How To Find Out If Someone Has Car Insurance
If you or somebody you love has been involved in an accident with another vehicle on the roadway, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses. However, it is imperative to understand whether or not the other party or parties involved have auto insurance. Texas law requires every driver to carry insurance before they get behind the wheel of their vehicle. However,
What are the State Insurance Requirements?
We should review the legal requirements for auto insurance in Texas, individuals are required to obtain and maintain the following minimums with insurance:
- Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $25,000
Please notice that personal injury protection, uninsured motorist coverage, and underinsured motorist coverage are not required in Texas. Individuals who wish to carry this type of insurance should make sure to add it to their current policy, and it can provide great protection in the event a crash occurs.
How Many Drivers Are Uninsured?
Data presented by the Insurance Information Institute indicates that approximately 8.3% of drivers in Texas operate their vehicles without insurance. This places Texas on the lower end of the uninsured driver spectrum across the country but still represents a significant number of drivers on state roadways. In other words, we can safely assume that out of every 100 accidents, at least eight or nine of them will involve an uninsured driver (probably more).
Finding Out Whether the Other Driver Has Insurance
The vast majority of vehicle accidents must be reported in the state of Texas. If you have been involved in a vehicle accident and need to know whether or not another driver has insurance, there are a few routes to obtain this information.
First, individuals should seek to obtain this information from other drivers involved in the incident. This can include getting the name of the other driver, the name of their insurance carrier, and their policy number at the scene of the crash.
We do understand that it may not be possible for individuals involved in the incident to obtain insurance information from everyone else there, particularly if tempers flare or if the crash scene remains hazardous. If this is the situation, individuals should allow law enforcement officers to gather insurance information on their behalf.
Speak to Your Insurance Carrier
You need to report the incident to your insurance carrier within a day or two after the crash occurs. If you were unable to obtain the insurance information of the other driver or drivers involved, let your insurance carrier know this. You will give your insurance carrier information such as where the accident occurred, the name of the law enforcement agency that responded, and any other information already known.
You do not need to go into much detail with the insurance carrier when you make your initial report. Do not admit any fault, and make sure that the insurance carrier knows if you are seeking medical treatment for your injuries.
Contact an Attorney
We always encourage individuals who sustain injuries or property damage caused by the negligent actions of others to reach out to an attorney. When you work with a Laredo car accident lawyer, you will have an advocate who can handle every aspect of this process on your behalf. This can include obtaining insurance information related to the other driver(s).