North Dakota state law requires that all motor vehicles registered and operated in the state carry certain minimum insurance coverages. The coverages and minimum limits mandated by law are:

• Bodily Injury Liability: $25,000 per person (the maximum amount payable to one person)/$50,000 per accident (the maximum amount payable to all people injured in one accident).
• Property Damage Liability: $25,000 per accident.
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage: $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per accident.
• Underinsured motorist coverage which must be equal to the uninsured motorist coverage.
• Basic No-Fault coverage of $30,000 per person. No-fault is also known as Personal Injury Protection or PIP.

In ND driving without liability insurance is a class B misdemeanor and is punishable by a mandatory fine of at least $150. Additionally, if you are involved in any accident, the state will assess 14 points against your driver’s license, resulting in a suspension of your license.

When a driver has been convicted of driving without liability insurance, the law requires that the individual show proof of liability insurance to the ND Drivers License Division of The Department of Transportation for a period of 3 years. Insurance companies can file with state using the Certificate of Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance form published by the Drivers License Division for this purpose. The state does not require that an insurance company use an SR-22 form for this purpose.

North Dakota also has laws in place that keep those that continue to drive uninsured from making certain claims if they are in an accident which is not their fault. These laws basically prohibit a person that had two convictions for driving without liability insurance and was driving without liability insurance from receiving non-economic loss for serious injury in action against an insured person. From this information it would appear if that you can place a claim against the at fault driver for the damages to your vehicle and medical expenses since these are economic losses. Non-economic losses usually include things such as pain and suffering.

Beyond the penalties you could receive by the state of North Dakota if you are found to be driving without insurance, keep in mind that if you are financing a vehicle that normally your lien holder will require you to not only have state liability on the vehicle but also physical damage coverages of collision and comprehensive. If you do not keep insurance on the car the lien holder may be able to place forced insurance on it, which is costly to you and does not protect you in anyway, or even repossess your vehicle.

If you only pay for 1 month of insurance and then let it cancel out you will face penalties by the state if you are caught and also the lien holder. If you are at fault in an accident and uninsured it can mean that the other party can come after you for your personal assets in court. So if you cannot afford insurance then you should not drive around a car that is uninsured putting yourself and others at risk. You can try to shop around for low cost car insurance and see if you can indeed afford both the car and its insurance so that you can legally drive.