Utah Auto Insurance Requirements
Driving through Sandy, UT provides lovely vistas and reasonable traffic, so you get where you are going quickly and efficiently. The state of Utah requires each vehicle owner to carry auto insurance, and Christensen Insurance Group wants you to understand this and the minimum amount you must purchase. We also want you to understand your other policy options and why purchasing additional coverage is important.
In Utah, you must purchase liability coverage and personal injury protection (PIP). The liability coverage consists of bodily injury and property coverage.
The minimum insurance required by the state is bodily injury coverage per person for $25,000 and per accident in the amount of $65,000. For property damage per accident, you must carry $15,000. Your PIP to cover your own medical costs and those of any passengers provides $3,000 of medical payments coverage, which consists of per person coverage of $3,000 for medical expenses; a $3,000 death benefit paid to the deceased’s heir; per person burial cost payment of $1,500 for each person who dies as well as a payment of 85 percent of each individual’s lost income, if injured, with a maximum reward of $250 per week up to 52 weeks. A payment of up to $20 per day for services you or an injured passenger cannot perform due to accident injury.
Medical costs can far exceed this, so the insurance industry provides the option for you to increase this coverage up to $100,000. You need this because Utah is a no-fault state, so the other individual’s insurance may not pay. These state minimums vary vastly from the insurance industry’s recommendations, which are bodily injury coverage per person of $100,000 and per accident of $300,000 per accident, so you should consider increased coverage for those options as well.
You might want to add collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. The latter protects you if the driver that strikes your vehicle has too little coverage or no insurance. It provides for property damage since the PIP coverage provides for your medical costs. Comprehensive protects your vehicle from hail, fire, flood, theft, wind, vandalism, and glass damage. Collision insurance pays for damages to your car caused by another object such as hitting a fence, mailbox, parked vehicle, tree, etc. It also covers your damages if a deer runs onto the road and into the path of your vehicle.
You should consider adding coverage beyond the minimum insurance, especially if you own a newer car. If your vehicle gets totaled in an accident, you will receive the appropriate amount to replace it. Weigh that against having to pay out of pocket for a new car or truck. Visit Christensen Insurance Group, serving the Sandy, UT area, to discuss auto insurance coverage and choose the best options for you.
