About North Dakota Insurance Laws, Health Insurance and Regulations…
North Dakota is home to a robust insurance industry that is regulated by the state itself. The industry is governed by the North Dakota Insurance Department, which establishes and enforces standards that help ensure that both the state’s residents and its insurance companies are protected against malicious activity. The state is also responsible for upholding federal insurance regulations, such as those concerning health care. Insurers licensed to do business in North Dakota are required to comply with the state’s regulations or risk losing their license or face legal action.
Like other states, North Dakota requires all drivers to carry auto insurance coverage. The state has established a minimum level of coverage that drivers may carry at all times. This coverage accounts for $25,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in a single accident; $50,000 for bodily injury or death of two people in a single accident; $25,000 for damage to property; $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident with an uninsured motorist; and $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident with an underinsured motorist.
North Dakota also requires drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, which must account for $30,000.
Some drivers may be required to carry rental car insurance, as it is illegal in the state to operate a vehicle of any kind without some form of insurance coverage. Coverage rates vary depending on several factors, but North Dakota drivers often pay an average of approximately $600 for the coverage they need.
As in other states, the North Dakota insurance industry is not required to provide homeowners with any kind of insurance coverage. This is because homeowners are not required to carry any such coverage by the state itself. Thus, the regulations guiding the North Dakota insurance industry largely exist to protect consumers and ensure that insurers can operate freely and effectively within the state. Consumers are advised to purchase coverage to protect their properties from natural disasters, however. Many policies that protect homes against damage caused by floods or earthquakes must be purchased as a supplement to a traditional homeowners insurance policy.
Though earthquakes are somewhat rare in the state, the North Dakota insurance industry still provides coverage options for homeowners. Flood insurance is more common, and can often be found through many of the state’s property insurance providers, or through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The North Dakota insurance industry is currently seeing a great deal of change due to federal regulations and laws. The Affordable Care Act is bringing about the majority of this change, partly through making health insurance coverage mandatory for all American citizens. The law also compels states to establish a health insurance exchange system, which is expected to provide more than 340,000 North Dakota residents with affordable health insurance coverage.
The state currently has no concrete plans to build its own exchange. Legislators have rejected previous efforts to build such a system in the past, but the North Dakota Insurance Department is still working on examining the benefits an exchange program could provide the state’s residents. Currently, there are roughly 74,400 people without any kind of health insurance in the state, according to information from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
North Dakota Insurance Resources:
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner: Jon Godfread
North Dakota Department of Insurance Website: http://www.nd.gov/ndins/
North Dakota Agent Insurance Licensing Info: http://www.nd.gov/ndins/producer/
File Insurance Complaint: http://www.nd.gov/ndins/consumer/file-a-complaint/