No-Fault Insurance Benefits for Out-of-State Motorcyclists in McKinney

Different Mandatory Minimum Coverages Between States

If their policies in one state are not as high as the state mandatory minimum where an accident occurred, things may get more complicated. For example, Florida has a minimum of $10,000 or $15,000, but they have relatively small liability minimum limits. In states with smaller than $30,000 minimum limits, the insurance carriers—in exchange for the right to do business in Texas—have typically ordained to give the person that additional coverage when they cross the state line. In other words, if their state only maintains a minimum $10,000 third-party coverage, Texas state law mandates that that policy is essentially written up to a minimum $30,000 policy if they drive through the state. This is a way to enforce additional coverage for people who drive into the state. For most carriers, this is not a big deal because most of the big carriers are going to write in all 50 states, so they understand that when someone goes from state to state they keep the amount of coverage that they bought. But if there are higher mandatory minimums than the amounts they bought, their coverage is written up to that amount. That is just part of the business of doing insurance, and the insurance companies know that, and they price even their smaller policies accordingly.