To
protect yourself and your family while driving on the roads
of New Mexico, Arizona and the Navajo Nation, you are required
to have automobile insurance. Each state has different minimum
coverage requirement amounts which you need to be aware
of for purposes of buying liability and other types of insurance
coverage. It is important to know what you are buying and
make sure that you understand your insurance coverage. You
are buying an insurance product which is a contract for
automobile coverage between yourself and the insurance company.
Not having adequate coverage at the time of an automobile
accident can have dire consequences if you become severely
injured.
New Mexico currently requires that motorists have the minimum
liability coverage in the amount of $25,000 per person and
$50,000 per occurrence. This means that you are protected
should you be at fault for a collision with coverage up
to $50,000 for all possible claimants.
The Navajo Nation, that portion which is in Arizona, currently
follows Arizona law for minimum coverage in the amount of
$15,000 per person and $30,000 per occurrence. For that
portion of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, the limit of
$25,000 per person and $50,000 per occurrence applies.
Property damage payment for either your vehicle or to repair
a person’s vehicle that you may have hit, is a separate
component of your automobile coverage. Typically, insurance
companies selling in New Mexico offer a customer $10,000
for auto repairs. If you are making a claim against your
own carrier, be prepared to pay your deductible amount towards
any repairs.
For example, in New Mexico insurance carriers will sell
insurance automobile coverage in the minimum amount of $25,000/$50,000/$10,000.
These numbers represent that there is liability coverage
for $25,000 per person, $50,000 per occurrence (more than
one claimant), and $10,000 for property damage repair and/or
replacement.
Bodily Injury and Property Damage coverage is required
in New Mexico. It pays damages for which you are legally
liable arising from injuries or death or from damage to
property of others. It also pays legal costs if you are
sued.
Collision covers damage to your car resulting
from another automobile or object. If your vehicle is financed,
your lender will probably will require that your purchase
this coverage.
Comprehensive covers loss or damage to
your car resulting from events such as theft, fire, flood,
vandalism, glass breakage, etc.
Medical payments (“med pay”)
covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses incurred
within a specified amount of time from the accident for
the treatment and injuries caused by the accident. This
coverage protects everyone in your auto, no matter who is
liable for the accident. This is coverage you should seriously
consider when purchasing your automobile insurance.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Under-insured Motorist
(UIM) coverage applies to the other driver who
is legally liable for the auto accident, but has no insurance
or is under-insured. It is important to consider purchasing
UM and UIM coverage because more than likely the other driver
may not have adequate auto insurance or any insurance at
all. New Mexico law requires that if you choose not to carry
UM and/or UIM coverage, you knowingly sign a declaration
of denial of such coverage. If you do not reject it in writing
you may still be insured.
However, given the possibility of suffering serious injuries
due to the fault of another, it pays to have ample UM/UIM
coverage.
Many people believe that they have purchased “full
coverage” automobile insurance, but in reality, following
a collision, most people realize that they are not adequately
insured for their injuries and damages. Purchasing auto
insurance is a very important element for you and your family
and you may wish to consult your insurance provider for
a full explanation of what insurance products are available.
In particular, if you own more than one vehicle, you may
be allowed to “stack” the coverage for your
multiple vehicles to allow a larger amount of insurance
from which to make a recovery. In addition, should you be
a homeowner, you may be able to purchase an “umbrella”
policy in which your home and vehicles are covered.
When purchasing automobile insurance, we recommend that
you include medical pay coverage, under and uninsured motorist
coverage, vehicle rental, and comprehensive in adequate
amounts to ensure that you really have “full coverage”.
In the event of an accident, it is your responsibility
to exchange information. Get the following information:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Driver
- Driver license number
- License plate number
- Insurance information
- Names of witnesses, if any
In addition, obtain the name of the police department,
the police officer’s name and the police report number.
|