Vehicle owners in Vermont must comply with the state car insurance laws or face potential consequences. These laws have been put into place to help ensure that occupants of vehicles will have compensation available in the event that they are involved in a collision with other motorists who are found to be liable, and in instances where other drivers either lack coverage or are underinsured.
All motorists in the state must carry or be covered by liability coverage to pay for the injuries or damages that they may cause to others as a result of operating an automobile. The Vermont auto insurance laws require that liability policies meet minimum limits of $25,000 for bodily injury or death per person, $50,000 for bodily injury or death per accident, and $10,000 for property damage per accident. These are the absolute minimums that the state allows and may not provide sufficient protection for certain individuals. The state recommends that residents with major financial assets such as a house should consider increasing liability limits to properly protect against the chance that such assets are needed to be used to compensate a third party for injuries or damages that can possibly arise from a traffic accident.
Similar to many states, in addition to liability policies, motorists must also carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM). This is intended to cover insureds for bodily injury or property damage that they sustain if involved in an accident with a driver who does not carry a policy or whose liability limits are not sufficient enough to compensate for the losses caused. Motorists must carry limits of $50,000 for bodily injury or death per person, $100,000 for bodily injury or death per accident, and $10,000 for property damage per accident. Claims for the property damage portion of this coverage are subject to a $150 deductible if the policyholder does not have comprehensive and collision.
Comprehensive and collision is an optional form of coverage that is designed to compensate the vehicle owner in the event that the insured automobile suffers a loss. These coverages insure against a wide range of perils that include collisions, glass breakage, theft, contact with animals, fire, vandalism, missiles, explosion and many more. Although not required by the state, consumers who are financing automobiles are often required by lenders to carry this coverage as part of a loan agreement. For further information regarding coverage, motorists may want to view A Consumer’s Guide to Buying Automobile Insurance provided by the state.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/vermont/
