Every driver in New York is responsible for obtaining car insurance coverage. The state mandates that you must have at least the minimum insurance requirements in NY to comply with New York state law.
Whether you have just moved to the state or just started driving in New York, it is important to understand what is required for basic car insurance coverage in NY to abide by the laws and protect yourself in an accident.
The Buffalo personal injury lawyers at Mazzu Law are committed to representing injured victims in New York car accidents. In this blog post, we provide information about the minimum limit required for insurance in New York, the dangers of not having enough coverage, and how you can better protect yourself in a motor vehicle accident.
Overview of Car Insurance in New York
New York car insurance coverage is mandated to mitigate the risk every driver takes when they get on the road. It is not cheap to buy car insurance, and since many people view it as something that is required “just in case,” they only purchase the minimum.
However, most people do not fully understand what their car insurance policy covers. They may receive the packet from their car insurance company and file it away. Unfortunately, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to your auto insurance policy. You should know exactly what is covered in your car insurance policy to understand what will be covered if you need to file a claim.
Additionally, you should make sure you do not lapse on payments for your New York car insurance while you own a car. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has a system, called the Insurance Information and Enforcement System (IIES), which is an electronic database that detects uninsured vehicles.
Insurance companies are required to report renewals, cancellations, and new car insurance policies. These are tracked in the system for all registered vehicles. If you fail to maintain liability insurance coverage for your vehicle, your driver’s license and vehicle registration will be suspended, and you will likely incur hefty fines as a result.
Breakdown of New York Car Insurance Minimums
Those who own motor vehicles in New York must make sure that they have the minimum coverage to meet the requirements of the state. These include no-fault or personal injury protection (PIP), bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and uninsured motorist coverage.
The specifics of what the state requires for insurance policies are as follows:
Bodily Injury Liability Coverage
Bodily injury liability coverage is mandated to be at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $50,000 for bodily injury that does not result in death, or $100,000 for any injuries resulting in death sustained by two or more persons in one accident.
Bodily injury coverage protects you and anyone who you grant permission to drive your vehicle in an accident where a claim is made against you by the other driver. This is known as a third-party claim and alleges that you were at fault or negligent. Bodily injury coverage will pay for the injured party in these events and the insurance company will provide legal defense.
Property Damage Liability Insurance
In addition to having bodily injury as part of your liability insurance, you will also need to have property damage liability coverage. The amount that you must have for property damage to satisfy the minimum is $10,000. Liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage is often lumped together and noted as “25/50/10.”
What if someone injures you in an auto accident or causes property damage to your vehicle? You may be able to file a claim against their car insurance policy, though you must prove they were at fault and that you sustained a serious injury that meets the definition of this metric by New York car insurance law.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Personal injury protection (PIP) is also known as no-fault insurance. With no fault benefits, personal injury protection allows for quick resolution to insurance claims as it pays promptly, no matter who is at fault.
Personal injury protection is designed to compensate you for economic losses such as medical expenses, including rehabilitation expenses, lost wages, and other out-of-pocket expenses related to injuries sustained for up to $50,000 per person. This basic no-fault coverage is for the driver and all passengers injured in the vehicle. It can also cover injured pedestrians if you have a pedestrian accident in your vehicle. Personal injury protection or no fault insurance is designed to help you get back to good health as quickly as possible, which is why it provides no-fault benefits.
However, if you suffer a serious injury, then you may need to file a car accident lawsuit to recover the losses for your extensive medical bills, lost wages, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
In New York, auto insurance coverage is mandatory, though some drivers break the rules by driving uninsured. To protect yourself, the state of New York requires you to have a minimum limit of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident of uninsured motorist coverage (UM).
If you are in a car crash and are hurt but the driver flees or is driving an uninsured vehicle, uninsured motorist coverage will cover your injuries. It is important to note that this coverage is only for when an uninsured vehicle or a hit-and-run driver causes you bodily injury and does not cover property damage.
Supplemental Spousal Liability Insurance
While it is not mandatory, supplemental spousal liability is now required to be applied to all liability insurance coverage policies that are opened after August 1, 2023. You do not need to keep it, and if you do not have a spouse, you would not need to; however, you must request to decline or remove it from your policy by contacting your insurance company.
Potential Risks for Having Only the Minimum Coverage
One of the biggest issues with having just the minimum insurance is that you leave yourself vulnerable. You may be insuring multiple vehicles and looking for a way to keep costs down. You may even think insurance agents are trying to get you to pay more for your auto insurance coverage beyond what New York requires.
However, the additional costs of increasing your liability coverage in your auto insurance policy to higher limits are small compared to the benefits. For example, if someone tries to sue you for the injuries sustained in a car accident and they are awarded compensation that goes beyond what your auto insurance provides, you would be responsible for that amount.
