NH House Testimony

HB1568

House · 2026 sessionRepublicanKilled in House

Minimum auto insurance requirements

AI

Requires owners of registered motor vehicles to maintain minimum liability insurance coverage, establishes penalties for noncompliance, and authorizes rulemaking for verification procedures.

relative to mandatory minimum insurance coverage requirements for motor vehicles.

Motor VehiclesInsurance

Status

Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · February 19, 2026
  1. Introduced
  2. House
  3. Senate
  4. Governor
  5. Law

Division of testimony

15 submissions
Support 3Oppose 12Neutral 0
Steve ZemanekOpposeManchester, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

I am someone who has always had an auto insurance policy with very good coverage. I do so because it is the responsible thing to do. All these years, I've never had to file a claim. I oppose this bill, because I don't want the government to force people to buy insurance, I think the price of insurance would go up, and the quality of insurance would go down if people were forced to buy it. I want to continue to have the right to take my own risks if I choose to do so.

Margaret KonzeSupportPembroke, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

This is important, especially since this state did away with mandatory safety inspections. Years ago someone driving on the wrong side of the road hit me head on and ruined my spine. If they hadn’t been driving a car with a lien they might not have had insurance at all and my uninsured/underinsured coverage would not have been enough to pay my medical bills. Because I was unable to work after the damage they caused me I would have had to leave NH medical providers unpaid.

Stephanie VazzanoSupportConcord, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

ESPECIALLY since we will have more jalopys on the road with the end of inspections, YES, PLEASE PASS THIS BILL!

henry giassonOpposegoffstown, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Mr Chair and Honorable Committee: You are trying to legislate a problem that doesn’t exist!! You can only exacerbate the issue and make it worse through this legislation. If you pass this, you will have nobody to congratulate or thank for the devastation in the market and the financial implications for your constituents outside of the mirror. States with the fewest uninsured motorists: 1. Wyoming: 5.9 percent 2. Maine: 6.2 percent 3. Idaho: 6.2 percent 4. Utah: 7.3 percent 5. New hampshire: 7.8 percent States with the most uninsured drivers: 1. Washington, d.c.: 25.2 percent 2. New mexico: 24.9 percent 3. Mississippi: 22.2 percent 4. Tennessee: 20.9 percent 5. Michigan: 19.6 percent (study from insurance institute triple-i) What do the states with the most uninsured drivers have in common? Extensive government legislative penalties that allowed the industry to standardize / price set. The price became out of reach and the citizens divested from the mandatory product because risking law violation was cheaper than the hundreds of dollars per month We are in the top 5 because we allow the free market to compete for business. We are also in the top 5 to carry uninsured motorist coverage. It is unethical to use the penalty of law to force citizens to buy a product on the private market as a condition of their daily activities and living. It is deliberate market manipulation that only benefits one of the biggest industries of legal extortion in the us. This is an abandonment of the free-market principles that keep our prices low, force competition, and ensure that there isn’t undue market manipulation. While insurance rates and premiums climb, the services are not getting better. Meanwhile the insurance companies are expanding their wealth portfolios to include sports arenas, concert venues, and the largest office rental high-rises in most major cities. This is not a moral industry providing a product. This is an industry that has weaponized the government to use the force of law to make them money. I will not be party to this immoral and unethical usage of government. I advise that nobody in this body be complicit or cooperative in this legislative abuse of our citizens. Hon. Henry R. Giasson III House of Representatives HIL29 New Hampshire

Pamela HardersOpposeManchester, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Requiring mandatory car insurance will not help anything in NH. We already have one of the lowest rates of uninsured drivers, only 7.8%. Adding mandatory insurance would interfere with a free market, allowing insurance companies to take advantage of consumers, as has happened in other states with mandatory insurance. Don’t you believe in Live Free or Die? I do, and insist that you put this unnecessary, un-useful, top-down foolishness to rest. Thank you for voting AGAINST this proposal.

Simon BerrioOpposeDalton, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Not having auto insurance is silly. The state requiring it is even more silly as we know the same people who never get insurance-will never get insurance. This is why uninsured motorist coverage exists.

Sarah ScottOpposeSomersworth, NHfor Americans for Prosperity New HampshireJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Bill AllemanOpposeWeare, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Jesse MedeirosOpposePlainfield, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Megan SchmittOpposeCONCORD, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Patricia HendersonOpposeConcord, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Michael FabvreauxOpposeConcord, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Timothy FinneyOpposeBridgewater, NHfor Myselfflagged non-germaneJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Curtis HowlandOpposeManchester, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.

Melanie KasparianSupportHudson, NHfor MyselfJan 21, 2026

Position recorded without written comment.