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The Court is Requiring Me to Purchase Car Insurance

  • It’s not uncommon for the court to require you to show proof of auto insurance in order to enter into a deferred disposition. The court can require you to purchase car insurance as part of the deferred disposition agreement, even if you cannot afford it. Unlike fines and court costs, there’s no legal right to have this requirement waived even if you're unable to afford it.
  • You may also be required to purchase insurance in order to reinstate your driver’s license after your second conviction for No Insurance (known as Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility). You will have to obtain an “SR-22,” which is basically a certification that you have the minimum liability insurance required by state law. Your insurance company can provide the SR-22.
  • There are low cost options available for car insurance, so don’t automatically assume you can’t afford it until you’ve actually priced it for yourself.
    • Texas only requires drivers to have “liability coverage,” which pays for damage to another driver’s vehicle and any of their medical expenses.
    • You’re not legally required to have “collision coverage,” which would pay for repairing your own vehicle in the event of a crash.
    • Ideally, you would have both, but if you cannot afford both, ask auto insurance companies to give you quotes for the minimum liability coverage required by Texas law.
    • The minimum amount of coverage required by law is available here.
  • You may also be eligible for discounts if you’re a veteran or a student, or bundle your car insurance with other types of insurance from the same company like homeowners insurance.
  • Keep in mind that the court will not order you to purchase insurance as part of a sentence after conviction, but only if you as a condition of a deferred disposition to get the charge dismissed. So if you absolutely cannot purchase insurance, you can be either plead Not Guilty and ask for a trial, or plead Guilty or Not Guilty and be sentenced. As part of your sentence, you will only be ordered to pay fines or court costs, not pay for insurance.