When you think of wide-open spaces and ranches as far as the eye can see, it’s typically in one state. Montana. Yes, the big sky is something to behold. It’s the perfect place for a long road trip across some beautiful landscapes.

Before you head out for this road trip, locals, you’re going to want to make sure you have the car insurance you need in order to legally drive in the state.

That’s what we’re here for. We’ve created this comprehensive guide in order to equip you with all of the information you need to get the insurance you deserve in Montana.

Ready to get started with your car insurance needs? Use our FREE online comparison tool today. All you need is your zip code.

Montana Car Insurance Coverage and Rates

– Montana Minimum Coverage

Each state has something known as the minimum liability coverage. This type of coverage is vital, as it basically ensures that if you’re ever in an accident, you have the insurance coverage to pay for the costs of that accident.

Montana is what is considered an “at-fault” accident state. Meaning that if you’re the one who caused the accident, you’re the one who is held liable. So if you don’t have the proper insurance coverage, you could be forced to drop a lot of money.

As you can see from the table above, Montana follows a 25/50/20 minimum coverage. What does that mean? Well, we’ll break that down for you here:

• $25,000 = to pay for the injury/death of one person involved in an accident that you caused
• $50,o00 = to pay for the injuries/deaths of MULTIPLE people involved in an accident that you caused
• $20,000 = to pay for any property damage incurred during an accident that you caused

Keep in mind that this is just the minimum coverage. It’s always wise to consider adding additional coverage for yourself.

– Forms of Financial Responsibility

Due to the requirement of having at least this minimum insurance coverage, you will also be required to carry some form of financial responsibility (also known as proof of insurance).

Montana citizens can rest easy, however, as Montana has made this extremely easy for citizens. Montana has a web-based verification system (MTIVS). Why is this so awesome for citizens? This means that you don’t need to carry any physical proof of insurance with you while you’re driving.

So if you’re pulled over by law enforcement, they can access MTIVS in order to ensure that you have your minimum liability insurance.

This does NOT, however,  cover out-of-state drivers. Out-of-state drivers will need to carry some physical form of financial responsibility (an insurance ID card, copy of your insurance policy, etc.).

If you are caught driving without at least this minimum insurance coverage, you will be charged with a misdemeanor.

This misdemeanor comes with a citation of approximately $250 to $500, as well as up to 10 days in jail. Even for a first-time offense.

So if you take anything away from this section, it’s to make sure you have purchased at least the minimum insurance coverage for Montana.

– Premiums as A Percentage of Income

Did you know that there is a term, known as a per capita disposable income, that can affect your car insurance premiums? What does this term mean and why does it affect you?

Well, a disposable income is the amount of money you earn after taxes have been taken out. Whatever you have leftover after taxes is considered disposable income, as you are able to spend it on whatever you’d like/need.

Per capita disposable income is this disposable income for an entire group of people, like all of the citizens of Montana.

You can see from the table above that the average disposable income in Montana was $36,041.00.

You can also see that the average full coverage insurance cost $868.55, taking up approximately 2.41 percent of your total income.

It is vital to make sure you save enough of your disposable income to pay for this coverage, as it is required in order to legally drive in the state.

– Core Coverage

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the table below are the core coverage costs for Montana citizens.

– Additional Liability

Additional liability is extra coverage types that you can add to your insurance policy. Two of the most common ones are Medical Payments (Med Pay) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. These coverage types are optional in the state of Montana but are important that we discuss.

Considering the fact that according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), Montana has an uninsured motorist rate of 9.90 percent which ranks it as the 33rd in the nation, it is important to discuss having these additional liability coverages.

The table above displays something known as the loss ratios for these additional liabilities. What is a loss ratio? Consider it to be a financial health check for insurance providers. It is the ratio of how much an insurance provider brings in (through insurance premiums that you pay) compared to how much they pay out in insurance claims.

You want a company whose loss ratio is just right. Think back to the story of Goldilocks. You want something not too big, not too small, but just right. The same applies to loss ratios. Why?

If a company has a loss ratio that is too low, it means that the company isn’t paying enough claims out to customers. If a company has a loss ratio that is too high (above 100), it means that the company is paying out too much to customers and is at risk of going bankrupt.

You can see from the loss ratio table above that both Med Pay and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage both have relatively good loss ratios.

