Assigned risk is a driver of a motor vehicle or class of such drivers who would be denied insurance coverage by insurance companies but are required to be covered under U.S. state law.[1]
Motor vehicle insurance
The state government, usually the Department of Motor Vehicles, assigns the risky motorists to automobile insurance companies.[2]
High risk drivers are often undesirable to insurance companies, and may not be able to purchase insurance through conventional means.[3] They are considered high-risk because of numerous speeding or other traffic tickets, or a recent history of motor vehicle accidents, or in states that have a point system, accumulation of so many points. The state DMV point system may be different from the insurance companies' point system.[4]
Several states in the U.S. have such assigned risk systems.[5] New York is a typical system.[6] The MVAIC, or Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnity Company, may assign high-risk drivers, and pays for victims of uninsured or underinsured motorists.[7] Uninsured means the driver or owner of a motor vehicle has no insurance at all, while an underinsured person has insurance, but the coverage is insignificant compared to the potential damages accrued from a tort lawsuit.[8][9]
See also
- Insurance
- Insurance companies
- Motor vehicle
- Surety
- Underinsured
- Workers' compensation
References
- ^ See Free Dictionary, citing the American Heritage Society dictionary.
- ^ Ballentine's Law Dictionary, at 36.
- ^ "See the Rupp's definition on the CCH website". Archived from the original on 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ Under N.Y. Law, a driver can be suspended after accumulating 11 points in 18 months: [1]
- ^ For example, New York, see article text, California:[2] and Minnesota:[3]
- ^ N.Y. Insurance Law, Article 52; to locate the law online, search under "Bill search and Legislative materials" at [4] under INC, article 52.
- ^ MVAIC web site
- ^ Notice of intent Archived January 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ MVAIC forms