Non-owner car insurance in Arkansas

In Arkansas, what insurers offer a non-owner policy?

We compared prices from 8 companies, listed from lowest to highest.

An operator's policy covers a driver without a car, and in Arkansas, the SR-22 form includes a box for that type of coverage. That form is sent to the Office of Driver Services, a unit inside the state's finance department.

Required and available coverage on an operator's policy in Arkansas

Arkansas Insurance Department's automobile insurance brochure names the minimum liability the state requires. The required minimums are $25,000 for one person injured, $50,000 when multiple people are hurt in a single crash, and $25,000 for any property damage.

Your policy adds two more coverages unless you sign a form to drop them. Uninsured motorist coverage stays on your policy unless you turn it down with a written refusal. It pays you if a driver with no insurance hits you. You must also be offered personal injury protection. It helps cover your own medical bills, no matter who caused the crash. To refuse it, you must also sign a written rejection.

Sending proof to Arkansas Driver Services

In Arkansas, your insurer sends an SR-22 certificate to the Office of Driver Services as proof of insurance. Under Rule 27 CAR 30-182, the certificate includes your name, address, policy number, start date, and a statement of whether the policy is an owner's or an operator's. Describing a vehicle all the way to the VIN is required only on an owner’s policy.

Per 27 CAR 30-183, a complete certificate stays valid until the office receives a notice of cancellation. The name for that notice is an SR-26. When you switch companies, ask the new insurer to file the SR-22 first. The newer certificate cancels the old one on its own.

Only a company allowed or eligible to sell insurance in Arkansas can file it. Surplus lines coverage also qualifies. The basis for this is Act 345, which amended Arkansas Code 27-19-712.

Filing an SR-1 report after an Arkansas accident

You must file an SR-1 accident report after any crash that causes injury or death, or more than $1,000 in damage to one person's property. You get thirty days to file it. The DFA's Safety Responsibility section enforces that rule regardless of fault, and regardless of whether any ticket was issued.

Next, the office asks you to show financial responsibility. The easiest way to comply is to show liability insurance. A signed release, a security deposit, an installment agreement, or a covenant not to sue (a written promise) can also satisfy the request. You need to respond within twenty days of the notice.

What you pay in Arkansas, by age

Teens pay roughly $1,311 each year. At age 40, a minimum-coverage policy on a car you own averages $689 a year, which is roughly $249 above the $440 cost of a non-owner plan.