When is a good time to visit the Hale County Courthouse in Plainview, Texas? Perhaps a good time to visit is when you apply for a marriage license. Or, when researching the title on a car that you want to buy. But, do you want to end up at the courthouse due to a lawsuit stemming from a claim in an auto accident? In Plainview, auto insurance is a must, just like any other city.

It’s never a good feeling to know that you’ve been sued. If you’re sued for an auto incident, your auto insurance carrier is supposed to represent you in the legal case. What you may not know is that the insurance carrier is only responsible in relation to the limits of your policy (for instance $30,000). If the case looks like it will cost the carrier more than the amount of your policy limits, then they could write a check for that amount and just walk away. Now, you are left without a paid legal representative in court.

Policy Limits

Something else that the general public doesn’t know is that it’s pretty cheap to increase your insurance coverage to higher limits. For not much more per month, you can increase your policy limits to, for example, $1,000,000. So now, the insurance company is your friend. They can’t so easily walk away from the court case because they are even more committed to the outcome of your defense.

Texas law requires, including Plainview auto insurance, minimum liability coverage. The following are the minimum limits required by Texas law: $30,000 to cover injury or death on 1 person; $60,000 for each accident; $25,000 covers property damage liability. That 30,000 & 60,000 are grouped as Bodily Injury. Keep in mind, this is just the minimum amount of coverage that you must carry to drive in Texas.

Mythbuster: no, the color of your car does not affect how much you pay to your auto insurance agency.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, you should think about buying more liability coverage.

“The minimum liability limits might be too low if you cause a multi-vehicle accident or the other driver’s car is totaled. If you don’t have enough liability coverage to pay for the damages and injuries you cause, you might have to pay the rest out of your own pocket. The other driver could sue you.”

Your auto insurance is considered to be “financial responsibility”. Acceptable financial responsibility forms are: proof-of-insurance card; SR-22 for at-risk drivers; a surety bond; $55,000 cash or securities on deposit at the State Comptroller’s office; $55,000 cash or cashier’s check on deposit at the county judge’s office in your county where the car is registered. Does keeping $55,000 on deposit at a government office sound convenient? It makes more sense to just pay a smaller amount monthly for actual auto insurance.

FYI: 1. auto stats in Plainview, Texas: the commute time average is 15.7 minutes, and two cars per household is the ownership average in Plainview, TX.
2. Ever wondered ‘who all does my policy cover’? Most policies will cover you, your family, and people that drive your car who have your permission. However, some policies only cover people that are actually listed on your policy documents. When in doubt, consult your local insurance agent, or you can look at your auto insurance policy for the info you need.