By Justin Stoltzfus

Drivers in the Lone Star State will see some changes in 2011 when it comes to auto insurance. Premiums for high-risk drivers will shrink, while state-required minimum levels of coverage for all drivers will increase.

According to an October 2010 announcement from the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA) will reduce rates for high-risk auto policies by 7.6 percent in 2011, which is good news for those who were denied by conventional car insurance companies.

TAIPA is the Texas version of an assigned risk pool, which assembles high-risk drivers and disperses their risk among private insurance companies (which are required to insure them in exchange for doing business in the state). TAIPA accepts drivers who have been rejected by two insurance companies and sets the rates for their policies based on industry data. Although drivers with TAIPA-provided insurance saw their rates go up from 2009 to 2010, they will see lower rates starting Jan 1, 2011.

All Texas drivers should look into whether their insurance measures up to another 2011 change in Texas auto insurance. Effective Jan. 1, Texas is raising the rates on regular minimum liability coverage for all drivers, in accordance with a 2007 amendment to Texas auto insurance law. Minimum liability insurance covers injury and damage caused by a driver to other parties and their vehicles. Each state has different minimum liability limits. In Texas, the rates have climbed in staggered increases over the past several years.

  • Before 2007, customers had to purchase $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident for bodily injury, as well as $25,000 for property damage. These minimums are written in industry shorthand as 20/40/25.
  • A 2008 minimum coverage hike raised the coverage minimum to 25/50/25.
  • Policies bought or renewed in 2011 must comply with minimums of 30/60/25.

The increased bodily injury minimums partially reflect increased medical costs and the expenses of treating injuries, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. In a related strategy to make sure accident victims get covered, Texas also is using technology-assisted law enforcement initiatives. So when it comes to checking for current insurance coverage on vehicles, there's a new sheriff in town.

For those thinking about driving without auto insurance, the TexasSure program (rolled out in 2008) has sought to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, TexasSure gives law enforcement officials the tools they need to verify current insurance coverage during patrols through an electronic database that links a car's license plate and vehicle identification numbers with its Texas auto insurance policy. In the past, drivers could simply take out a policy to get an insurance card to show during a traffic stop and then cancel the insurance. Now, TexasSure will let the authorities know whether someone is driving with expired or falsified coverage.