State minimum car insurance

Q: Does every state have the same requirements for coverage?

No ; coverage requirements vary. States have different requirements for the amount of liability coverage required and may also require additional coverages such as personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM).

What is a state minimum car insurance policy?

State minimum car insurance is the minimum amount of car insurance coverage you're required to have in your state to be on the road.

All states have financial responsibility laws that outline each driver's legal liability in the event of an accident. In every state except New Hampshire, insurance is required to meet that responsibility.

Each state determines what's included in a minimum coverage policy and how much you need to carry. Depending on where you live, state minimum coverage may include:

Liability insurance
Personal injury protection
Medical payments
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

How does a minimum liability-only insurance policy work?

A minimum liability policy covers you up to the state minimum limits for injuries and property damage you cause to others, but provides no coverage for your vehicle or your injuries. Liability car insurance coverage is typically written out as three numbers. The most common limits are 25/50/25, although some states are higher or lower. Those numbers mean that the minimum car insurance requirement is:

$25,000 for injuries to one person in an accident
$50,000 for all injuries in an accident
$25,000 for property damage in one accident

These are the maximums that the insurance company will pay out in any single accident.

Why minimum coverage limits exist: Protecting everyone on the road

Minimum insurance requirements ensure that every driver on the road is financially responsible for their actions. It protects everyone by ensuring there are financial resources to cover the injuries and damage resulting from car accidents.

Most people can't afford to pay out of pocket to repair someone else's car if they hit it, or to cover the medical bills if someone is injured. The requirement for minimum car insurance protects both the at-fault driver from financial difficulty and lawsuits and the injured party from being stuck with the bill if an at-fault driver won't pay.

State minimum car insurance requirements and cost

State minimum car insurance requirements vary by state, and costs range from $339 in Wyoming to $1,395 in New Jersey. Some states require only liability insuranceLiability insurance covers sums that an insured becomes legally obligated to pay because of bodily injuries or property damage, or financial losses caused to other people., while others also require uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection or MedPay.

Below, we’ve outlined the car insurance minimums in each state and the average cost of a policy.

State	State minimum limit	Minimum coverage average rate	Additional required coverage
Alabama	25/50/25	$574	None
Alaska	50/100/25	$588	None
Arizona	25/50/15	$768	None
Arkansas	25/50/25	$689	None
California	30/60/15	$897	None
Colorado	25/50/15	$641	None
Connecticut	25/50/25	$1,048	UIMBI and UMBI
Delaware	25/50/10	$1,300	PIP
Florida*	0/0/10	$1,228	PIP
Georgia	25/50/25	$860	None
Hawaii	20/40/10	$477	PIP
Idaho	25/50/15	$594	None
Illinois	25/50/20	$527	UMBI
Indiana	25/50/25	$506	None
Iowa	20/40/15	$481	None
Kansas	25/50/25	$698	UMBI and PIP
Kentucky	25/50/25	$721	None
Louisiana	15/30/25	$1,033	None
Maine	50/100/25	$469	UMBI and MedPay
Maryland	30/60/15	$810	UMBI, UMPD and PIP
Massachusetts	20/40/5	$789	UIMBI, UMBI, PIP and Mandatory BI
Michigan	50/100/10	$1,303	PIP and Property Protection
Minnesota	30/60/10	$852	UIMBI, UMBI and PIP
Mississippi	25/50/25	$628	None
Missouri	25/50/25	$563	UMBI
Montana	25/50/20	$521
Nebraska	25/50/25	$515	UIMBI and UMBI
Nevada	25/50/20	$1,212	None
New Hampshire**	25/50/25	$567	UIMBI, UMBI and MedPay
New Jersey	30/70/25	$1,395	UIMPD, UMBI, UMPD and PIP
New Mexico	25/50/10	$562	None
New York	25/50/10	$1,279	PIP, UIMBI, UMBI
North Carolina	50/100/50	$681	UMBI and UMPD
North Dakota	25/50/25	$564	UIMBI, UMBI and PIP
Ohio	25/50/25	$475	None
Oklahoma	25/50/25	$585	None
Oregon	25/50/20	$834	UMBI and PIP
Pennsylvania	15/30/5	$460	PIP
Rhode Island	25/50/25	$845	None
South Carolina	25/50/25	$785	UMBI and UMPD
South Dakota	25/50/25	$450	UIMBI and UMBI
Tennessee	25/50/25	$613	None
Texas	30/60/25	$841	None
Utah	30/65/25	$850	PIP
Vermont	25/50/10	$392	UIMBI, UMBI and UMPD
Virginia	50/100/25	$693	UMBI and UMPD
Washington	25/50/10	$638	None
Washington, D.C.	25/50/10	$918	UMBI and UMBI
West Virginia	25/50/25	$587	UIMBI, UIMPD, UMBI and UMPD
Wisconsin	25/50/10	$569	UMBI
Wyoming	25/50/20	$339	None

