Are There Minimum Car Insurance Requirements Where I Live?

Auto insurance is required by law in almost every state. The vast majority of them require drivers to maintain a minimum amount of liability car insurance and several of them require drivers to carry additional coverage types. Even in states where coverage is technically optional, there are minimum standards that drivers who decide to purchase car insurance must adhere to.

Keep reading for more information on state minimum car insurance requirements including the specific car insurance laws in every state and how the various government-mandated coverages work.

On This Page

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  What Are the State Minimum Car Insurance Requirements?

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  Is Car Insurance Required in Every State?

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  What Are the Most Common Types of State-Required Car Insurance?

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  Additional Car Insurance Requirements for Some Drivers

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  At-Fault and No-Fault States

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  How To Get the State Minimum for Car Insurance in Your Area

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  FAQs

What Are the State Minimum Car Insurance Requirements?

See the below table for a rundown of the car insurance coverage types drivers must purchase and the minimum coverage limits for each of those coverage types in every state plus the District of Columbia.^[1]

Is Car Insurance Required in Every State?

You are allowed to drive without car insurance in New Hampshire and Virginia, although both states enforce minimum standards for those who decide to purchase coverage anyway. New Hampshire drivers can only go without coverage if they can demonstrate that they have enough money to cover another person’s medical and repair expenses after an accident they are responsible for.^[2] In Virginia, you can only go without coverage if you pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle (UMV) fee every time you renew your registration.^[3]

Similarly, South Carolina currently allows drivers to forego car insurance coverage after paying a $550 UMV fee. However, beginning on July 1, 2024, South Carolina drivers will no longer be allowed to register as uninsured motorists and driving without auto insurance will be illegal.^[4]

While car insurance is broadly required throughout the rest of the United States, additional exceptions may apply in certain states depending on your circumstances. For example, there are many remote areas of Alaska where individuals with good driving records are exempt from the state’s auto insurance regulations.^[5]

What Are the Most Common Types of State-Required Car Insurance?

The following sections will highlight the major types of car insurance that state governments require for drivers and explain how those coverage types work.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance is the most fundamental type of auto coverage and is required in some capacity for insured drivers in every single state. There are two subsets of liability coverage: bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage.

Bodily injury liability insurance covers hospital and rehab bills, lost wages and funeral expenses if you injure or kill another driver, their passengers or a pedestrian in a car accident. Meanwhile, property damage liability insurance covers property repairs if you crash into someone else’s vehicle, home or other property. Most states require both of these coverages, although Florida only requires property damage liability coverage.^[6]

Liability insurance requirements are often presented in an A/B/C format so you can determine how much coverage your policy needs to provide for medical expenses and how much it needs to provide for repair bills. For example, if your state requires 25/50/25 liability coverage limits, then your policy must include at least $25,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage for one person injured in an accident, $50,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage for all of the people injured in an accident and $25,000 worth of property damage liability coverage per accident.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

While bodily injury liability insurance only covers the other driver after an accident you caused, personal injury protection (PIP) can cover your medical expenses, lost income and final expenses after an accident regardless of whether you were at fault. PIP also covers your passengers if they are injured or killed in an accident you are responsible for.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Similarly, uninsured motorist coverage protects you in case you are struck by a driver who does not have auto insurance. Like liability insurance, it can include both bodily injury and property damage components. In addition, your uninsured motorist coverage may kick in and cover your medical bills or vehicle repairs after a hit-and-run.

Many of the states that require uninsured motorist coverage also require underinsured motorist coverage. If you are struck by a driver who has insurance but whose liability coverage limits are too low to fully cover your hospital or repair costs, then your underinsured motorist coverage can pay the difference.

Medical Payments Coverage (Medpay)

Medical payments coverage (Medpay) is similar to PIP in that it can take care of medical and funeral expenses for you and your passengers after an accident even if you were the at-fault driver. However, Medpay differs from PIP in that it doesn’t include coverage for lost wages. Maine is the only state where Medpay is required by law for all drivers.^[7]

Additional Car Insurance Requirements for Some Drivers

Comprehensive coverage and collision coverage are not required by law in any state but you may be required to obtain them by your lender or lessor if you are financing or leasing your vehicle. Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle from a car accident even if you were responsible for the crash, while comprehensive insurance covers external perils that could cause you to lose your vehicle such as storms and theft.

Meanwhile, you will need to purchase commercial auto insurance if you use a car to conduct business activities because personal car insurance policies usually exclude coverage for commercial use. The minimum coverage requirements for private passenger policies in each state generally apply to commercial policies as well.^[8]

At-Fault and No-Fault States

At-fault or full tort states allow you to freely recover damages after a car accident you weren’t responsible for by suing the at-fault driver or filing a claim with their car insurance company, while no-fault or limited tort states may only allow you to recover damages from the at-fault driver if you are severely injured in the accident.

This only applies to bodily injury claims, meaning the at-fault driver’s liability insurance may cover your property repairs in both kinds of states.

No-fault states generally require drivers to maintain PIP so that, instead of one driver filing a claim on the other driver’s liability insurance after a collision, both drivers can file a claim on their own PIP to cover their medical expenses. PIP is required in the following 12 no-fault states:^[9]

• Florida
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Utah

PIP is also required in Delaware and Oregon, although these states otherwise adhere to a full tort system.^[10][11] In addition, you should note that drivers in Kentucky are allowed to reject the limitations on their tort rights and turn down PIP for themselves but they must still carry guest PIP coverage to cover their passengers and pedestrians.^[12]

How To Get the State Minimum for Car Insurance in Your Area

Whether you’re looking for car insurance minimum coverage or a policy that provides more extensive protection, you should collect quotes from at least three to five car insurance companies so you can see which carrier can offer you the best price. To receive these quotes, you’ll often need to go through the trouble of providing each insurer with information like your car’s year, its make and model, your age, your driving record and more.

Conversely, you could share all of this information just once by filling out SmartFinancial’s brief online questionnaire and then allow us to put you in touch with insurance agents who can help you compare quotes. Click here to begin the process of receiving a no-cost auto insurance quote today.