The national Personal Auto Policy guide covers the ISO policy (PP 00 01): Parts A to F, who is an insured, the covered auto and the exclusions. This guide covers the Vermont rules that sit on top of it: the compulsory insurance law and its 25/50/10 minimums, mandatory uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage at higher limits, financial-responsibility filings, cancellation and renewal limits, surcharges, the assigned-risk plan and total-loss settlement.

Compulsory insurance (23 V.S.A. § 800)

• You may not operate, or let someone operate, a registered vehicle on Vermont highways without an auto liability policy or bond at the minimum limits.
• Minimum limits (23 V.S.A. § 800(a)):
  • $25,000 bodily injury per person
  • $50,000 bodily injury per crash for two or more people
  • $10,000 property damage per crash
• Self-insurance is allowed instead of a policy. The self-insurer must show at least $115,000 of unencumbered net worth (§ 801(c)).
• Penalty for driving uninsured: a civil penalty of up to $500, a traffic violation (§ 800(b)).
• Proof: a driver who later shows, within seven business days of the stop, that coverage was in force can't be convicted. Proof may be shown on a phone, which doesn't consent to a search of the phone. Failing to carry proof is a civil penalty of up to $100 (§ 800(c), (d)).
• Collision and comprehensive are not required by law.
• Insurers give an insurance ID card to the named insured when the policy is delivered (Bulletin 77). A policy covering five or more vehicles may show "Fleet" instead of listing each vehicle.

Financial responsibility after a crash (23 V.S.A. §§ 801 to 809)

• After a crash with bodily injury, death, or property damage of $3,000 or more, the operator must show proof of financial responsibility unless a liability policy was in force (§ 801(a)(3)).
• Without proof, the license is suspended until it is filed (§ 802(a)).
• A policy filed as proof can't be cancelled without 15 days' notice to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles (§ 804(a)).
• Proof is generally kept for one year. Serious offenses, such as a repeat DUI or careless or reckless driving causing death, require three years (§ 809).
• Vermont's statute calls this "proof of financial responsibility." It doesn't use the term "SR-22."

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (23 V.S.A. § 941)

• Every auto liability policy delivered in Vermont must include UM/UIM coverage for injuries caused by uninsured, underinsured or hit-and-run vehicles (§ 941(a)).
• UM/UIM limits must be at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident, double the liability minimums (§ 941(c)).
• When liability limits are higher than 50/100, UM limits equal the liability limits unless the policyholder chooses otherwise.
• UM also includes property damage coverage up to $10,000 per claim with a $150 deductible. The deductible doesn't apply if the insured has other collectible direct damage coverage. In that case UM PD pays the collision deductible and collision pays the rest.
• Underinsured means the other driver's liability limits, or what is left after paying others, are less than the injured insured's own UM limits (§ 941(f)).
• A vehicle is also uninsured if its insurer becomes insolvent at the time of the crash or within one year after (§ 941(d)).
• Within 30 days of a written request, an insurer must state its insured's liability limits (§ 941(g)).
• Coverage applies in Vermont, elsewhere in the United States and in Canada (§ 941(b)).

Fault and recovery

Vermont uses modified comparative negligence (12 V.S.A. § 1036). An injured person recovers if their negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of the defendants. The award is reduced by their own share.

Cancellation, nonrenewal and renewal (8 V.S.A. §§ 4221 to 4228)

The rules apply to private passenger policies. They don't apply to policies covering more than four autos, assigned-risk policies, garage risks or business-use vehicles (§ 4222(1)). A policy written for less than six months is treated as a six-month policy (§ 4222(2)).

Permitted cancellation reasons after the policy has been in effect 60 days, or at any time for a renewal (§ 4223):

• nonpayment of premium
• fraud or material misrepresentation
• violation of policy terms
• suspension or revocation of the license of the named insured or a resident or customary driver, during the policy period or, for a renewal, the 180 days before it

• A cancellation or nonrenewal notice must tell the insured they may be eligible for the Vermont Automobile Insurance Plan (§ 4227).
• If the insurer terminates an agent, each policyholder may renew for one more annual period (§ 4228).

Assigned risk (8 V.S.A. §§ 4241 to 4245)

All insurers licensed to write auto insurance must take part in the Vermont Automobile Insurance Plan, which shares out drivers who can't get coverage normally. Plan coverage can't be less than the Title 23 requirements. Applicants and insurers may get a hearing before the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

Surcharges (8 V.S.A. §§ 4671 to 4675, 4203)

• A surcharge is allowed only for an accident where the insurer pays for death, injury over $900 net or property damage over $1,000 net (§ 4672).
• No rate increase for claims under UM, medical payments, comprehensive, fire, theft or combined additional coverage (§ 4673(a)).
• The experience period is the three years before application, or 39 months before renewal.
• On a multi-car policy, the surcharge goes only on the car the at-fault driver mainly drives (§ 4675).
• No surcharge for damages not caused by the insured's fault, or for a first violation of the compulsory insurance law (§ 4203(5), (6)).

Claims and total losses (Reg. I-79-2)

• Total-loss cash settlement is at least the average of the NADA retail value and a comparable vehicle's value from a third-party valuation vendor. It includes taxes, registration and transfer fees, less the deductible (§ 8(B)).
• The local market for comparables is a 75-mile radius of the garaging zip code.
• The claimant gets a detailed valuation and a notice of how to reach the Insurance Division's Consumer Services Section.
• Rental or substitute transportation is reimbursed when need is shown, not just business need. On a total loss it runs until a replacement can reasonably be found (§ 9).
• An insurer that insists on a particular repair shop guarantees that shop's work (§ 8(A)(3)).

Common exam traps

• Liability is 25/50/10, but UM/UIM is 50/100, not the liability minimums.
• UIM is triggered when the other driver's limits are below the insured's own UM limits.
• UM property damage is $10,000 with a $150 deductible.
• Auto notices are 45 days, or 15 for nonpayment, and they apply after the first 60 days.
• The surcharge thresholds are $900 injury and $1,000 property damage.
• An insurer may not surcharge for UM, med pay or comprehensive claims.