In Hawaii, state law requires that you insure your vehicle throughout the motor vehicle registration period. You must keep a valid Hawaii motor vehicle insurance ID card in your motor vehicle at all times. Failure to operate a vehicle with insurance may result in a ticket or a fine. You must not just have insurance on your vehicle, but there are minimum insurance policy limits that you must have. At a minimum, you must have a policy that has $10,000 per person in protection.
Personal injury protection benefits (PIP) pay for both medical and rehabilitative costs associated with an injury. Mandatory coverage also includes $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage. It should also include $10,000 per occurrence in property damage liability. These cover the damages for the party injured in a car accident when you are at-fault.
In addition to this minimum insurance, you may also increase the limits on your policy and add Uninsured or Underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage. In fact, your insurance agent is obligated to advise you about this coverage, including informing you of your right to decline this coverage. You have the option of purchasing, at a minimum, $20,000 per person uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage that will be used to pay for the costs associated with serious or fatal injuries in the event that the at-fault driver either does not have insurance or does not have enough coverage.
Hawaii Is a No-Fault Insurance State: What Does that Mean?
Beyond the minimum insurance requirements, you should also understand how insurance coverage operates after an accident. Hawaii is one of about a dozen states that are “no-fault” car insurance states. “No-fault” means that if you sustain injuries in the accident, your insurance company will pay up to the PIP limit. “No-fault” only applies to injuries, not property damage, so the at-fault driver will still be responsible for compensating you for any vehicle or property damage you sustained.
PIP coverage pays for things such as your medical bills and some other financial losses up to your PIP policy limits, regardless of who was at fault. However, PIP will not compensate you beyond the insurance policy limits. If you sustained injuries resulting in expenses that go beyond your PIP coverage and/or you have sustained pain and suffering and other non-economic damages you wish to recover compensation for, you must step outside of the no-fault system and file a third-party insurance claim or a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. You may do so if your injuries exceed your PIP coverage limits or your injuries include significant and permanent loss of use or function of a body part or permanent and serious disfigurement that has resulted in mental or emotional distress. In other words, you can file a lawsuit if the injuries are severe.
Hawaii Personal Injury Attorney
Insurance laws and personal injury laws are complex and difficult to understand. The last thing you want to do after being injured is to try to understand the legal jargon. You deserve compensation for your injuries and other losses. And, that is what Cummings Law is here to do for you. We take on this burden so that you can focus on your health and well-being. Let us fight for your legal right to monetary compensation. Contact us today.