– Add-ons, Endorsements, and Riders

We know that getting the most affordable insurance plan is at the top of most people’s priorities when shopping around.

But there is good news; there are extremely cheap extra coverage that you can get that you may not have even heard about! Check out the list below to see if your insurance provider offers these coverage types.

• Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP)
• Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP)
• Rental Reimbursement
• Emergency Roadside Assistance
• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
• Non-Owner Car Insurance
• Modified Car Insurance Coverage
• Classic Car Insurance

– Demographic Rates

There’s a myth that has gone around when it comes to men versus women when paying for car insurance. The myth is that men tend to pay more for their coverage than women do. We collected the demographic data for the citizens in Montana and found quite interesting results.

You can see in the chart above, however, that despite gender, both males and females pay the same rates as their counterparts.

Though, as you can see, there is a jump in price depending on age. The older, considerably more experienced drivers have lower car insurance rates, while the younger drivers are paying higher rates for their coverage.

– Highest and Lowest Rates by Zip Code

– Highest and Lowest Rates by City

Best Montana Car Insurance Companies

It can be staggering when you find out just how many insurance companies there are out there, and that they’re all competing for your business.

That’s what we’re here to help you with! We’ve gone through and found the top 10 largest providers in Montana to help you compare.

In this section, we’ll cover everything from these companies financial ratings, to the companies with the most complaints, the varying rates by each company, and more. So keep reading to find out more.

– The Largest Companies Financial Rating

What is an AM Best Rating exactly? Well, sort of like how a loss ratio can give you a look into a companies financial health, an AM Best rating gives you an even better idea of the companies overall financial health. The higher the rating, the better the companies financial health.

– Companies with Best Ratings

J.D. Power did a study in which they compared all of the customer satisfaction ratings for each region in the nation, and ranked them based on region. Montana falls in the northwest region.

– Companies with Most Complaints in Montana

Just like there are companies with really good customer satisfaction, there are companies with higher complaint indexes. We’ve gathered the complaint indexes of the companies with the highest complaint rate in Montana.

– Montana Car Insurance Rates by Company

The table below displays the average insurance rate for the top car insurance providers in the state.

– Commute Rates by Company

– Coverage Level Rates by Company

– Credit History Rates by Company

– Driving Record Rates by Company

– Largest Car Insurance Companies in Montana

According to the NAIC, the largest companies, with their direct premiums written as well as their market share, are listed in the table below.

– Number of Insurers by State 

There are two types of insurance companies in the nation. There are foreign providers and domestic providers.

• Domestic Provider – insurance provider who only is present in the state they are offering coverage for (think of that local provider down the street)
• Foreign Provider – insurance provider who is present in many states across the nation and offer coverage to most states (think of the bigger insurance providers such as Allstate, Geico, etc.)

The table down below displays the number of insurers, both domestic and foreign, who are available to you in the state of Montana.

Montana State Laws

Every state has laws that are specific to that state, Montana is no different.

It’s important that you familiarize yourself with these laws for the future, as you don’t want to get in trouble for a law you didn’t even know existed.

– Car Insurance Laws

Car insurance laws vary from state to state. There are different criteria for Montana than in other states, and we’re going to dive in to discuss all of these different criteria. So keep reading to find out more.

How State Laws for Insurance are Determined

According to the NAIC, Montana state laws are determined in the following way:

” Regarding rate filings, rates must be filed prior to use with supporting data. Regarding form filings, see MCA § 33-1-501.”

High-Risk Insurance

Drivers who have poor driving records may have a harder time finding insurance. A lot of insurance companies are apprehensive of willingly providing car insurance coverage to someone they deem as high-risk. So what are you to do?

Well, luckily Montana has a sort of backup plan for high-risk drivers known as the Montana Automobile Insurance Plan (MAIP). What does this plan do exactly? It provides coverage to those individuals aren’t able to obtain coverage voluntarily.

All providers in the state of Montana must be willing to participate in this plan in order for them to operate in Montana.

Once you are accepted by this program, you essentially are assigned to a provider, and that provider then must provide you with at least the minimum liability coverage. There’s a catch to this, however.

The provider you are assigned to is able to charge whatever insurance rate they deem appropriate, and you will have to pay it.

It’s advised for citizens to only utilize this plan if there are no other insurance provider options for you. Simply using this plan to try and get the lowest rate will result in the opposite effect.

