From Alaska to California and Indiana to New York, each state has minimum car insurance requirements. Find your state's guidelines so you're protected.
Almost every state requires motorists have car insurance. Unfortunately for those looking for easy answers, each one of those states has a different minimum amount of insurance needed. Some require just liability insurance, which covers bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) you do to someone else. Some require extra medical coverage or what’s often known as personal injury protection (PIP), which covers health care bills you or your passengers incur. And some require uninsured and/or underinsured motorist insurance, which cover you if you get into an accident with someone who has no-or-limited coverage of their own.
Collision and comprehensive coverage, which cover damage to your vehicle on or off the road, are optional everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t carry any.
If you’re confused, there's good news: You really only have to worry about the requirements where you live, so you can jump to your home state and make sure your coverage fits the mandatory minimums. Here’s how much auto insurance is required in all 50 states.
Notes: Arkansas also requires car insurance companies to offer a PIP policy with a minimum limit of $5,000. Drivers can choose to reject this coverage.
Notes: California also helps low-income drivers who otherwise would not procure car insurance get a policy through the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan. The minimum liability limits for one of these policies is 15/30/5.
Notes: The BI and PD minimums are effective as of December 13, 2017.
Notes: Indiana specifies insurers include UM/UMI at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident unless it is expressly rejected in writing.
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Notes: Michigan requires drivers to carry PIP coverage, though the exact amount required depends on the type and amount of health insurance coverage they have. Michigan also requires property protection insurance (PPI), with a minimum limit of $1 million in property damage coverage. PPI can cover damages regardless of who caused the accident, as Michigan is a no fault state.
Notes: Missouri drivers can comply with these rules without buying car insurance – drivers can instead submit proof of financial responsibility to the Department of Revenue. However, insurance is a much more common and cheaper way to comply with these rules.
Notes: Insurers have to offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage but it can be declined by the driver in writing.
Notes: New Hampshire doesn’t mandate drivers carry car insurance. However, motorists are still responsible for paying for bodily injury and property damages if they cause a car accident. (The easiest way to do this? Insurance.) And, if you do choose to buy car insurance in New Hampshire, you must meet the minimums above. If you can’t afford to buy car insurance, you may get coverage through the New Hampshire Automobile Insurance Plan.
Notes: New Jersey mandates motorists carry Basic or Standard policy. The Basic Policy, a result of the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act, costs less but provides limited coverage (with no bodily injury liability available).
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Notes: New York also requires motorists carry wrongful death coverage, with minimum limits of $50,000 for one death per accident and $100,000 for multiple deaths per accident.
Notes: Utah drivers can choose a single bodily injury + property damage coverage option of $80,000.
Notes: In lieu of car insurance, you can pay the Virginia DMV a fee of $500 to drive uninsured. This will not protect you financially, and if you cause a car accident, you are financially responsible for all bodily injuries and property damage that you cause.
Information in this article is sourced from individual state insurance & DMV offices.
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