Wisconsin Automobile
Insurance
Wisconsin has a financial responsibility law. It
is designed to make sure that any motorist licensed to drive in
Wisconsin has insurance or enough money to pay for damages to others that may be caused by a motor vehicle. These
requirements may be met through insurance, a surety bond, or
self-insurance.
If you decide to satisfy the requirements of the
Wisconsin Financial Responsibility Law by buying Wisconsin
car insurance, your policy must contain three major
parts—
liability insurance
for bodily injury, liability insurance for property damage, and uninsured motorist coverage.
When referring to liability limits, the insurance industry uses an abbreviation that can be confusing. The designation of
$25,000/$50,000/$10,000 (or 25/50/10) or similar designations refer to the
maximum amounts that an insurer will pay for the three basic liability
coverages. The first number ($25,000) refers to the limit on bodily
injury payments coverage per person. The second number
($50,000) refers to the limit on bodily injury coverage per accident where two or more people have been injured. The
third number ($10,000) refers to the limit on property damage coverage
per accident.
The minimum amount
of coverage required by law is $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury only.
You may want to purchase more than the minimum coverage
required by law if you feel the need for more protection. The minimum limits of UIM coverage, if accepted after
notification, are $50,000 per person and $100,000 per
accident.
Wisconsin law allows insurers to rate based on
all the members in a household including husband, wife,
children, or nonrelative, but the law does not allow insurers
to exclude drivers by endorsement.
Wisconsin has a Safety Responsibility Law. The
law requires that anytime a person is hurt or killed or someone's
property is damaged over $1,000, it must be reported as soon as possible. You must also file a Driver's Report of Accident within 10 days with the Division of Motor Vehicles.
If a police agency investigates the accident, you do not have to fill out the accident report, the police will.
If you are in an accident in Wisconsin, you should exchange insurance information with the other driver.
Under the Safety Responsibility Law, uninsured motorists who are in reportable accidents must show they can pay for the
damages and injuries they may have caused. The law takes away the driver's
license and license plates of the uninsured motorist who cannot pay for damages
or injuries they cause.
Comparative Negligence Law
Wisconsin has a comparative negligence law that means responsibility is frequently shared. The comparative negligence law is based on a percentage of negligence.
This means you may recover damages from another party providing your negligence is not greater than the other
party, but your damages shall be reduced by the percent of negligence
attributed to you. You are barred from recovery if your negligence is greater
than another party’s negligence.
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