Throughout the month of January, we’ve shared a series of blog posts aimed at breaking down complex insurance jargon and explaining it more clearly. We’ve covered a lot of ground in the past few weeks, from Arkansas’s most basic car insurance requirements to the benefits of Med Pay coverage.

We believe that every Arkansan should understand their car insurance policy, and that all drivers should have the coverage necessary to protect themselves and their families.

We hope you’ll check out the other posts in our All About Insurance series where we explain Liability, Collision, and Comprehensive insurance (101 HERE), Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage (102 HERE), and Med Pay options (103 HERE). But if you’re looking for the Cliffs Notes version, below you’ll find our Top Five Takeaways about Arkansas insurance.

1. Each state sets its own legal requirements when it comes to insurance. Your insurance requirements are based on the state where you live. If you live in Arkansas, you are bound to Arkansas’s state insurance laws, even if you rear-end a car at a stoplight in Arizona while making a cross-country road trip.
2. Every driver in Arkansas is legally required to carry car insurance, whether or not they own a car. Liability Insurance is the most common coverage that people carry, and it’s the only type of coverage required by Arkansas law. If you cause a car accident, your Liability insurance will cover damages to the other driver and the other car.
3. Two very important types of coverage: Collision and Comprehensive. Comprehensive Insurance covers “non-collision” damage to your car: fire, flood, theft, vandalism, collisions with animals, hail, and much more. Collision Insurance pays for damages to your car caused by collision or rollover accidents where you were the at-fault driver. If you only carry Liability Insurance, you will be responsible for your own repairs and injuries if you cause the wreck.
4. 1 in 6 Arkansans drives without insurance. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage protects you from those drivers, as well as drivers who are underinsured. Hit-and-run accidents also fall under the UM/UIM umbrella, so it’s an important type of coverage to add to your policy.
5. Don’t forget about Med Pay, which insures your physical health. This coverage will pay for up to $5000 of the accident-related medical bills you incur within two years of your car wreck. It works regardless of whether the accident was your fault or the fault of another driver. In Arkansas, Med Pay is optional, but lawmakers believe it is so important that if you choose not to purchase Med Pay coverage, you must sign a waiver explicitly stating that fact.

We hope you’ll examine your car insurance today and, if necessary, make changes to better protect you and your family.

As always, if you’ve been in an accident, please contact our firm for a free consultation. Call 870.246.0505 to get started today.

At Taylor King Law, we deal with Arkansas insurance adjusters and complex insurance coverage questions every day. Having an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side is especially important if you’ve been hit by a driver who is uninsured or underinsured. We’ll be On Your Side, By Your Side – every step of the way.