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North Dakota’s car insurance and state driving laws mandate that all drivers in the state are held legally responsible for any damages they cause while operating a vehicle.

For example, if you cause an injury accident, you may have to pay for the other party’s medical costs and vehicle repair expenses as well as for your own expenses.

The state has created a mandatory minimum car insurance requirement for its drivers in an effort to ensure that they have the financial means to pay for the expenses they create. Make sure you are covered with our free quote tool above! Just enter your ZIP code and start comparing rates today!

Some drivers have determined that these minimum coverage levels are not fully sufficient for their needs, and they prefer to buy more than the minimum insurance amount required in North Dakota.

How to Read Car Insurance Requirements

Drivers could face hefty penalties if they are caught driving without the proper car insurance in place in North Dakota. If you are preparing to shop for new car insurance rates in this state, you need to understand what some of the different coverage types available to drivers are and if they are required or optional in this state.

• Bodily Injury Liability – North Dakota drivers must purchase a minimum level of bodily injury liability insurance. This auto coverage pays for the medical and health-related expenses that you cause for other parties, but it does not pay for your own medical costs if you are injured in the accident.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP) / Medical Payments – North Dakota drivers must also purchase PIP or medical payments coverage. This type of insurance, which may also be called no-fault insurance, pays benefits for your own medical expenses if you are in an accident.
• Property Damage Liability – Property damage liability is another type of car insurance that North Dakota drivers are required by law to buy. This insurance pays for the vehicle repairs or for a full replacement of another person’s car if you cause the accident.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage – If you are in an accident involving a hit-and-run driver or a driver who is not properly insured in North Dakota, you may receive benefits from this type of car insurance coverage. North Dakota requires drivers to buy uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
• Collision Insurance – North Dakota drivers may be required to buy collision insurance by their car lender, but they are not required by law to purchase it. Collision insurance pays for the repair or replacement of your own vehicle, but the only event that it offers benefits for is a collision.
• Comprehensive Insurance – This insurance type is also not required by North Dakota’s law, but it may be required by a car lender. It pays for your vehicle’s repair work or for a replacement for a wide range of damaging events, such as a collision with an animal, severe weather damage, vehicle fire, theft, and other events.

When buying North Dakota car insurance, you at least need to purchase the minimum coverage amounts required by law, and this includes specific coverage types with specified limits in place.

You may choose to increase your coverage limits for these types of auto insurance, and you could also buy optional insurance types that are not required by the state’s car insurance law.

Minimum Coverage for North Dakota

Regardless of whether you choose to purchase more than the minimum amount of car insurance required or not, you must at least buy the minimum coverage levels in order to comply with state law in North Dakota. These requirements include:

• $25,000 for bodily injury liability insurance
• $25,000 per person or $50,000 per accident for personal injury liability insurance
• Uninsured motorist insurance that matches the personal injury liability limits
• No-fault or personal injury protection coverage of $30,000 per person

These insurance types and limits are required in most cases, but there are unique situations when other requirements may apply.

For example, if you typically store your vehicle in a garage and never drive it on public roads or if you use your car for business purposes, different insurance requirements may apply.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in North Dakota

Driving without car insurance in North Dakota is a serious offense, and the penalties associated with this crime can be harsh. For example, you may face penalties that include:

• A Class-B misdemeanor on your record
• At least a $150 fine
• Up to 14 points added to your driving record
• The suspension of your driver’s license

Minimum Requirement vs. Recommended Coverage

All North Dakota drivers should carefully review car insurance requirements and should ensure that they comply with the law before driving down local roads.

Many drivers will even purchase more than the minimum amount of North Dakota car insurance required to take advantage of the benefits that it can provide.

Consider that you must pay the full amount of damages that you cause while driving, and the minimum North Dakota insurance limits may not be sufficient for paying all expenses.

If you buy more than the required amount of insurance for this state’s drivers, you may decrease the out-of-pocket expenses that you must pay for.

Buying Auto Insurance in North Dakota

You may have recently moved to North Dakota, or you may be thinking about shopping around to find a better deal on your coverage. Drivers should consider comparing new rate quotes for North Dakota insurance approximately every six months.

When shopping for new insurance rates for your vehicle, identify a few leading providers that offer exceptional customer service and that have strong financial ratings.

The internet is a great resource to use when looking for new North Dakota auto insurance quotes, and you can quickly request a few quotes online from the leading providers you have selected.

By requesting a few quotes for your current car insurance needs right now, you could easily find a great deal on the type and limits of auto insurance that you need to comply with North Dakota law.

Don’t miss out on our FREE quote tool below! Just enter your ZIP code and start comparing rates now!

Auto Insurance Laws

02.12.2017 / auto insurance basics / auto insurance requirements