The national guide explains the personal auto policy: liability, medical payments, uninsured motorists, physical damage, and the duties after a loss. Idaho is an at-fault (tort) state with no no-fault PIP system. Idaho auto questions focus on four areas:

• compulsory liability insurance and financial responsibility (Idaho Code Title 49, chapter 12);
• UM/UIM coverage (Idaho Code 41-2502 to 41-2505);
• the auto cancellation and nonrenewal law (Idaho Code 41-2506 to 41-2516);
• Idaho's comparative negligence rule.

Fault and comparative negligence

• A negligent driver is liable for the damage they cause. Idaho has no PIP requirement, and medical payments coverage is optional.
• Idaho's comparative negligence rule (Idaho Code 6-801) lets an injured person recover only if their negligence was not as great as the defendant's. Equal fault (50/50) bars recovery. Otherwise damages are reduced by the plaintiff's share. For example, $100,000 with 30% fault recovers $70,000.
• Juries return special verdicts on each party's percentage of fault (Idaho Code 6-802).
• Joint and several liability is limited to parties acting in concert, or as agent or servant of another (Idaho Code 6-803).

Compulsory insurance and minimum limits

• Who must insure: owners of registered vehicles must continuously carry liability insurance (Idaho Code 49-1229). The alternatives are a certificate of self-insurance or an indemnity bond filed with the Director of Insurance. The bond is at least $50,000 per accident per vehicle, up to $120,000 for five or more vehicles.
• Minimum limits: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage, or 25/50/15 (Idaho Code 49-117(20)).
• Proof of insurance (Idaho Code 49-1232):
  • The driver must carry proof, on paper or electronically on a phone.
  • Showing later that insurance was in force at the time of the stop avoids a conviction.
• Penalties for driving uninsured (Idaho Code 49-1229(5)):
  • A first violation is an infraction with a $75 fine. It is not a misdemeanor.
  • A second or later conviction within five years is a misdemeanor: up to $1,000, six months in jail, or both.
• Verification: insurers report coverage to the state's online verification system at least weekly (Idaho Code 49-1234).

The motor vehicle liability policy (Idaho Code 49-1212)

• Owner's policy: covers the named insured and anyone driving a listed vehicle with express or implied permission, within the United States and Canada.
• Operator's policy: covers a person who drives but owns no car, for vehicles they don't own.
• Loaned vehicles: when a vehicle is loaned without charge, the operator's policy is primary and the owner's policy is excess.
• Binders: a binder issued while the policy is pending satisfies the law.
• Household members: coverage for family or household members may not be reduced, except through a named driver exclusion signed by the named insured (Idaho Code 41-2510).

Proof of future financial responsibility

• After a first conviction: proof is required for one year. After a second conviction within five years: three years (Idaho Code 49-1208).
• After a suspension or revocation: proof for three years from the end of the suspension.
• Certified policies can't be cancelled until 10 days after notice is filed with the department (Idaho Code 49-1213).
• Unpaid judgments: a judgment unpaid for 60 days is reported to the department, and suspension follows (Idaho Code 49-1203).
• Terminology: Idaho law speaks of "proof of financial responsibility" and certified policies. "SR-22" is the industry name for the filing.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

• Required unless rejected: UM and UIM must be provided at the 25/50 limits unless the named insured rejects either or both in writing or in an electronic record (Idaho Code 41-2502).
• Effect of a rejection: it binds all insureds and carries over to renewals and replacements with the same insurer or an affiliate.
• Standard statement: a standard statement explaining UM and UIM is given with new policies and renewals.
• Not covered by the requirement: ATVs, UTVs, specialty off-highway vehicles and motorbikes.
• Definitions (Idaho Code 41-2503, 41-2504):
  • An underinsured vehicle carries at least the minimum limits, but not enough.
  • A vehicle whose insurer becomes insolvent within one year after the accident is treated as uninsured.
• UIM limits may be offset (reduced by what the at-fault driver's insurer pays) or excess (added on top of that payment) (IDAPA 18.02.02).
• Recovery: the paying insurer may recover from the responsible party (Idaho Code 41-2505).

Cancellation and nonrenewal (Idaho Code 41-2506 to 41-2508)

• Scope: the rules apply once a policy has been in effect 60 days, or is a renewal. They don't apply to assigned-risk policies or garage and similar business hazards. Policies shorter than six months are treated as six-month terms.

• Permitted reasons to cancel (Idaho Code 41-2507) include:

  • nonpayment;
  • an operator's license suspended or revoked within the last 36 months;
  • three or more point violations in 36 months;
  • using the car to carry passengers for hire. A carpool is not "for hire."

  Out-of-state registration is a ground only for nonrenewal.

• Notice periods (Idaho Code 41-2508):

• Reasons on request: the insured may ask in writing at least 10 days before a cancellation, or 15 days for a nonrenewal.
• Proof of mailing to the last known address is sufficient proof of notice.
• Assigned risk: the notice must mention possible eligibility for the automobile assigned risk plan. All auto insurers participate in it (Idaho Code 49-1225). Plan rates must keep it self-sustaining (Idaho Code 41-1441).
• Renewal changes: an insurer may require deductibles of up to $250 on comprehensive and $500 on collision as a renewal condition (Idaho Code 41-2511).
• Suspended coverage: an insured may suspend coverage, for example on a stored vehicle. That is not a cancellation (Idaho Code 41-2516).

Other Idaho auto rules

• Mature driver discount: drivers 55 or older who complete an approved accident prevention course get a premium reduction on liability, medical payments and collision for three years (Idaho Code 41-2515). Court-ordered courses don't qualify.
• Medical payments: coverage may not limit the time to recover to less than three years for injuries discovered and treated within one year (Idaho Code 41-2514).
• Repairs: completed authorized repairs are paid within 20 days of the itemized bill (Idaho Code 41-1328).
• Credit: auto premiums may not be raised, and coverage may not be cancelled or declined, based primarily on credit (Idaho Code 41-1843). The highest credit-factor premium may be no more than twice the lowest (IDAPA 18.02.01).

Common exam traps

• Idaho minimums are 25/50/15. There is no PIP.
• A first uninsured-driving offense is an infraction ($75), not a misdemeanor.
• Under comparative negligence, 50/50 bars recovery in Idaho.
• UM/UIM can be rejected in writing or by electronic record, and the rejection carries to renewals.
• Auto notice periods: 20 days to cancel, 10 days for nonpayment (with the reason), 30 days for nonrenewal.
• Carpooling is not carrying passengers for hire.