How much coverage you need will depend on your unique circumstances. Instead of choosing the cheapest auto insurance that meets the state’s requirements and risk being saddled with a financial burden due to your medical expenses, you should discuss your auto insurance with insurance professionals to find the right coverage for your needs.
Understanding New York Law and How It Relates to Car Accidents
New York is a no-fault state, which requires drivers to be covered by their own auto insurance in an accident. This is the key difference between a no-fault state and an at-fault state, though the terms can become confusing, especially when trying to understand auto insurance coverage.
No-fault insurance does not mean you are not at fault. It simply means that if you were in an accident caused by you or someone else, your PIP coverage covers the damages. However, if you reach the threshold for serious injury, you are permitted to file a lawsuit. Depending on the circumstances, you will want to hire car accident lawyers or Uber accident lawyers to represent you throughout the legal process.
An attorney can help you determine if you meet the threshold but the situation must be that you suffer an injury that is deemed serious and you have experienced an economic loss of more than $50,000. Serious injuries are defined as fractures, dismemberments, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use of a body part or system, any injury that hinders your ability to live normally for a minimum of 90 days, and death.
Additional Coverage Options to Consider for Greater Car Insurance Protection in New York
In New York, you can purchase expanded coverage for the required types of insurance for a more robust policy, such as adding more to your underinsured motorist coverage. It is highly recommended that you do so and consider other types of coverage that are purely optional.
Here is a look at additional optional insurance coverage that you may want to consider in New York state:
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive coverage is a smart option for anyone living in New York. Under comprehensive coverage, any damage caused to your car for any reason other than a collision will be covered. This includes theft, fire, weather events, vandalism, falling objects, or damage caused by an animal. Comprehensive coverage pays for your transportation expenses for a specified amount of time until your vehicle is replaced.
Medical Payments Coverage
Medical costs are extremely expensive, and if you want additional reassurance that you will not be stuck with a mountain of bills for your medical treatment, adding medical payments coverage can help. It pays for your medical needs resulting from the accident, for your passengers, and for any funeral expenses in the event of a death, regardless of fault.
Collision Coverage
Collision coverage is another option in New York where your own insurer will pay you, regardless of any fault you may have, for damage to your vehicle caused by a car accident with another vehicle or another object. Without this coverage, you may still recover some or all of the damages by filing a claim with the other party’s insurer, though having this coverage provides greater protection and peace of mind.
Rental Reimbursement
Rental reimbursement is another additional coverage you may want to consider adding to your insurance in New York. As the name suggests, it covers the cost for a rental car after an accident.
In New York state, adding this other coverage to your insurance is not required and will not affect your driver’s license, driving record, license plates, or vehicle registration. However, it can make your insurance provide greater protection and reduce your risks in an accident, whether you are at fault or not.
The Role of an Attorney in Resolving Disputes and Claims with Car Insurance in New York
While you are required to have specific minimum coverage in place for your insurance in New York state, it does not always mean that your insurer will be there for you. Even if you have never been late making your payments, you may find that when you reach out to your insurer after a crash, they may refuse to cooperate with you.
Settlement negotiations with your insurer may be just as much of a challenge as those involving the insurance company representing the driver of the other car. With the way insurance is run in New York, you may need to discuss your accident with an attorney who can help you through the quagmire of confusion that tends to arise in such legal matters.
You will want to talk to a lawyer if you have extensive injuries as you might meet the threshold for what is required to file a lawsuit in the state. Additionally, if you are being blamed for causing the accident, it is in your best interests to obtain legal representation to avoid having your compensation reduced.
Some insurers will offer a low settlement or even deny paying an insurance claim without valid reason. They often employ tactics such as delaying payments to make victims more desperate to accept any amount they offer.
The role of an attorney in these scenarios may very well be instrumental in the outcome. While no lawyer can ever guarantee what will happen, they can take certain steps to support you throughout your case.
Investigating and Gathering Evidence
Your attorney will start an investigation and gather evidence you may have been unable to get at the accident scene. This evidence may include traffic camera footage, surveillance footage, and witness statements.
Negotiating for a Fair Settlement
Based on the investigations and evidence as well as the laws in the state, your lawyer will negotiate for a fair settlement amount.
Abide by Time Limits
When you file a lawsuit, you only have a limited amount of time to do so. This is known as the statute of limitations, and for car accidents, you have three years from the date of the crash in New York. Your attorney will know about all deadlines and make sure all the relevant paperwork is filed on time.
Represent You in Court
Most of these cases will settle through negotiations, but if yours does not, your attorney will be ready to go to trial and fight for your compensation. If you are struggling to get the money you deserve after your car accident, contact Mazzu Law to schedule a free initial consultation.