Minimum Car Insurance Requirements by State (Full List)
Minimum car insurance by state varies more than most drivers realize — from Florida's no bodily injury requirement to Maine's $50,000 per-person floor. This guide lists every state's liability limits, notes which require PIP or uninsured motorist coverage, and explains why the legal minimum is usually not enough to protect a driver's finances after a real crash.
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How Minimum Car Insurance Requirements Work
Every state except New Hampshire (and, until recently, Virginia) requires drivers to carry liability insurance. The limits are written as three numbers — 25/50/25 means $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage per accident. Those are the maximums the insurance company will pay; anything above that comes out of the driver's own pocket.
A dozen or so states also mandate personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments coverage, which pays medical bills for the driver and passengers regardless of fault. Roughly twenty states require uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, which pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough of it.
Two states have historically let drivers skip standard insurance. New Hampshire still does not require any liability coverage, though drivers who cause a crash must prove they can pay for the damage. Virginia previously allowed an uninsured motorist fee in lieu of insurance, but that program ended in mid-2024 — every Virginia driver now needs a real policy, and the state raised its minimums to 30/60/20 in January 2025.
Minimum Car Insurance by State: Full List
The table below shows every state's minimum liability requirement in the standard three-number format. Numbers reflect current statutes, including California's increase to 30/60/15 (effective January 2025) and Virginia's move to 30/60/20 the same month. Dollar amounts are in thousands, so Alabama's 25/50/25 means $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000.
| State | Liability (BI/BI/PD) | Also Required |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 25/50/25 | — |
| Alaska | 50/100/25 | — |
| Arizona | 25/50/15 | — |
| Arkansas | 25/50/25 | PIP $5k (optional) |
| California | 30/60/15 | Raised Jan 2025 |
| Colorado | 25/50/15 | — |
| Connecticut | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| Delaware | 25/50/10 | PIP $15k |
| D.C. | 25/50/10 | UM required |
| Florida | —/—/10 | PIP $10k; no BI |
| Georgia | 25/50/25 | — |
| Hawaii | 20/40/10 | PIP $10k |
| Idaho | 25/50/15 | — |
| Illinois | 25/50/20 | UM required |
| Indiana | 25/50/25 | — |
| Iowa | 20/40/15 | — |
| Kansas | 25/50/25 | PIP $4.5k, UM required |
| Kentucky | 25/50/25 | PIP $10k (opt-out) |
| Louisiana | 15/30/25 | — |
| Maine | 50/100/25 | MedPay $2k, UM required |
| Maryland | 30/60/15 | PIP $2.5k, UM required |
| Massachusetts | 20/40/5 | PIP $8k, UM required |
| Michigan | 50/100/10 | PIP (level chosen) |
| Minnesota | 30/60/10 | PIP $40k, UM required |
| Mississippi | 25/50/25 | — |
| Missouri | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| Montana | 25/50/20 | — |
| Nebraska | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| Nevada | 25/50/20 | — |
| New Hampshire | 25/50/25 (if carried) | Not required |
| New Jersey | 15/30/5 | PIP $15k; basic policy option |
| New Mexico | 25/50/10 | — |
| New York | 25/50/10 | PIP $50k, UM required |
| North Carolina | 30/60/25 | UM required |
| North Dakota | 25/50/25 | PIP $30k, UM required |
| Ohio | 25/50/25 | — |
| Oklahoma | 25/50/25 | — |
| Oregon | 25/50/20 | PIP $15k, UM required |
| Pennsylvania | 15/30/5 | PIP $5k |
| Rhode Island | 25/50/25 | — |
| South Carolina | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| South Dakota | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| Tennessee | 25/50/25 | — |
| Texas | 30/60/25 | — |
| Utah | 25/65/15 | PIP $3k |
| Vermont | 25/50/10 | UM required |
| Virginia | 30/60/20 | UM required (Jan 2025) |
| Washington | 25/50/10 | — |
| West Virginia | 25/50/25 | UM required |
| Wisconsin | 25/50/10 | UM required |
| Wyoming | 25/50/20 | — |
States That Require Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Personal injury protection covers medical bills, lost wages, and sometimes funeral costs for the driver and passengers no matter who caused the crash. Roughly a dozen states require it outright, and a few more offer it as a default coverage drivers can decline in writing.
