Companies offer different type of Discounts if they think the customer has “better Risk” potential. So, the car owners who intend to buy any of Nevada Auto Insurance Policies can look out for the following Discounts:
  
  
• Multiple vehicle Discount
  Most of the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies offer Discount to their customers who insure more than one car by the auto insurance policies of their company. This multiple car discount is offered by the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies as they get good amount of business from the insurance policies for multiple cars.
  
  
• Safety Device Discount
  The car owners whose cars are equipped with safety devices can get Discounts. This is because, the Auto insurance companies think that the cars which have air bags, automatic seat belts, anti lock brakes installed in them are carries less risk potential as these safety devices prevent accidents to a certain extent.
  
  
• Drivers Education Courses Discount
  According to Nevada Auto Insurance Law, all auto insurance companies must provide a reduction in Auto Insurance premium for a three year period to the people of 55 years of age and above if they complete a Driving course recognized by Department of Motor Vehicles, Nevada. But to keep the discount continuing, one must maintain a good driving record.
  
  
• Good Student Discount
  According to Nevada Auto Insurance Law, the good students are given Discounts when they intend to buy auto insurance policy. This is because the auto insurance companies think that the good students tend to be responsible drivers.
  
  
• Low Mileage Discount
  Nevada Auto Insurance Companies offer good amount of discounts to Low mileage drivers. The discounts are offered because, the auto insurance companies think fewer miles one drive, lesser chance he carries to get into accidents.
  
  
• Renewal Discount
  Renewal Discount is offered by the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies when any customer having good driving record renews his auto insurance policy with their concern.
  
  
• Package Discount
  If any customer buys Auto insurance and home insurance from the same auto insurance company, then they are offered some discount because of the package deal.
  
  
• Dividends
  Some of the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies offer Dividends to policyholders if the sale of the auto insurance policy fetch them good profit. These Dividends are declared and paid after the expiry of the policy period.
  
  Nevada Auto Insurance Rates
  
  Nevada Auto Insurance Rates are determined by the auto insurance companies by consideration of two factors: Underwriting and Rating.
  
  Underwriting refers to the consideration of the auto insurances companies to assess the risk associated with the particular customer who wants to buy an auto insurance policy.
  
  Rating refers to determination of premium based on the characteristics of the vehicle and its drivers. As a whole the Nevada Auto Insurance rates are determined by the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies by considering the following things:
  
  
• Driving Record
  Auto insurance companies ask the aspiring auto insurance policy holder about accidents and traffic violations made by him. The persons who have a record of traffic violations and “at fault” accidents are considered to bear high risk potential and is therefore charged with higher auto insurance rate.
  
• Territory
  The auto insurance companies also consider the territory where the policy buyer lives and keeps his vehicle. This is considered because, it has been found statistically that more insurance claims are made by the people who live in urban areas, where vandalism, car theft are frequent. This is obviously not the case in the rural areas.
  
• Gender and Age
  In Nevada, men tend to pay more for Insurance than women because statistics show that males get into more accidents than females. Other than this, persons under 25 pay more for auto insurance than the persons of age 35.
  
• Previous Insurance Coverage
  The Nevada Auto Insurance Companies also check the previous insurance record of the aspiring auto insurance policy buyer. This is because they want to know about the previous insurance claims made by the particular customer and whether the customer used to pay the insurance premiums regularly.
  
• Use of Vehicle
  Nevada Auto Insurance Companies also considers the extent of use of the car by the car owner. A car which is used more is supposed to have more exposure to risk. So, it is charged with higher insurance premiums.
  
• Make and Model of the car
  The type of a car affects the costs of Collision Coverage and Comprehensive Coverage. Highly expensive cars are sure to generate more loss if it is damaged in an accident. Some cars like Sports Cars are more prone to get into accidents. Owners of these types of cars are offered a higher auto insurance rate by the Nevada Auto Insurance Companies.
  
  Every Auto Insurance Policy is a legal contract. It consists of the written statements of the rights and responsibilities of the Insurance Company and the policy holder. So, the policy should be correctly done and must be genuine one, otherwise one can find that no coverage benefits are paid at the time insurance claim.
  
  To get secured, one needs to keep in mind the following things when buying any Auto insurance policy:
  
  
• One needs to check with Nevada Division of Insurance whether the Auto insurance company is licensed in Nevada.
  
• One needs to check whether his insurance agent is licensed or not.
  
• One needs to know whether the insurance agent is selling him a licensed product or not.
  
• One needs to always take receipts for all payments by checking whether the policy number, date of payment, period of coverage are mentioned in the receipts.