Everything You Should Know About Driving Without Insurance

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It’s fairly common knowledge that you must get insurance before driving a vehicle. Even if you don’t have your own vehicle and have simply borrowed someone’s car, you may need to get an auto insurance policy before taking the driver’s seat.

In every state except New Hampshire and Virginia, a minimum amount of property damage and personal injury liability insurance is required. Some states even require drivers to have personal injury protection, uninsured or underinsured liability coverage.

Is It Illegal to Drive Without Insurance?

Yes, it’s illegal to drive without insurance in every state except New Hampshire and Virginia. However, if you’re just driving your parents car or a friend’s car, they must have insurance on the vehicle and you must have gotten permission from the vehicle owner and, of course, have a valid driver’s license.

However, if the vehicle you’re driving is registered in your name, you must have an active auto insurance policy while driving it. If the vehicle isn’t used and just sits on your property, you may not be required to have a policy if it doesn’t touch public roads.

What Happens if You Drive Without Insurance?

If you’re caught driving a vehicle without insurance, even if you borrowed a vehicle that isn’t insured, you’ll likely face steep penalties to your driving record, including fines of up to $5,000, suspension of your driver’s license and the vehicle’s registration, vehicle impounding and even jail time if you cause an accident.

That doesn’t even include the potential premium increase on your auto policy because you’re likely to be deemed a riskier driver. Too many infractions on your driving record at once, such as driving without insurance and causing an accident, could also result in the requirement to purchase high-risk auto insurance.

You can get your license without having insurance and vice versa, but you must have insurance on a vehicle that you drive on any public road. And it’s smart to have insurance on any vehicle you own or drive regularly.

State-by-State Penalties and Fines for Not Having Car Insurance

While the state-by-state penalties and fines can vary widely based on a number of factors, including what your driving record looks like, if you’re a first-time offender and how lenient or hard on you the officer is, the following examples give a good perspective of the average fine and whether or not you’re license or the vehicle’s registration will be suspended.

State | Average Fine | Driving Consequences

  1. Alabama: $750, License or Registration Suspension
  2. Alaska: $500, License Suspension
  3. Arizona: $750, License Suspension
  4. Arkansas: $150, Registration Suspension
  5. California: $150, N/A
  6. Colorado: $500, License Suspension
  7. Connecticut: $500, License Suspension
  8. Delaware: $2,250, License Suspension
  9. Florida: $325, License and Registration Suspension
  10. Georgia: $105, License Suspension
  11. Hawaii: $750, License Suspension
  12. Idaho: $450, License Suspension
  13. Illinois: $750, License and Registration Suspension
  14. Indiana: $600, License Suspension
  15. Iowa: $250, N/A
  16. Kansas: $600, License Suspension
  17. Kentucky: $750, License and Registration Suspension
  18. Louisiana: $750, Registration Suspension
  19. Maine: $250, License and Registration Suspension
  20. Maryland: $1,750, Registration Suspension
  21. Massachusetts: $1,250, License Suspension
  22. Michigan: $350, License Suspension
  23. Minnesota: $1,000, License and Registration Suspension
  24. Mississippi: $1,000, License Suspension
  25. Missouri: $500, License and Registration Suspension
  26. Montana: $375, License Suspension
  27. Nebraska: $50, License Suspension
  28. Nevada: $500, License and Registration Suspension
  29. New Hampshire: $1,000, License and Registration Suspension
  30. New Jersey: $1,200, License Suspension
  31. New Mexico: $650, Registration Suspension
  32. New York: $750, License and Registration Suspension
  33. North Carolina: $100, License and Registration Suspension
  34. North Dakota: $500, License Suspension
  35. Ohio: $380, License Suspension
  36. Oklahoma: $250, License Suspension
  37. Oregon: $500, License and Registration Suspension
  38. Pennsylvania: $300, License and Registration Suspension
  39. Rhode Island: $500, License and Registration Suspension
  40. South Carolina: $325, License and Registration Suspension
  41. South Dakota: $300, License and Registration Suspension
  42. Tennessee: $165, License Suspension
  43. Texas: $600, License and Registration Suspension
  44. Utah: $700, License and Registration Suspension
  45. Vermont: $250, License Suspension
  46. Virginia: $500, License and Registration Suspension
  47. Washington: $775, N/A
  48. West Virginia: $800, License and Registration Suspension
  49. Wisconsin: $510, License and Registration Suspension
  50. Wyoming: $800, License and Registration Suspension

How to Get Auto Insurance

By using Clovered’s online quoting form, getting an auto insurance policy that fits your needs and your budget has never been easier. Simply answer a few questions about your vehicle and driving history and one of our licensed agents will pair you with a policy quickly.

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The editorial content on Clovered’s website is meant to be informational material and should not be considered legal advice.

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