Personal Injury

New Idaho Law Helps Enforce Insurance Obligation

Posted on by John Kluksdal

Check out this new Idaho law that helps enforce insurance obligations in this informative article. If you want to learn more, give us a call!

As with all other states, Idaho requires drivers to be covered by liability insurance.  The motor vehicle responsibility act requires Idaho drivers to have proof of insurance with them in their car.

The newest addition to the law is contained in Idaho Code section 49-1234.   It takes effect on January 1, 2020.  Insurance companies wil now report on who has insurance and the Department of Transportation will be contacting licensed drivers who have registered vehicles that insurance companies do not report as covered.

In a recent press release the Department identified around a couple hundred thousand people that did not show up with insurance among the 1.2 million licensed Idaho Drivers.

ITD has reported a list of more than 100 auto liability insurance companies that are reporting on insured drivers.

The law requires the Transportation Department to contact people who show up as uninsured.   The Transportation Department has information online at itd.idaho.gov/driveidaho . The website provides  forms to fill out to let ITD have a proof of insurance, or letting it know the vehicle is not currently in use. The forms are then emailed, mailed, or faxed to ITD.

Any currently uninsured driver will not have his vehicle registration impacted if insurance is obtained.  But, starting January 1, if a driver shows on the uninsured list for 2 consecutive months the Transportation Department will send a letter to the driver. If a letter is sent the driver get 30 days to provide proof of insurance before the vehicle registration is suspended.

If your vehicle registration does get suspended due to failure to provide proof of insurance, it costs $75 to reinstate it.

Uninsured drivers that hurt others by their negligence will not be eliminated by the new law.  So it will still make sense for you to purchase the largest amount of uninsured (and underinsured) motorist coverage that you can reasonably afford.

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John Kluksdal

John W. Kluksdal has established himself as one of Idaho’s top personal injury litigators. He represents people injured by the negligence and recklessness of others. His current emphases is on motor vehicle accident and medical negligence claims.

Mr. Kluksdal began his legal career working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and then honed his appellate skills by working for two years for Chief Judge Darrel Perry of the Idaho Court of Appeals. Prior to joining the firm that is now Hepworth Holzer, LLP, Mr. Kluksdal was an attorney for a large Idaho insurance defense firm.

Mr. Kluksdal has been a principal attorney for the firm representing a variety clients. Among his successes are obtaining a $5,000,000.00 judgement for the death of our adult clients’ mother. In addition he was one of the leads in trial for and obtained a $2.2 million judgment for an employee based on breach of a severance agreement contract. In other cases he obtained in $2.93 million judgment in a medical malpractice case where the negligence resulted in a partial spinal cord injury, a $1.85 million judgment in a wrongful death case, a $1.123 million judgment for medical malpractice resulting in a serious infection, and a $1 million settlement in a medical malpractice wrongful death case. Mr. Kluksdal has of course represented many other clients in smaller cases, and has participated in many of the firm’s other significant results. He is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review rated by his peers in Martindale Hubbell.

Mr. Kluksdal is a member of the Idaho State Bar and is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Idaho, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal Court of Claims. His other professional associations included the American Inn of Court No. 130 and the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Kluksdal was chosen as a Rising Star by Mountain States Superlawyers from 2008-2012, and as a SuperLawyer from 2015-2019. Mr. Kluksdal is very involved with his undergraduate Alma Mater, the College of Idaho, and has served on the College of Idaho National Alumni Board. He has in the past served on the Board of Directors for the Idaho Rush Soccer Club.

Mr. Kluksdal graduated magna cum laude from the University of Idaho, College of Law in 1997. During law school, he worked in the University’s Legal Aid Clinic, was a tutor for first-year law students, was a member of the Board of Student Advocates, and was President of Delta Theta Phi. Mr. Kluksdal received his undergraduate degree in History from the College of Idaho, cum laude with a minor in Sociology/Anthropology. He received his State of Idaho Secondary Teaching Certificate and was Captain of the Varsity Baseball team.

Mr. Kluksdal is happily married to another attorney, and together they do their best to keep up with three children. In an effort to win the battle of the bulge, he has played city league sports and participates in a variety of other outdoor activities. Mr. Kluksdal has coached youth baseball, basketball and soccer because he enjoys the challenge of herding cats.

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