Can Vermont or Any state force New Hamphsire Residents to carry Auto Insurance? (Washington: attorneys, buy)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I thought NH had its act together, and was one of the more intelligent states. After reading this forum. Driving around without car insurance in this day and age and NH allows it. I think my opinion of NH has changed somewhat. I think its ignorant in this day and age to allow such a thing. I thought car insurance was mandatory all over this country. In fact I think I read recently that in North Carolina. A person can no longer get a Drivers License, unless they purchase Liability Insurance. This pertains even to someone that does not own a car and has no plans to. They just want a Drivers License.
Of course the insured drivers in NH are going to pay more for their policy, and that's completely unfair. Actually that should be the breaking point on this stupidity in NH. If insured people have to pay more, to cover the cost of legally uninsured drivers in the state. Then a law that allows drivers to be uninsured in NH is as far as I'm concerned is an unjust law. . I don't blame the cop or the state of Vermont for saying what they did.
It's one thing to have freedoms and less government in our life. I'm for that also to a point but there are limits, and this no car insurance law is one of my limits.
The New Hampshire legislature is somewhat unique. No pay. No salary. No full time. The House or General Court as it is called - is one of the largest in the states.
Some things just are not messed with - although some do try.
Guns
Motorcycle helmets
Seatbelts
Car insurance
I'm not an insurance agent.
From what I have read - years ago - cheaper car insurance policies have something like $5,000/$10,000 coverage. So even folks with cheap insurance really don't have enough. Those number mentioned may have changed since I checked years ago.
car insurance is not that expensive in NH either, compared to other states. Most people have coverage of at LEAST $100K per person. That will not deter gold diggers from suing for inadequate coverage.
The problem is that uninsured drivers who cause accidents and don't pay for the damages out of pocket are supposed to give up their driver's license. Big deal. For one thing that doesn't help the party whose property was damaged. For another, even if they do lose their licenses, they still drive - just without a license. And the cops won't do a thing.
NH does not require a driver to carry Auto Insurance except in specific situations. Driving in Vermont today we were stopped and the police officer asked for proof ofd insurance. We told him we live in NH nd are not required to have insurance. He siad, "But you are in Vermont and we require it." So I said so you mean that if my state doesn't require it, you won't let me drive in vermont without it and he said yes
Can any state force NH residents to carry Auto Insurance?
Once you leave the state, you are out of compliance. You must have at least liability insurance. Tenn used to be that way, but changed their law.
I am still carrying my auto insurance from Washington state. Partially because my father is my agent and I really hate for him to lose a policy but soon enough I will have to get it switched over. We pay around $380/mo for 3 vehicles/3 drivers, one of which is a male under 25. There are 2 small claims due to the young one who also has racked up his fair share of tickets. The adults in the family might have 2 tickets between us in the past 3 years. I'll be curious to see if insurance goes up or down in NH. From what my father has told me, location can play a lot into it. If there are a lot of claims in your area or you are driving further than in your old locations, it can go up.
I love the fact that NH does not require auto insurance or seatbelts. I've been wearing my seatbelt whenever I am in a vehicle since I was a small child and have no intention of changing that habit, but I really don't need someone telling me to do it. I imagine this will all change though. I can remember the days when Washington state didn't require seatbelts as well. Then they made the law that everyone under 16 had to wear them, several years later the laws for adults came but they couldn't pull you over for not wearing a seatbelt - it was a secondary ticket. Finally they made it a law that they can pull you over as well.
And although I could have dropped my insurance the second I set up residence in NH, I opted to maintain it to protect my property, the property of others, and my personal savings. I currently don't have the savings in the bank to cover the cost if an accident where I was at fault caused a catastrophic injury. But OTOH, I do feel like I would be lining the pockets of the insurance agency if I did have a large amount of money put away to cover the what ifs. But with medical costs skyrocketing and the cost of car repair/replacement going up, I doubt I will ever have the luxury of debating the issue of carrying some sort of a large bond vs car insurance.
Interestingly enough, despite very expensive tickets for driving without insurance, Washington state's percentage of uninsured drivers is 5% higher than NH's according to the Insurance Research Council. My conclusion from this information is the majority of NH residents have common sense and don't require a babysitter. I wonder how in the world people survived before the government told them what to do?
"but I really don't need someone telling me to do it."
That is the point.
Government control or personal responsibility.
Some will argue that health care costs are higher because of those few who do not wear a helmet or seat belts. Never viewed any numbers either way though. Just opinions.
One local Republican NH rep stated at a town hall meeting that she was in favor of seat belts.
She had connections with the local schools.
So one person spoke up and asked if she was in favor of seat belts for all school busses.
Nope.
No.
So how can one be for seat belts for personal cars/trucks and against children in school busses?
Some have opinioned that school busses are supposed to seat two children per seat and some now seat three. That each school district would have to contract for a lot more school busses. Not sure of any of this as it has been decades since I was on a school bus.
What I find very interesting is that my home insurance in Washington cost me only $580/year yet the replacement cost on my home was estimated to be greater than $300K. I'm paying more than $1500/yr per vehicle for insurance and yet the average claim for a 4 door car is around $4000. I always figured that when we started getting forced to get insurance, rates went up simply because they could.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
