Differences Between Tort And No-Fault Car Insurance

Car Insurance laws vary from state to state with a majority of states following a tort system while a handful follow a no-fault system. When purchasing a policy or even just driving through a state, it's important to know about that state's laws because if you are in an accident or need to buy a policy, they can significantly impact you.

A no-fault system of car insurance insures that claims are paid regardless of who is deemed to be at fault. In general, your insurance company will cover your vehicle, and the other driver's company covers them. The insurance companies then negotiate between themselves to settle the details of the claim. No fault has the potential to be less expensive than the tort system, but it also has some drawback that challenge it as an effective type of coverage. The biggest complaint against no fault car insurance is that it promotes careless in drivers, who know that the accident is covered regardless of their driving behavior, and that this problem serves to increase the cost of having insurance rather than to decrease it. Under no fault insurance, you do not have the right to sue the other driver or insurance company if the claim does not go as well as expected.

Under a tort system, your company will only pay for accidents when you are found to be at fault, and will not generally cover your car at all unless you have purchased additional collision insurance on the same policy. Tort insurance seeks to solve the claim of the other party, while no fault insurance serves to get the insured person back on the road as soon as possible. Because you are able to take the at fault driver to court and seek more for your damages, this type of insurance offers you more financial security by allowing you to use alternative avenues for resolving the issues.

Currently, the no fault system is only used in 12 of the 50 states. Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah all follow no fault insurance, while the remaining states follow traditional tort coverage. Whether or not one type of protection is better than the other is still under debate between insurance companies, but no fault auto insurance offers the policyholder a greater level of immediate protection while more aptly penalizing those who chose to take out ineffective policies or drive without coverage at all.