Oklahoma Liability Insurance Requirements

Oklahomans rely on cars. That’s understandable when you consider you need a car just to easily get across town in the largest city in the Sooner State. 

At 621 square miles and a population of about one million people, Oklahoma City is the fourth largest city by landmass in the contiguous 48 states. A lot of that land is zoned for agriculture, meaning a lot of wide open and pedestrian-unfriendly spaces.

With all of those miles to cover, it’s no surprise that Oklahoma drivers are in a fair share of accidents. According to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, in 2020, there were 8,609 vehicle crashes in our state, with 10,644 injuries recorded and 654 fatalities. 

Oklahoma state law requires you to carry liability coverage. But anyone who has shopped for a vehicle recently knows only carrying the minimum amount of liability insurance required by law is setting yourself up for failure. 

According to Kelly Blue Book, the average cost of a new car continues to creep toward the $50,000 mark. In August 2022, the average new car cost set a new record at $48,301. That continued increase makes carrying Oklahoma auto insurance even more critical, not only for individuals but for companies that utilize vehicles as part of their business.

In this blog, we’ll be discussing types of liability insurance and why to choose specific types of coverage for your situation. If you need any help with determining what coverage you need, reach out to a member of our team today.

What impacts the cost of liability insurance coverage? 

Sure, insurance is expensive, but driving without it is even more expensive. There are things that you can’t really control that will impact your premiums, such as the state you live in, the years you’ve driven and your demographics, such as age, marital status and gender.

But there are plenty of things you can control to help decrease your premiums, such as the type of vehicle you drive and your driving history. The number of accidents in which you are determined at fault will impact your premiums, as will traffic violations.

What are the components of liability insurance in general?

As noted already, insurance companies who make car insurance quotes in Oklahoma for liability coverage must provide property damage and bodily injury coverage. 

If you are found legally responsible in an accident, they will help pay:

• Property Damage, which helps cover certain damage to other involved party’s vehicle or property such as homes, buildings and other structures

• Bodily Injury, which helps cover certain expenses associated with injury, death or bodily harm to other involved parties, whether another driver or pedestrian

Optional Coverage

You may have noticed that liability coverage is all about the other party’s injuries and damages. If you cause an accident and only carry liability insurance, you are responsible for your own medical bills and damage to your vehicle. In Oklahoma, there are optional coverages you can carry to provide protection for your vehicle and yourself.

Comprehensive

Comprehensive coverage provides protection against physical damage to your vehicle that results from occurrences other than collisions with other vehicles. 

Here are examples of accidents comprehensive coverage protects against: 

• If you hit a deer and damage the front end of your car
• If your car is stolen or vandalized, 
• If your vehicle is burned, damaged by falling objects or a natural disaster, 

Whether you anticipate receiving any of this type of damage, this is the coverage you will need. It is usually subject to a deductible, and the amount of the deductible will impact your car insurance rate.

If your vehicle is being financed, your lender will most likely require you to carry comprehensive and collision coverage to protect their investment.

Collision

Collision coverage protects against collisions with another vehicle or object, such as a tree, fence, or mailbox. It also has a deductible.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist

Protects you in the event of an accident where the other party is at-fault and driving without insurance or whose minimal liability limits have been exhausted before your accident’s losses have been completely paid. This coverage pays for medical care or provides compensation for loss of life. It covers you and your passengers.

The Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner recently noted that the number of uninsured drivers in Oklahoma has grown to 24 percent, putting our state in the top six states in the nation for uninsured drivers. He noted that, in turn, this increase had pushed the average auto insurance policy in our state to $1,869.39, the third-highest in the nation, behind Louisiana and Michigan.

Medical Expenses

This coverage assists with medical or funeral expenses if you and/or your passengers are hurt in an accident.

Hopewell is here to help. 

As an independent agency, Hopewell has access to an extensive list of carriers. We can shop your coverage to find you the best coverage value possible. Bundling coverage also positively impacts premiums. We can bundle your homeowners, rental, boat, motorcycle, automobile and life insurance.

If you own a business, we can also look at bundling your commercial and personal lines of coverage to save even more. Reach out to our team for your free, no-obligation estimate today.