This high-risk insurance plan is part of a larger association known as the Western Association of Automobile Insurance Plans (WAAIP), which is comprised of several states.

– Windshield Coverage

Windshield coverage is something that can come in handy in a pinch but is not required for most states. Montana is one of those states, there are no specific laws for windshield coverage.

If you would like to add this coverage to your plan, you will need to have comprehensive coverage in order to do so.

– Automobile Insurance Fraud in Montana

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), approximately $30 billion are lost EACH YEAR due to property and casualty fraud. As such, it is a criminal offense across the United States.

What exactly is insurance fraud? It’s when an individual tries to deceive an insurer in order to gain benefits or payment for something they are not qualified for.

Insurance fraud can be committed by:

• Reporting/hiding facts knowingly
• Aiding someone in misrepresenting/altering facts
• Making false claims or statements on someone else’s behalf at an official proceeding

If you do commit insurance fraud, you could be facing some severe penalties:

• Class B Felony – if the value in question is over $20,000 and is punishable by as much as 10 years in prison and/or a fine of $25,000
• Class C Felony – if the value in question is over $300 and is punishable by as much as five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000
• Misdemeanor – if the value in question is $300 or under and is punishable by as much as one year in prison and/or a fine of $2,000

Simply put, committing insurance fraud is simply not worth it.

– Statute of Limitations

If you ever find yourself in an accident, you’re going to want to know what the statute of limitations is. It’s the amount of time that you have in order to make a claim from an accident or to bring a lawsuit against someone because of that accident. This limitation is to protect both yourself, as well as the other driver.

In Montana, you have three years to make a personal injury claim and two years to make a property damage claim.

There is a statute that outlines nine exceptions to this limitation. So make sure you file your claims in the annotated time that you have in Montana.

– Vehicle Licensing Laws

Just as there are laws about car insurance, there are laws about vehicle licensing as well.

Let’s look over some of the major ones you’ll want to know in Montana.

– Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

If you are caught without your insurance, which as we mentioned above means that a web-based verification was done and saw that you had no insurance, you could be facing some penalties.

• First-Time Offense – $250 to $500 fine and/or prison time of no more than 10 days
• Second-Time Offense – $350 and/or prison time of no more than 10 days; additionally, if it is within five years of the first offense, your license and registration will be revoked until proof of insurance is provided, and a payment of reinstatement fees is paid within 90 days

– Teen Driver Laws

If you have a teen who is ready to jump behind the wheel, make sure you stick to the following laws while they’re out on the road.

– License Renewal Procedures

– New Residents

If you are new to Montana, there are a few things you’ll want to be aware of:

• You will need to apply for a Montana driver’s license within 60 days of establishing residency
• The Montana DMV is the one that handles all of your vehicle needs, so you will need to go to the DMV in order to get your new driver’s license
• You may be required to pass a written and road test, as well as a vision test, in order to get your license. These tests may be waived should you have a license in another state.

– Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS)

Montana has something known as comparative negligence when it comes to negligent driving. What does this mean?

Well, think of it this way; if you are in an accident, and you take the other person to court with you, there will be a determination of exactly how much of the accident is your fault, and how much is the fault of the other driver. If the other person is found to be at least 51 percent at fault, they will be forced to pay damages.

If you are found to be the one who is at least 51 percent at fault for the accident, however, the case will not proceed.

In addition to this, let’s say that you are found to be 10 percent at fault for an accident. It’s less than 51 percent, so the other driver will have to pay damages, but the amount responsible you are will be subtracted from the payment that you will receive.

So if you are found responsible with this 10 percent, and you were seeking damages of let’s say $1,000, that 10 percent will be subtracted from the amount you receive. So instead of $1,000, you’ll only receive $900.

– Rules of the Road

It’s important to know the rules of the road before you get behind the wheel. They’re put in place to help keep you, and others, safe while you’re out and about.

Keep reading to find out more.

– Fault vs. No-Fault

As we mentioned previously, Montana is an “at-fault accident” state. Meaning that if you are the one who is responsible for an accident, YOU’RE the one who is responsible for paying for that accident. So if you don’t have more than the minimum liability coverage, you could wind up in some serious debt.

– Keep Right and Move Over Laws

Keep Right laws and Move Over laws work hand in hand and are very easy to understand.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic around you, keep in the right lane, except for these four exceptions. If you see an emergency vehicle or a vehicle on the side of the road, move over into another lane.

