Minnesota Auto Insurance Guide

Minnesota Auto Insurance Guide
by James Robinson

With over 14,000 miles of highway, and magnificent scenery, there's a lot to see and do in Minnesota. But before you hit the roads, you might want to make sure you have the proper MN auto insurance coverage and the cheapest Minnesota auto insurance.

The state of Minnesota is a no-fault auto insurance state. This means that your insurance company will pay for your and your passengers reasonable and necessary injury claims as the result of an accident up to the amount specified on your auto insurance policy.

Under Minnesota state law, you must have bodily injury liability coverage of a minimum of $30,000 per injured person up to a total of $60,000 per accident. If you or another driver under your MN auto insurance policy is found to be at fault in an accident resulting in injury or death you are covered for such things as medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and legal defense if the drivers listed on your policy are involved in a lawsuit as a result of an accident. In other words, bodily injury coverage pays for damage to a third party.

Minnesota law also requires you to carry a least $10,000 of property damage coverage. If you or a driver listed on your auto insurance policy is found to be at fault in an accident, property damage liability coverage will pay for damage to another person's property, such as a fence, car, or home, and any legal costs associated with that accident.

If you are registering a car in Minnesota you are also required to have personal injury protection, or PIP coverage in an amount no less than $40,000.

Personal injury liability covers your reasonable and necessary expenses if you or your passengers are injured in a car accident. The medical portion of your personal injury protection auto insurance will pay for any medical or surgical treatment, dental and optical treatment, ambulance and nursing services, and necessary medications, medical supplies, and prosthetic devices.

The economic portion of your personal injury protection coverage will pay for lost wages if you or any of your passengers are unable to work because of the accident. It also provides for substitute services for you and/or your passengers. Substitute services is available if you or one of your passengers need help performing household chores or other tasks due to the accident.

If you or another covered person dies from accident related injuries, your personal injury protection coverage will help pay for funeral related expenses.

Minnesota allows you to increase the limits on your auto insurance for medical and economic personal injury by the number of cars you are insuring. This is called PIP stacking.

For example, if you insure two cars and select stacking, your personal injury protection medical limits would increase from $30,000 to $60,000 and your economic limit of $20,000 would increase to $40,000. Your deductible would not be affected if you elect to stack your personal injury protection, but your auto insurance premium would increase.

Minnesota also requires that you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage in the minimum amount of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for any bodily injury caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver. The uninsured/underinsured coverage will pay for medical expenses, lost wages, other general damages, and any injuries in a hit-and-run accident. This coverage protects you, other drivers listed on your auto insurance policy, and passengers.

In the state of Minnesota there is a number of optional auto insurance coverage features you might want to consider.

If your car is leased or financed, your lending institution may require that you carry collision coverage. This coverage protects you for repair or replacement costs of your car that has been involved in an accident with another car or object, or has rolled over.

Comprehensive auto insurance while not required in Minnesota will provide you protection for damage not resulting from damage resulting from anything other than a collision such as fire, falling objects, certain natural disasters, and vandalism. Comprehensive must be included on any auto insurance policy that also has collision coverage.

You might want to consider adding rental car reimbursement coverage. In order to obtain rental car reimbursement you must also have collision and comprehensive auto insurance as well. Your rental car coverage will reimburse you for the cost of renting a car if your car is in for repair.

If you have a lot of customized equipment on your car, such as running boards, brush bars, roll bars, undercarriage lighting, fog lights, bed liners, camper shells, trailer hitches, customized wheels, spoilers, suspension, custom paint or decals, etc., you might want to consider obtaining customized equipment coverage to protect your investment.

Some auto insurance companies in Minnesota also offer loan/lease gap insurance coverage. This coverage can only be purchased if you have collision and comprehensive coverage on your car. This coverage protects you if your car gets damaged. You will reimbursed for the difference between the actual cash value or your car at the time of the loss, minus your deductible and the car's salvage value, any greater amount owed on your car at the time of the loss, less any unpaid finance charges, excess mileage or wear and tear charges, or any other expenses associated with the loan or lease, and your car's salvage value.