Assigned risk
{{Short description|Insurance method}}
{{TortLaw}}
Assigned risk is a government-required method of providing insurance coverage to an individual by compelling insurance companies to service them when such companies would ordinarily not do so due to perceived risk of insuring the individual as a customer.{{cite web| url = https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assigned_risk | title = Assigned Risk | date = June 2021 | website = Legal Information Institute | publisher = Cornell Law School | access-date = February 28, 2022}}
United States
Within the United States, several state governments have laws compelling insurers to provide automobile insurance and workers' compensation policies to individuals listed in assigned risk pools.
Motor vehicle insurance
In the United States, a state government, usually the Department of Motor Vehicles, assigns the risky motorists to automobile insurance companies.Ballentine's Law Dictionary, at 36.
High risk drivers are often undesirable to insurance companies, and may not be able to purchase insurance through conventional means.{{Cite web |url=http://insurance.cch.com/RUPPS/assigned-risk.htm |title=See the Rupp's definition on the CCH website |access-date=2007-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430000718/http://insurance.cch.com/rupps/assigned-risk.htm |archive-date=2007-04-30 |url-status=dead }} They are considered high-risk because of numerous speeding or other traffic tickets, or a recent history of motor vehicle accidents, or in states that have a point system, accumulation of so many points. The state DMV point system may be different from the insurance companies' point system.Under N.Y. Law, a driver can be suspended after accumulating 11 points in 18 months: [http://www.dmv.ny.gov/license.htm#points]
Several states in the U.S. have such assigned risk systems.For example, New York, see article text, California:[http://www.aipso.com/ca/] and Minnesota:[http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/fiscal/files/ibasgrsk.pdf] New York is a typical system.N.Y. Insurance Law, Article 52; to locate the law online, search under "Bill search and Legislative materials" at [http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/] under INC, article 52. The MVAIC, or Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnity Company, may assign high-risk drivers, and pays for victims of uninsured or underinsured motorists.[http://www.mvaic.com MVAIC web site] Uninsured means the driver or owner of a motor vehicle has no insurance at all, while an underinsured person has insurance, but the coverage is insignificant compared to the potential damages accrued from a tort lawsuit.[http://www.mvaic.com/noi.pdf Notice of intent] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124224730/http://www.mvaic.com/noi.pdf |date=January 24, 2007 }}[http://www.mvaic.com/forms.htm MVAIC forms]