Does Insurance Follow the Car or the Driver in Hawaii? (2024)

FAQs

Does Insurance Follow the Car or the Driver in Hawaii? ›

Car insurance usually follows the car in Hawaii. The types of car insurance that follow the car in Hawaii are collision, comprehensive, and property damage liability. You're required to carry property damage liability and personal injury protection in Hawaii. PIP follows the driver, unlike liability coverage.

Hawaii is a considered a “no-fault state”, which means your motor vehicle insurance company will pay the bills for your injuries and your passengers' injuries up to the personal injury protection benefits (“PIP”) limit. And you cannot sue or be sued unless there are serious injuries.

Hawaii utilizes a federally run health insurance Marketplace, which means residents enroll through HealthCare.gov, where two private insurers offer individual/family health plans for Hawaii residents. But Hawaii still oversees the plans sold in the exchange.

This also means that you cannot be sued for injuries unless they are severe. However, for property damage, the no-fault rules do not apply in Hawaii. This means that the at-fault driver is responsible for damage to vehicles and other property.

Hawaii's no-fault auto insurance system is intended to simplify the process for drivers that wish to obtain compensation after an accident. Instead of filing a personal injury lawsuit against a negligent driver, motorists can simply file a claim with their own insurance company.

If someone else is driving your car and another person causes the accident, the at-fault driver's insurance is usually responsible for covering costs. On the other hand, if the driver of your car is at fault, your car insurance will usually cover damages. However, there are some exceptions to this.

If you allow someone else to borrow your car, it's still covered by your insurance policy. Insurers call this "permissive use." This is true even when the driver carries their own insurance.

Insurance companies in Hawaii have at least 45 days to settle a claim and make the final payment after the claim is filed. Hawaii insurance companies have 15 days to acknowledge a claim and send paperwork and further instructions to the claimant.

Fortunately for U.S. citizens and many long-term residents, most domestic health insurance policies cover medical needs when traveling to Hawaii.

Full coverage insurance in Hawaii is usually defined as a policy that provides more than the state's minimum liability coverage, which is $20,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, up to $40,000 per accident, and $10,000 in property damage coverage.

How does Hawaii no-fault car insurance work? ›

Hawaii follows a “no-fault” system for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance coverage. Regardless of who is at fault for a car accident, each driver's insurance company is responsible for covering their own medical expenses and those of their passengers, up to the policy limits.

The cheapest car insurance company in Hawaii is Geico at $1,359 per year on average, or $113 per month, according to the most recent NerdWallet analysis of full coverage car insurance rates in Hawaii.

In most cases, car accident victims in Hawaii can collect damages for medical expenses, lost income, rehabilitation costs, and lost earning capacity. Damages for pain and suffering and vehicle repairs may also be available, among others. In rare instances, the courts may also award punitive damages.

Hawaii is a state that does not have stand your ground laws on the books and where citizens have a legal duty to retreat from potentially dangerous public confrontations if doing so safely is possible. State residents are also required to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public.

Owning a home in Hawaii, it is important to protect your property from any damage that may occur as a result of an earthquake. Damage from an earthquake can result in thousands of dollars in damage & most homeowners policies don't cover earthquake damage.

The penalties of driving without insurance, if convicted, may include heavy fines, suspension of your driver's license, surrendering of your registration certificate and license plates, and possible imprisonment.

The owner of the car is responsible because they are the only one who can be definitively linked to that event. Therefore, you may have to pay a red-light ticket even though you were not in the vehicle at the time. Naturally, some drivers will claim that this is unfair.

Hawaii is a no-fault car accident state. This means that after a crash, accident victims must first file a claim with their own insurance company in order to receive compensation. But what some Hawaii motorists don't realize is that it may be possible for them to sue the at-fault driver as well.

If someone else is driving your car and gets in an accident, your car insurance will likely cover any resulting damage. Car insurance generally follows the car instead of the driver, so the car owner's insurance will cover the crash, even if someone else is driving.

Myth #4: If someone else drives my car and gets into an accident, their auto insurance will cover them, not mine. Fact: In most states, the car owner's insurance must pay for damages caused by an accident. Get familiar with the laws in your state before allowing another person to drive your car.