To the best of our knowledge the penalty for driving without insurance is the same for a 16 year old as any other driver. According to the DE Division of Motor Vehicles and the Delaware Insurance Commissioner all drivers are required to carry three types of auto insurance:

• Bodily Injury Protection - $15,000/$30,000
• Property Damage - $10,000
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP) - $15,000/$30,000

The Insurance Commissioner also notes that driving without insurance can cost you a fine, your license plate and your driver's license.

If the Delaware DMV receives notice from your insurance company that your insurance has cancelled and it is determined that you are or were uninsured the penalties are:

• $100 per vehicle for being uninsured from 1-30 days
• An additional $5 per vehicle for each day after the 30 days or until tags/registration are surrendered, insurance is obtained or the registration tag expires

According to the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles if you are caught driving a vehicle while not having the proper insurance, upon conviction, you will be fined not less than $1500 for the first offense and $3000 for each subsequent offense occurring within 3 years of a former offense. Driving license and/or privileges will also be suspended for 6 month.

We did not know of any extra penalties listed for minors that receive a driving without insurance ticket however if you were cited for this offense you should check with the court listed on the ticket and/or the DE DMV to find out more about the penalties you will be facing. If you are not the car owner of the uninsured vehicle than the owner may also be in trouble for letting you drive the car.

Many states will penalize the owner of an uninsured vehicle for allowing it to be operated while it is without insurance so the car owner may want to check to Delaware laws on this issue to see if they will also be penalized for the 16 year old driving their vehicle without insurance.

To get auto insurance quotes for Delaware, click here.