Many times, drivers in car accidents do not carry the required motor vehicle insurance in Colorado. Colorado requires every driver of a motor vehicle to carry valid and existing insurance coverage in case of a car crash in Colorado.

*Colorado motor vehicle insurance is mandatory which means everyone has to buy it to legally drive in Colorado.

According to the state of Colorado: https://leg.colorado.gov/content/mandatory-automobile-insurance-colorado:

Automobile owners in Colorado are required to carry liability insurance.  Liability insurance covers bodily injury to another person or property damage to another’s vehicle or property when the insured is at fault for an accident.  The following minimum coverages are required by the state, although higher coverages may be purchased:

  • $25,000 for bodily injury or death to any one person in an accident;
  • $50,000 for bodily injury or death to all persons in any one accident; and
  • $15,000 for property damage in any one accident. 

Self‑insurance.  Any individual who has over 25 vehicles registered to his or her name may qualify as a self‑insurer by applying for a certificate of self‑insurance from the state Insurance Commissioner.  The Insurance Commissioner must ensure that the individual will be able to pay the minimum coverages required by the state.  For more information on self‑insurance, contact the state’s Division of Insurance within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).

DOES THIS MEAN THAT EVERYONE ACTUALLY CARRIES MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE IN COLORADO? *NO.

There are many uninsured drivers out there on Colorado highways and roads. Sometimes, people just can’t pay their insurance premiums. Desperate people who choose to eat and have a roof over their head, often skip paying what they may consider non-necessities like car insurance. Or maybe they missed a monthly insurance payment unknowingly and thought they had insurance when they just demolished your car. Or maybe the at-fault driver is a newly arrived immigrant that does not quite understand the laws in Colorado.

Regardless of the circumstances, it is no fun being injuries in a car accident in Colorado when the other driver does not have legally binding insurance coverage. When your car is damaged to the fault of another driver and you are injured due to the fault of another driver, and they have no auto insurance, then you must look to your own insurance company to see if you indeed have the proper insurance coverage to cover your damages.

Thus, it is important to have this type of talk with your insurance agent. Mr. or Mrs. Agent, what kind of car insurance do I need to protect myself from uninsured drivers? Lots of agents drop the ball on this subject or do not even mention it at all. Therefore, it is important to be your own advocate in this regard.

I recommend that everyone carry total loss coverage in case their vehicle is totaled due to the negligence of an uninsured driver. Talk to your agent about collision and comprehensive coverage which covers your property, not your body. So this covers your car damage, rental car, and any personal possessions that are also damaged or deemed a total loss due to the great impact of the car accident.

Even more important than coverage to your property damage, like your vehicle, is coverage for your own body, and the injuries you suffered in the car accident. If you are injured mildly or severely, and do not have the proper car insurance, then you are going to have to rely totally on your health insurance to pay all of youmedical bills. Millions of Americans do not carry health insurance, so if you did not have health insurance at the time of the car crash, then all of these medical bills will haunt you the rest of your life.

WHAT BODILY INJURY COVERAGE SHOULD YOU PURCHASE FROM YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY?

Everyone should purchase what is called Uninsured Motorist coverage or Underinsured Motorist coverage. Why? In this situation, where you get crashed into by an uninsured driver, this type of coverage that you purchase yourself, will cover your injuries and medical bills up to a certain amount. For example, if you have the minimum bodily injury coverage of $25,000 and purchase $25,000 in Uninsured Motorist coverage or UM, then you would be covered up to $25,000 for medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of employment, lost wages, disfigurement and other such personal injury damages. As you can readily see, $25,000 is not that much money. An ER bill can frequently run between $5,000 to $20,000. So, I always recommend that my clients purchase a minimum of $100,000 in UM coverage. This amount of coverage will help you pay all your medical bills, and other non-economic damages. Of course, if you have life threating injuries, then $100,000 is a drop in the bucket.

If you ever have any questions about what or how much car insurance coverage, you should purchase, I am an expert in insurance coverage. I know what to buy and what is not necessary to buy. Feel free to contact Doug Allen at Allen Accident Law.