Source: Insurance Information Institute

*Florida doesn’t require bodily injury liability and is a no-fault state.
**New Hampshire doesn’t require auto insurance by law, but policies must offer at least this much coverage.
***A combined single-limit policy of $75,000 is also available.

Key to acronyms:

UM: Uninsured motorist coverage
UIM: Underinsured motorist coverage
UM BI: Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage
UMPD: Uninsured motorist property damage coverage
PIP: Personal injury protection
PPI: Property protection insurance (applies only to Michigan)
BI liability: Bodily injury liability

Is state minimum insurance enough?

State minimum requirements are not enough for most drivers, offering only low liability limits and no coverage for your vehicle. We recommend that you carry at least $100,000 of bodily injury protection per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 for property damage (100/300/100) and add comprehensive and collision coverageCollision coverage helps pay for repairs or replacement of your car if it's damaged in an accident, regardless of who is at fault and is subject to a deductible. to protect your vehicle.

Typically, increasing your liability limits doesn't cost much more; the average rate increase from state minimum to 50/100/50 liability limits is $183 a year, according to Insurance.com data.

The nationwide average cost for state minimum liability coverage is $618 a year.
Increasing that coverage to 50/100/50 averages only $801, an increase of only $183 a year, or just under $16 a month.
If you increase that to 100/300/100 with comprehensive and collision and a $500 deductible, that average goes up to $2,513, which is $1,895 more per year or $158 more per month.

As you can see above, in some states you can more than double your coverage by increasing your limits to 50/100/50.

Which states don't require car insurance?

New Hampshire is the only state that doesn’t require car insurance, but there are minimum liability limits of 25/50/25 for those who do buy a policy, and drivers are still required to be financially responsible in an accident. Car insurance is the best way to do that.

Virginia, where car insurance was previously not required by law, required it as of July 1, 2024.

How does your state minimum policy work if you travel to a state with different laws?

Your auto insurance covers you in every state and even in Canada, and your limits will automatically be increased to match the requirements in the state where the accident occurred.

For example:

Say you live in Ohio and hold the minimum amount of coverage, which is 25/50/25. This means that the minimum liability limits in this state are $25,000 for injuries to one person, $50,000 for all injuries incurred and $25,000 for property damage for one vehicle in an accident.
If you then travel to Maine for a vacation (where the limits are 50/100/25) and are involved in an accident, your insurance company will pay up to Maine's required limits.

Some states require different types of auto insurance by law; your insurance company will also provide that coverage in an accident.

How does minimum coverage work in no-fault car insurance states?

Twelve states, including Florida, New Jersey, Kansas, New York, Minnesota and Michigan, have no-fault car insurance laws, a system where your insurance company will pay for injuries to you and your passengers no matter who is at fault through required personal injury protection (PIP) coverage. In some states, PIP coverage may reimburse the policyholder for medical and other accident-related expenses as well as lost wages.

No-fault coverage does not mean that a driver is not found at fault. A driver can still be found at fault and a claimAn insurance claim is a request you make to your insurance company for coverage after your car is damaged or you have an accident. You can file a claim online, by phone, or in writing. be placed against that person's liability coverage. The at-fault driver will also face higher insurance rates.

Minimum car insurance limits: The bottom line

No matter what coverage your state requires, you should examine your needs and buy a policy that is right for you. It may be a state minimum one if that's all your budget allows, but it's always worth shopping around to see if you can get better coverage at a lower price. If you have assets to protect and a car that you can't afford to replace, it's best to increase your limits and purchase a full coverage policy to provide greater protection.

Regardless of the coverage you choose, shopping around is always the best way to save.

FAQ: State minimum car insurance requirements

Do all states require car insurance?

All but one state; New Hampshire is the only state where car insurance isn’t required by law.

Which type of auto insurance is required by law in most states?

Liability insurance is the most commonly required coverage and is required in some form in every state where auto insurance is mandated.

Does every state have the same requirements for coverage?

No; coverage requirements vary. States have different requirements for the amount of liability coverage required and may also require additional coverages such as personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM).