Texas Requirements -
Houston Auto Insurance
In Texas, the
minimum Vehicle Liability Requirements are 20/40/15. That's 20,000 Per
accident for bodily injury per person, 40,000 per accident aggregate for
bodily injury, 15,000 Property damage liability per covered accident.
This provides a total of up to 55,000 for each covered
accident.
In order to meet
Texas state financial responsibility requirements your policy must have
at least these limits. The policy must be issued by an insurer
authorized to do business within the state. Although 55,000 is the
state's minimum coverage requirements, higher limits are available from
most insurers if desired.
Failure to
Maintain
Currently, Failure
to maintain Financial Responsibility carries a hefty fine and several
other penalties including Suspension of your Drivers License. An SR22
Filing Requirement is usually imposed before you can get the suspension
lifted. The state has recently instituted an annual fine of 100 dollars
that persists for 3 years after the date of suspension which must be paid
in order to maintain your driving privileges.
As a result it now
typically costs an individual up to 900 dollars or more in fines and
filing fees after an infraction for driving in the state without adequate
Financial Responsibility or Insurance.
Important
Notices
As of March 1,
2007, The state has instituted by enacted legislation a requirement that
auto insurers doing business within the state must report all insured's
Effective policy dates, Expirations and Cancellations to a statewide
database for use by law enforcement. This will enable law enforcement to
verify coverage validity at the scene or even before pulling a driver
over. This will also enable law enforcement officers to quickly ascertain
if the driver has presented them with an Expired, Canceled or otherwise
invalid auto insurance card.
If the scenario
follows the usage rules currently followed by many other states. Drivers
may in the near future find that their drivers license and car or vehicle
registration has been automatically suspended due to a loss of, or a
lapse in auto insurance coverage even though no traffic violation has
occurred. Many states have already implemented this method of
use.
State
Reciprocal Agreements
The days of jumping
state lines to a neighboring state in order to obtain a drivers license
are over. In the past many people after having their drivers license
suspended in one state, would simply cross into another state and obtain
a New Drivers License. With the age of information technology this is no
longer a viable option. The various 50 states have all entered into
reciprocal agreements wherein an Applicant will be denied a drivers
license in that state until such time as they have resolved any
suspension issues, outstanding tickets and or fines in their previous
state of issue.
License Address Update
It is important
that your Drivers License address information be correct and up to date
with your State Licensing Authority. You will usually receive any notice
from them regarding the status of your driving privileges at the home
address listed on your license
Many people have
found only after months or sometimes years later that they have been
driving on a Suspended License. This is usually the result of outdated
address information on file with the State of issue.
Contact us
today for more
information about Houston Auto
Insurance Today.
