Medical Expenses Auto Insurance Coverage in Idaho
Reader’s Question:
I got involved in a car accident here in Idaho where the other driver was declared at fault. Now I have a cast on my leg and been in the hospital for a month. My medical payments insurance is almost used up. Will my insurer go after the other party’s car insurance company to collect money for my medical treatment?
Hugh
Boise, ID
Each state has varying car insurance laws. In Idaho, drivers are required to obtain the minimum liability insurance. This means that if the insured ever gets involved in a car accident and is found to be at fault, then his or her car insurance provider will shoulder the costs incurred resulting from the accident.
Minimum coverage means having up to twenty-five thousand dollars to pay for treatment of bodily injuries to a single person or a combined total of fifty thousand dollars for all passengers engaged in the accident. An amount of fifteen thousand dollars goes to property damage coverage if repairs are needed to the victim’s vehicle.
Assuming that the other motorist involved in the accident you were in has minimum liability coverage, then you really wouldn’t have any problem claiming medical payments coverage from his or her insurer. But while Idaho mandates that every driver have minimum liability insurance, some still drive around with not enough or no coverage at all. In this case, if you availed of the uninsured/underinsured section in your policy, then your own car insurance company should be the one taking care of all the medical expense, provided that the cost incurred for medical treatment is within the limit stated in your car insurance policy.
What Is The Penalty For Driving Without Car Insurance in Idaho?
Reader’s Question:
What do you think the penalty for a second ticket for driving without insurance insurance ticket in the state of Idaho? Am I going to Jail?
Rick
Nampa, ID
The Idaho driver’s manual states that if you violate ID insurance laws, you will, for the first violation, be required to provide proof of financial responsibility for a year. If you commit a second violation in a 5-year period, you will be required to provide proof of financial responsibility for 3 years. The acceptable form of proof of financial responsibility is a certified statement of liability auto insurance coverage from your insurance company which is an SR-22 certificate.
The state of Idaho laws states that driving without car insurance is an infraction punishable by a fine of $75.00 for any individual to violate the provisions of this section for the first time. A second and any subsequent conviction for a violation within a period of 5 years shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by jail time in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, or both.
As you can see a fine and possibly jail time for driving without insurance in Nampa Idaho. I sure hope you do not see jail time, as that seems extreme for your case
