N.H. Insurance Department Reminds Consumers to Notify-Carriers When Purchasing Vehicles

CONCORD, New Hampshire, July 24 -- The New Hampshire Department of Insurance issued the following news release:

Based on several recent consumer interactions, the New-Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID) reminds consumers to notify their insurance agent or-carrier immediately upon the purchase or acquisition of a vehicle.

"Recent complaint investigations have shown that not all consumers are notifying their carriers-when they are purchasing used or new vehicles," said Keith Nyhan, Director of Consumer-Services at NHID. "We encourage consumers to notify their insurance carrier immediately upon-taking ownership of a vehicle. The failure to notify their carrier has created situations where-consumers are unknowingly uninsured."

In most cases, consumers have a very short grace period to notify their carrier of a vehicle-purchase. The grace period, in some cases only a few days, allows consumers to establish contact-with their insurance carriers if they purchase a vehicle outside of normal business hours.

"Individuals may be held financially responsible for bodily injury and property damage they-cause while driving an uninsured vehicle," explained James Young, Property and Casualty-Examiner. "Further, consumers risk being without coverage for their own accident related-damages. Consumers should also notify their carrier when there is a newly-licensed or-additional driver in the household to ensure that they have proper coverage."

"Ensuring that your automobile insurance is up to date is an important step towards protecting-yourself from significant financial liability," said NHID Commissioner Chris Nicolopoulos. "We-encourage anyone with specific questions to contact their insurance agent, or to call the New-Hampshire Insurance Department's Consumer Services Division."-New Hampshire residents who do not currently have automobile insurance are encouraged to-contact an insurance agent or insurance carrier for more information on how to purchase-insurance coverage.