Nevada Car Insurance Guide

The State of Nevada requires minimum liability coverage of $15,000 bodily injury per person, $30,000 bodily injury per accident, and $10,000 property damage. All registered vehicles are required to have this coverage. Nevada requires that insurance be obtained, regardless of whether you are financially able to cover your liability in an accident without insurance. Your insurance carrier must be licensed in Nevada.

Nevada is a stickler about insurance requirements. Roadside spot-checks, car insurance company data comparisons, and direct mail verification are all methods used by the state to ensure that all drivers are in compliance. If you let your coverage lapse while your registration is still current, the state may suspend your registration and charge a reinstatement fee of $250.

When you register your vehicle, you may either sign a declaration that you will maintain Nevada insurance coverage for the entire time the vehicle is registered in the state, or you can present a Nevada Evidence of Insurance Card. If you are not the vehicle's owner, but you are registering the car, you must provide either the Evidence of Insurance Card or a Power of Attorney.

You must carry your Nevada Evidence of Insurance Card in your vehicle at all times. If a law enforcement officer requests to see it, you must present it.

Nevada does not have no-fault regulations in place. This means that whoever caused the accident is responsible for all covered losses, so that person's insurance company will be forced to pay the claims.

Other insurance coverage you should consider if you are a Nevada resident include comprehensive coverage and gap insurance. Gap insurance is necessary if you still owe a substantial amount of money on your car loan. If you cause an accident, and your vehicle is a total loss, without gap insurance, you will end up having to continue to make payments on a vehicle you can no longer drive. Comprehensive insurance protects against non-accident related damages, such as fire, water damage, natural disasters (like a tree falling on the car), and if you opt for it, damage to your windshield. With windshields costing upwards of $200 to replace, this coverage alone may make it well worth the money to have comprehensive insurance.

Of course, you are not limited to having only the minimum liability coverage. And given the prices of new vehicles these days, if you cause an accident which totals a brand new vehicle, the $10,000 minimum coverage Nevada requires will not be enough. Also, hospital bills can go through the roof, and $15,000 in bodily injury coverage will be used up in a matter of days. Think honestly about what kind of driver you are, the amount of driving you do, and what the traffic situation in your area is like. Then compare policies between a number of Nevada licensed insurance companies. The lowest priced policy is not necessarily the best. Do your homework and get the policy that works best for your needs.