My friend here in Houston, Texas, occasionally borrows my car. Do you think I should add him under my car insurance policy?

Betty

Houston, TX

It is highly recommended that you do two things: add your friend under your auto insurance policy as an “occasional driver”, or have your friend get a Non-Owner’s insurance policy under his name. In any case, it would not be wise to allow your friend there in Houston (or anyone, for that matter) to drive your vehicle without adequate auto insurance coverage. Also, under the financial responsibility laws of Texas, anyone who drives a vehicle (not necessarily the owner alone) is responsible (and is required to) acquire appropriate financial coverage in the form of auto insurance. The purpose of this law is to make sure that anyone who causes injury or damage to others during a car accident is able to provide the necessary monetary compensation.

In case you’re wondering, a Non-Owners Auto Insurance usually only provides liability protection, meaning that it will only protect you or your friend from having to pay large sums of money when he caused a car accident while driving your vehicle. So if your vehicle is damaged or totaled, it will be under the discretion of your auto insurance provider whether to reimburse you or pay for repairs. Also make sure you have enough collision and comprehensive insurance coverage if you will have someone else you’re your vehicle. You don’t want to regret not taking these steps to protect you if your friend end’s up totaling your vehicle.

I was good enough to get my license here in Houston, Texas suspended and that kind of snow-balled into my car insurance getting canceled as well, what I’m wondering about is I’m told that I will need to maintain an SR-22 form, what is it?

Carla

Houston, TX

An SR-22 is a type of form guaranteeing the state of Texas that you are carrying adequate financial capability (in the form of car insurance coverage) in the event that you cause injury or damage to property resulting from a car accident. This is mandated by the financial responsibility laws of your state and yes, repeat traffic offenders or those at-fault on a vehicular accident will be required to maintain an SR-22 for at least two or three years.

Since your auto insurance got canceled you will need to find another insurance provider there in Houston that will file this form for you, and submit it to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). There may be some administrative fees involved aside from any penalties you may be required to pay to get your license (or a temporary license) back so you can drive again. A good auto insurance agent will be able to give you all the information you need and whatever steps you need to do to file an SR-22 quickly and hassle-free.

It is very important that you maintain continues coverage for the duration of your SR-22. Getting involved in another car accident or managing to get your driver’s license (and much worse, getting caught driving without insurance coverage or while your license is suspended) revoked will only result into significantly heavier fines and penalties and much higher insurance rates.

Hi, a friend recently got involved in a car crash here in Houston, Texas and although no one got hurt, the other party involved decided to file a lawsuit a month later claiming trauma. Which part of someone’s auto insurance protects you from these?

Gabriel

Houston, TX

Hello Gabriel. Getting sued for negligence and causing a car accident is a lot of people’s worst nightmare. Even if no one got hurt during the accident the trauma of the experience may set in much later and, combined with the litigious nature of our society, anyone who may have been involved in a car crash can choose to file a law suit against you. This is where the liability protection or coverage clause of your insurance policy comes in. Here’s a few recommendations on how to make sure your auto insurance protects you from paying a colossal (we really mean colossal) amount of money if you are at fault in a car accident.

Make sure you have adequate Liability insurance. For Houston, Texas then minimum liability insurance coverage amounts required by your state is 20/40/15. That means in the event you injure someone in a car crash, your insurance will award $20,000 worth of damages to each person injured up to a maximum of $40,000 for all injured people per accident. You will also have $15,000 to cover for property damages. That may sound a lot already but reality is, you can be sued for more than those minimum amounts and anything beyond your liability coverage you’ll have to pay yourself. It is highly recommended that you get as high of a liability coverage as you can comfortably afford.