What happens if I have car insurance in one state but get in an accident in another state?

This is an issue that can get pretty confusing since states vary greatly regarding their car insurance policies. What happens depends on a case to case basis. To avoid all the anxiety when driving in another state as well as the possible hassles of having an inadequate or invalid car insurance policy when you get in an accident in another state the best thing to do is to check the state’s regulations before you go there. Make sure you meet all the requirements and that your car insurance policy is valid there. To find out these facts you only need to check out the State Department of Motor Vehicles website where they list the regulations of ALL states. You should also contact you insurance company regarding your policy since they should be able to give your relevant information and inform you in case you need to add an additional feature to your policy temporarily.

But in case you do get in an accident and you didn’t come prepared then you’ll be happy to know that insurance policies generally adjust automatically to meet a state’s minimum legal requirements. This means that if you took a policy with the minimum liability limit in your state, which just so happened to be lower than the liability limit in the state where the accident happens, then your insurance company will have to take the blow without worrying you. In addition to this even if you are visiting a no fault state then your car insurance policy will also adjust and automatically transform to a no fault policy.

It would be a very good idea to change your insurance if you plan to stay in one state for longer than 30 days. This is because some states will no longer count your car insurance as valid if you do stay longer than 30 days.

If you are a permanent resident of the state where the accident happens but your car is still insured in the previous state you lived in you can be pretty sure that your insurance will be declared invalid. As a permanent resident you are required to get car insurance in that state as well as register the car there too. Note that in general it is only military personnel that are allowed to reside in one place for a long time and yet be declared as a permanent resident of another state.