Easy right?

– Speed Limits

If you’re hoping to drive down the road at mock nine speeds, you might want to ease on to the break, as there are a few speed limits you’ll want to adhere to while in Montana:

• Rural Interstates: 80 mph
• Urban Interstates: 65 mph
• Limited Access Roads: 70 mph
• Other Roads: 65 mph

– Seat Belt and Car Seat laws

Seat belts and car seats are vital to safety in a vehicle, particularly for children. Montana requires that all children who are five years and younger or who weigh less than 60 pounds must be in a child safety seat.

Children who are six years and older and who weigh more than 60 pounds, are allowed to sit adult seats but must wear a seat belt.

Anyone caught not adhering to this will face a base find of $100, plus any additional fees.

– Ridesharing

In this day and age, it’s hard to have not heard about the increasing popularity of ridesharing services. Companies like Uber and Lyft whose drivers are more readily available than any form of transportation.

With this increased popularity is also the ability to work for companies like this, as drivers can work on their own free time whenever they want.

With this, a lot of states have started to create laws and requirements for both the drivers and the ridesharing companies to help keep all parties safe on the road. As Montana is a more rural state, ridesharing services are not as readily available as in more densely populated states.

The provider, Farmers, however, does provide rideshare insurance for those drivers working for these services.

Automation on the Road

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) defines automated driving as:

“Automation is the use of a machine or technology to perform a task or function that was previously carried out by a human. In driving, automation involves using radar, camera and other sensors to gather information about a vehicle’s surroundings, which is then used by computer programs to perform parts or all of the driving task on a sustained basis.”

Montana currently does not have any laws or restrictions regarding automated driving as of now.

– Safety Laws

Let’s dig a little deeper into some of the safety laws in Montana. The laws that are put in place to prevent unsafe driving.

– DUI Laws

– Marijuana-Impaired Driving Laws

According to Responsibility, Montana has restrictions for THC per se (five nanograms).

– Distracted Driving Laws

According to IIHS, Montana currently does not have any bans on texting nor on hand-held devices for drivers. It’s one of the few states that does not have these laws.

One thing you should know, however, is that while there are no state-wide bans on these devices, there are certain cities and counties that do. Check out the map below to see details.

Montana Can’t-Miss Facts

Down to the last section, you’ve made it. In this last part of this comprehensive guide, we’ll go over some of the facts and statistics that you absolutely can’t miss out on.

– Vehicle Theft in Montana

One of the most upsetting things to happen to your vehicle is for it to be stolen. We’ve put together a list, based on an FBI study in Montana, to show the most popular vehicles to be stolen in the state as well as the number of vehicles to be stolen by city.

– Dangers on the Road in Montana

We’ll now give you the statistics of the dangers on the road. According to the NHTSA Crash Report , the following statistics could be found in Montana. 

– Fatal Crashes by Weather Condition and Light Condition 

– Traffic Fatalities

Fatalities by Person Type

– Fatalities by Crash Type

– Five-Year Trend For The Top 10 Counties

– Fatalities Involving Speeding by County

– Fatalities in Crashes Involving an Alcohol-Impaired Driver (BAC = .08+) by County

– Teen Drinking and Driving

– EMS Response Time

– Transportation 

Keep reading to find out the facts and statistics of transportation in Montana.

– Car Ownership

According to Data USA, the average number of vehicles owned in Montana is two cars per household.

– Commute Time

Montana citizens will be relieved to know that according to Data USA, the average Montana citizen only spends 16.9 minutes commuting. Considering that the national average is 25.5 minutes for commute, this is a really good thing.

– Commuter Transportation

How do you prefer to commute? Do you like carpooling with some of your coworkers? Maybe you prefer to take some form of public transit?

Well, the citizens of Montana seem to prefer to drive alone to work at a whopping 76.5 percent.

– Traffic Congestion

Well, aren’t Montana citizens in for a treat? Not only is traffic not considered a major concern in Montana, but it also has managed to steer clear of INRIX Scorecard, TomTom, and Numbeo for traffic congestion.

This is a really good thing because it means that there are no cities in Montana that have high enough congestion to make it onto any of these lists.

If you want to start comparing rates in your area, don’t forget to use our FREE online tool below. All you need is your zip code.