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Texas insurance glossary

At-fault

Texas is an at-fault state, which means the driver who caused a crash is the one whose liability coverage pays for the harm done to everybody else.

Sources checked

Fault decides who pays. There is no state fund and no no-fault system here: after a crash, the at-fault driver’s liability coverage answers for the other party’s injuries and property, and the at-fault driver’s own vehicle is covered only if they bought collision.

Fault is rarely all-or-nothing. Texas apportions it by percentage under proportionate responsibility, and a driver found more than fifty per cent at fault recovers nothing from anyone else.

Being at fault is also how most people meet the rest of this glossary. The crash produces a claim, the claim produces a surcharge, and where the driver had no coverage at the time it can produce a suspension and an SR-22 with it.

Sources: TDI — automobile insurance guide (CB020); TDI — car insurance tips; Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code ch. 33 — Proportionate Responsibility. Verified .

A definition, not legal advice and not a quote. Rules and figures change; confirm your own situation against the source named above, or with us, before you act on it. Last checked .

See also

  • Liability coverage Liability coverage is the part of an auto policy that pays other people for injury or damage the insured driver causes; it repairs nothing belonging to the insured.
  • Bodily injury liability Bodily injury liability is the part of an auto policy that pays other people for injuries the insured driver causes, up to a limit per person and a larger limit per crash.
  • Property damage liability Property damage liability is the part of an auto policy that pays for damage the insured driver causes to other people’s property, most often another vehicle.
  • Proportionate responsibility Proportionate responsibility is the Texas rule that splits fault for a crash between everyone involved as percentages, and bars recovery by anyone more than fifty per cent responsible.

Where this is handled

Knowing what a coverage is called is not the same as knowing what is on your policy. One independent agency can read your declarations page with you and compare the markets that will write your record.

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