Utah Car Insurance Requirements

As if sorting out your vehicle registration wasn't complicated enough, now you have to figure out your insurance. You are required by law to insure a vehicle for the duration of its registration period. Your rates will be determined by a combination of the overall driving habits in Utah, your own driving record, your age, where you live, and the type of vehicle you drive.
When shopping around for coverage you will notice that there are two aspects to most auto insurance policies: the insurance that pays for damage to people (medical costs) and insurance that pays for damage to vehicles (repair or replacement costs).

Required Coverage in Utah

Liability coverage: Utah law requires drivers to insure each motor vehicle for a minimum of $25,000 per person for bodily injury, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $15,000 per accident for property damage (these limits are often abbreviated to "25/50/15").

These "minimum liability" figures are the lower limits, however; the insurance industry almost universally recommends that you get a policy for coverage of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury―and even $100,000 for property damage in case your car gets into a tangle with a vintage Porsche.

Personal injury protection: Utah is considered a "no fault" state when it comes to auto insurance. That is, you are required to pay a "personal injury protection" (PIP) premium for at least $3,000 in coverage, and your insurance company must pay your medical bills for injuries suffered in an accident no matter who caused it. This is advantageous because it eliminates costly investigations to find fault―and costly legal proceedings to wrestle medical payments from the other party's insurer.

Uninsured motorist coverage: This insurance protects you in the event that you get in an accident with an uninsured driver. If you think about it, someone who is willing to drive without insurance might also be driving without a license or a safety-inspected car and is therefore a more dangerous driver. They're out there! Without their insurance payout, you might be left high and dry, but this insurance will cover your losses.

Optional Coverage in Utah

Collision coverage: You are not required to have collision insurance, but most drivers do. In fact, some lenders require collision coverage as a condition of your financing. Collision insurance covers damage to your car caused by another vehicle, a rock, or a rollover. If you've ever had someone lose control on an icy street and sideswipe your innocent parked car (denting all the body panels), you know how valuable this coverage can be.

Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car caused by things other than vehicles (examples include theft, vandalism, fire, or flood). You can lower your premium for comprehensive insurance by raising the amount of your deductible from, say, $250 to $500, but if your car is older and a little worse for wear, you may decide you'd rather just live with the damage or repair it yourself, and pass on this coverage.

Would you pay a $500 deductible to replace a slightly dented fender on a car that's worth $1,000 altogether? Then you might not want comprehensive insurance. The owner of a new convertible who has to park in a dodgy neighborhood, however, might really benefit financially from a policy that will replace a $3,000 fabric roof that has been slashed.

Enforcement

Once you have purchased an auto insurance policy, your insurer will send you a "proof of insurance" card that you must keep inside the vehicle and show to any law enforcement officer who asks to see it. Some states require you to show proof of insurance to register your vehicle, but Utah operates on the honor system―sort of. The state cross-references its registration database with records of insurance policies to make sure every registered vehicle is insured. Failing to maintain adequate insurance is a serious crime and penalties are quite severe. Not only will offenders be fined at least $400 for the first violation, but failing to insure a vehicle is a Class B misdemeanor that will be prosecuted in the courts, and offenders may lose their driving privileges.