A: It will depend, in the end, on what you do with your car as to whether or not you should get a Houston commercial auto insurance policy. Many people who are self employed use their vehicle for business reasons, but they also use it to go to the movies or go on vacation, among other things.

If you use your car for both business reasons and for personal reasons, then a commercial auto insurance policy is not really necessary. While you may prefer to have a commercial policy for the extra protection, since you have dual purposes for your car it may only bring you a price increase.

It’s most recommendable for you to get a  commercial auto insurance policy if you do a lot of driving for your business. For example, if you transport clients, are a taxi driver, a delivery person, and so on. It would also be good for you to get a commercial policy if you go on a lot of business trips in your car. Sometimes, if you are using your car for business and get into an accident, your car insurance company won’t cover the damages because that purpose wasn’t disclosed.

My friend recently got in a car accident in Texas with a rented vehicle and according to her, it was the other party’s fault. Since neither of the cars (hers and the other driver’s car) are insured, they both decided not to inform the police. What would happen she is caught for not having a car insurance here in Texas?

Ben

Houston TX

Without an insurance for a rented car, your friend will likely have to pay the cost of repairing the vehicle and the rental lost since the car will be out of commission. Since the other party is at fault in the accident, your friend may have to bring the case to court if the person at-fault is not willing
to pay the damages instead of making a claim to the at-fault party’s insurance provider should that driver’s car was insured.

In Texas, the minimum requirement is $25,000.00 for every person injured, $50,000.00 for every accident and $25,000.00 for property damage. This law, which took effect on April 1, 2008, is referred to as 25/50/25.

Failure to comply to this law will result in a penalty ranging from $175 to $350 for the first conviction. The fines for the succeeding convictions ranges from $350 to $1,000. Your driver’s license can also be suspended and your car be impounded. For more information on this matter, you can check the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act in the Texas Transportation Code Chapter 601.

Aside from the required reinstatement fees as part of the administrative actions due to this conviction, there are also surcharges, which the Department of Public Safety assess according to the traffic violation. The surcharge for having without a car insurance is $250 a year for three years.

Your friend can seek legal advice if the driver who is at fault does not want to pay the damages.

What will happen if a person gets into an accident while driving an insured vehicle in Houston but he is excluded from the policy of that vehicle?

Amanda

Houston, TX

In general, insurance companies do not cover persons who are excluded in insurance policies even during the time of an accident. This rule is being practiced not just in Houston, but in other parts of Texas, as well. This is for the reason that only those who are included in the policy have the guarantee to cover future damages and that those who are excluded would have to be personally liable for the incident, and this may sound risky especially since the person’s financial liquidity would have to be considered.

So, in cases wherein the excluded driver was found to be at fault, the driver and the owner of the vehicle will both be held accountable for the damages. If the excluded driver is part of the owner’s household, the owner may have to consult with his or her insurance company to see if the excluded driver could be included in the policy so as to avoid the same scenario.

As for the violation, the penalty will only be given to the excluded driver and the incident listed only in his records. Likewise, the incident will not have an effect to the owner’s insurance policy rates since he or she was not the one who caused the accident. However, in a case wherein the other driver is included in the owner’s policy and was found to be at fault, the rates of the insurance policy would likely be affected.

A: There are a few reasons why your  SR22 bond is going to be more expensive than any other kind of car insurance bond. One of the main reasons for this will be the risk involved. Since all of the premium money from policy holders go into a pool from which the money to pay damages is drawn, the policy holders who are more likely to make money from that pool have to pay in more. It’s only fair. Car insurance companies rate people based on their risk, and if you have certain qualities which have proven to be risky in other policy holders, then you will pay higher rates, even if you never end up filing a car insurance claim.

One other thing could simply be that their prices are going up, period. When more people file claims, car insurance companies have to raise their prices, and you feel his effect on your  SR22 bond. If there is a lot of fraud going on as well, it will make everybody pay more.