Louisiana Car Insurance
If you own a car, then you need Louisiana car insurance. That’s just a fact of life. It’s required by law. Furthermore, even if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t want to be without it. Car insurance protects you and your assets in the event that you’re found at-fault for a car accident.
Shopping for car insurance doesn’t have to be hard or exorbitantly expensive. Let TWFG Landeche Insurance help you find the right policy for your vehicle and needs.
How much does auto insurance cost in Louisiana?
The average car insurance price in Louisiana is $2,225 pear year or $186 per month. Louisiana is one of the top 5 most expensive states to purchase car insurance.
There are ways to lower the cost. You can take advantage of good driver discounts, of bundled policy discounts, and of good credit report discounts. Shopping around can also be helpful.
Why is Louisiana auto insurance so expensive?
One reason is the number of drivers who aren’t insured. 11.7% of drivers in Louisiana are uninsured, and insurance companies have to take that into account when setting rates.
Another reason is the number of auto accident lawsuits in the state of Louisiana. Our residents file more auto-related lawsuits than any other state. This may be because in Louisiana juries don’t hear civil claims unless damage is over $50,000, allowing many cases to be decided directly by judges. Drivers have a better chance of winning judge-heard suits.
Our roadways offer another factor to consider. The truth is, our highways aren’t always maintained as they should be. That means more opportunities for accidents.
Finally, fewer auto insurance companies operate within the state, which means they don’t have as much incentive to undercut one another. They feel a bit freer to charge more than they might, elsewhere.
What is the minimum auto insurance coverage in Louisiana
The minimum legal car insurance in Louisiana is $15,000 in liability coverage per person and $30,000 per accident. You must carry $25,000 in property damage liability coverage, $1000 in medical payments coverage, and $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident in uninsured motorist coverage.
If you lease or finance your vehicle, your financing company might have other requirements. For example, many financing companies won’t let you take a deductible lower than $500.
What kind of car or auto insurance do you recommend to Louisiana drivers?
While many people think they carry car insurance so they can get their car fixed in the event of an accident. The truth is that basic policies only cover your liability. These policies are concerned with covering the other driver’s expensive in the event that you’re at-fault in an accident. That means if you only carry the basic coverage and are at-fault, the insurance company probably won’t pay to have your car fixed.
Furthermore, if you get sued in an auto accident case and the settlement amount exceeds your insurance coverage the injured driver can try to come after your own assets to make up the difference.
Thus, even though you might be concerned with keeping your monthly payment as low as possible, the bare minimum coverage isn’t always advised.
Everyone’s Insurance needs a different but here are a few examples.
You might want to increase your uninsured or under-insured motorist policy. This is the policy that will pay you if the other driver is at-fault and doesn’t have insurance. This is likely from Louisiana’s high percentages of uninsured drivers.
You might also want collision coverage, which will help you repair your vehicle even if you were at-fault for the accident.
Knowing how high medical bills can get, you might want to consider more medical payments coverage too. Your own health insurance company will not cover everything if you get into a serious accident, and you’ll need every dollar of insurance money you can get.
Finally, there’s comprehensive coverage, which covers non-accident damage to your vehicle. This includes hail damage, wind damage or flood damage, hazards which drivers in South Louisiana face every single year.
If you’re concerned that you’ll overpay for insurance we can sit down and tailor your coverage limits to your needs, ensuring you get a customized policy that gives you the right amount of coverage for the right price.
Do you need a separate car insurance policy to be an Uber, Lyft, or delivery service driver?
You don’t need a separate policy, but you will need to find a company that will cover ride-share and delivery drivers, and you can expect to pay a little more to get insured while you’re on the job. This amount is a legitimate business expense. It is tax-deductible, and in some cases amounts to no more than $40 to $60.
The alternative is driving around without insurance, which could be disastrous for you and your family. If you’re at-fault for an accident the other driver’s insurance company will likely pay their expenses out of their uninsured motorist policy, but the matter won’t end there. The insurance company will turn around and file a “subrogation” against you.
In other words, they’ll say: we paid $20,000 to our insured to fix damages your insurance company was supposed to fix, because you were supposed to have insurance. You owe us that money.
This won’t even be an amount set by a personal injury case. They’ll just take care of their own insured and come after you. They can also sue you, attempting to put a lien on your home or garnish your wages. The DMV may also suspend your driver’s license for failing to comply.
Remember, Uber, Lyft, UberEats, Waitr, Instacart, Door Dash, and Grubhub will not insure you. It is up to you to do that for yourself.
Car Insurance Near You
Looking for the best car insurance rates? Want to make sure you’re as protected as possible after an accident? Call today to get started! 504-228-7184