Category: Kansas

Last updated on April 26th, 2018

Residents of Kansas have to meet a multitude of different car insurance requirements in order to legally operate a vehicle on a public road. Residents of most states are familiar with minimum coverage requirements but Kansas car insurance laws tend to be a bit more strict and cumbersome that most, requiring more types of coverage than almost any other state. First there is the liability coverage, required by a majority of states. Kansas State law sets the minimum amounts of liability coverage required at $25,000 in individual bodily injury coverage, $50,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident and $10,000 in property damage coverage. Any time an auto insurance policy is purchased for a vehicle registered in Kansas it will use these levels of coverage as a baseline, meaning that more liability coverage can be purchased than the above amount but not less than the above amounts. In addition to liability insurance, which is the only type of car insurance coverage that many states legally require, Kansas also makes the purchase of personal injury protection mandatory. Unlike liability insurance, personal injury protection insures the driver of the covered vehicle as well as any passengers should they be involved in an accident. Kansas law divides personal injury protection into a few different categories and establishes minimum amounts of coverage that must be met for each category. Personal injury protection for instance must include at least $4,500 in medical expenses coverage per person as well as a minimum of $900 in monthly medical disability and loss of income coverage that will be paid out for a minimum of one year. Personal injury protection purchased in Kansas must also include coverage in the amounts of $25 per day for at home expenses, $2,000 for funeral or burial expenses and $4,500 for rehabilitation expenses. All o these different types of converges will be purchased together in a single personal injury protection policy and like liability coverage, the minimum amounts established for each category can be exceeded.

Although Kansas cannot be entirely considered a no-fault state it still requires drivers to maintain uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on their vehicles, both of which are typically only required by true no-fault states. The minimums for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage mirror the minimums set for bodily injury liability coverage at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in coverage. Like personal injury protection uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is intended to financially protect the policy holder if they are involved in an accident with another drive that does not have the state mandated minimum levels of coverage on their vehicle. Despite the fact that Kansas requires more types of car insurance coverage than most other states it still has one of the lowest average premium rates in the country. On average, drivers in the U.S. are paying around $800 a year in order to maintain required levels of coverage on their vehicle but in Kansas residents pay only an average of $600 a year in auto insurance premiums.

Drivers in Kansas that are caught driving without insurance will result in penalties that are a bit more severe than those found in other states. Every time a driver is pulled over of involved in an accident they may be required to show proof of insurance to the law enforcement on the scene. In most cases this proof will come in the form of an insurance card issued by the insurance company. Failure to provide proof of insurance could result in a citation being issued by the officer. Driving without insurance in Kansas is a misdemeanor, meaning that in some cases it can be punished by jail time. For a first offense the offending driver will likely receiver a citation and a minimum fine of $300, though the maximum is as high as $1,000. Failure to pay this fine will automatically result in six months in jail. A motorist that is caught driving without insurance a second time in a three year period will be required to pay a minimum $800 fine or possibly a maximum $2,500 fine. A second offense will also result in the suspension of the driver’s license and registration, both of which require proof of insurance and the payment of reinstatement fees before they can be unsuspended. As a Class A misdemeanor a second infraction can also result in jail time if the fine is not paid. The only way a vehicle owner can legally avoid having to insure their vehicle with state required minimum levels of coverage is if the vehicle was not designed to travel on the highway, such as an ATV, or of the vehicle is non operational. Additionally, motorcycle owners can potentially be exempt from the portion of Kansas insurance law that requires the purchase of personal injury protection insurance but this is only if the owner rejects the coverage in writing.