No Pay, No Play?
DOES THIS MEAN YOU’RE OUT OF LUCK?
What does this mean and why do we have such a thing?
In Louisiana, we have a “No Pay, No Play” law. Here is the quick simple explanation – if you are driving and do not have car insurance when injured in a crash, as an uninsured driver, you give up the first $15,000 of personal injury coverage and first $25,000 of property damage coverage. Those are the minimum limits required by law that every vehicle owner must maintain while owning their car.
Our state lawmakers enacted this law to attempt to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road. The thought being that with this law being passed, people who do not have auto insurance will either stop driving or will purchase car insurance. Additionally, if a person does not pay to have auto insurance and causes a crash, they have not protected the other drivers on the road. But if the uninsured driver is in a crash, then they are not able to “reap the benefits” if they are the victim, at least for the first $15,000 of personal injury damage and $25,000 of property damage.
But there are exceptions. The driver of the other vehicle:
- Is cited for drunk driving and later is convicted, pleas guilty or no contest.
- Intentionally caused the crash.
- Flees the scene – hit and run.
- At the time of the crash, is committing a felony.
Does this law apply if you are a passenger? NO! Provided the passenger who is injured did not own that car.
What is the driver is from out of state and is the injured victim? Louisiana law may not apply to that driver if their state does not have the same level of coverage as Louisiana, $15,000/$30,000/$25,000. But there are also exceptions here – did that out of state driver move to Louisiana and fail to transfer registration in the time required by law?
Just because you have been injured and there is no insurance on your car does not always mean you will not be able to recover. If this has happened to you, give us a call. We are happy to meet with you, learn more about your unique situation and provide great advice.