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Automobile Liability Insurance In Virginia

It may surprise you but in Virginia and many other states of the country there is no requirement that you have motor vehicle liability insurance to cover your liability if you are at fault in a car crash. Virginia is not a compulsory motor vehicle insurance state. Drivers in Virginia can chose to buy car insurance or drive "naked" with no insurance. Virginia does encourage motorists to purchase auto insurance because of a vehicle registration requirement. You cannot register your motor vehicle in Virginia unless you certify on your registration application or renewal form that you have purchased an auto liability policy covering your use of that vehicle or that you have paid the $500.00 "uninsured motorist fee". Many people will pay the fee and conclude that they have saved money since annual car insurance premiums can total more than the $500 fee. Paying the fee does not buy you any insurance. It merely allows the DMV to register your vehicle and issue license tags and a registration card. Incidentally, the money collected from the uninsured motorist fees is placed in a fund that is distributed to auto insurers who write policies in Virginia to reimburse those companies for losses they sustain due to uninsured motorists.

Contrary to what many people think, when you voluntarily buy an auto policy in Virginia there is no requirement for you to have car insurance coverage equal to some mandatory minimum limit. Only "certified policies" issued in Virginia are required to have minimum limits. Because of the statutory minimum limits listed in the Virginia Code Section which applies to certified policies (Section 46.2-472) ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $20,000 property damage) the insurance companies who issue or deliver policies in Virginia have chosen to issue policies whose coverage amounts start with the "minimum" coverage amounts applicable to certified policies.

What you should understand from reading this article is that there are plenty of drivers on the highways in Virginia who do not have insurance coverage for the vehicle they are operating. They may have paid the uninsured motorist fee but they are driving "naked". You must protect yourself by purchasing a sufficient amount of uninsured motorist insurance coverage on your vehicle to cover you and your family members should the driver of an uninsured motor vehicle collide with your vehicle and cause you significant injuries and damages.

(March 2008)

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