States where PIP is mandatory on every policy:
- Delaware — $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident
- Florida — $10,000 minimum
- Hawaii — $10,000 minimum
- Kansas — $4,500 medical, plus wage-loss benefits
- Maryland — $2,500 minimum
- Massachusetts — $8,000 minimum
- Michigan — level chosen by driver, from $50,000 to unlimited
- Minnesota — $40,000 total ($20k medical, $20k non-medical)
- New Jersey — $15,000 standard
- New York — $50,000 basic
- North Dakota — $30,000
- Oregon — $15,000
- Utah — $3,000
Kentucky and Pennsylvania require PIP by default but let drivers formally opt out. Michigan is unique — until 2019 it required unlimited lifetime medical coverage, and drivers can still choose that tier if they want it.
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See our quote guideStates That Require Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays for the policyholder's injuries — and sometimes property damage — when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage kicks in when the at-fault driver has a policy but its limits are not enough. Both matter because roughly one in eight US drivers is uninsured nationally, and the share climbs above 20% in states like Mississippi, Michigan, and Tennessee.
States (plus D.C.) that require UM on every auto policy:
- Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska
- New Hampshire (only if the driver carries any auto insurance at all)
- New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon
- South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
- District of Columbia
Most of these states set UM limits equal to the state's bodily injury liability minimums — a 25/50 liability floor usually means a 25/50 UM floor. About half also require UIM, and a handful (including North Carolina and Virginia) mandate uninsured motorist property damage coverage on top of the bodily injury piece.
Why the State Minimum Is Almost Never Enough
A single overnight hospital stay for a moderately injured passenger can run $30,000 to $80,000 before surgery, and a totaled late-model pickup or SUV routinely costs $45,000 to $70,000 to replace. State minimums were mostly written decades ago and have not kept up with medical inflation, replacement-vehicle prices, or jury awards.
Consider Florida's rules. No bodily injury liability is required, and the $10,000 property damage cap will not touch a modern crossover. A Florida driver at the legal minimum who rear-ends a $60,000 vehicle is personally on the hook for the other $50,000 — plus every injury claim. California's old 15/30/5 limits, in force until January 2025, barely covered a single ER visit; even the new 30/60/15 floor is thin for a multi-car accident.
The gap between the legal floor and a realistic worst-case is where personal bankruptcies happen. Once a driver's insurance runs out, injured parties can pursue their savings, garnish wages, or place liens on property. Personal injury attorneys often will not file suit against a policy below 50/100 because there is nothing left to recover, but a driver carrying only the minimum car insurance by state statute is functionally the target of any larger claim.
How to Choose Coverage Above the Minimum
Rather than defaulting to the state floor, most drivers should pick liability limits that reflect what they could actually lose in a bad accident. A workable approach:
- Start at 100/300/100 liability. It typically costs $15 to $40 more per month than state minimums at major carriers and covers the vast majority of realistic claims without triggering a lawsuit.
- Match UM/UIM to the liability limits. Uninsured motorist coverage is cheap and protects against the roughly 13% of US drivers who carry no insurance at all.
- Add collision and comprehensive if the vehicle is worth more than about $4,000 or is financed. Lenders require it; owners of paid-off cars can drop it once annual premiums exceed roughly 10% of the car's book value.
- Consider a $1 million umbrella policy if net worth or income is above average. Umbrellas typically cost $150 to $400 per year and usually require the underlying auto policy to already be at 250/500 or higher.
- Shop rates every 12 to 18 months. Carriers reprice risk constantly, and the cheapest company for a given driver changes as credit, mileage, and vehicle mix shift.
Frequently Asked Questions
What state has the highest minimum car insurance requirement?
Maine and Alaska both require 50/100/25 liability, tied for the highest per-person bodily injury minimum in the country. Maine also mandates uninsured motorist coverage and $2,000 in medical payments coverage, giving it arguably the strictest total package. Michigan matches those bodily injury limits and layers a mandatory PIP requirement on top.
Which state has the lowest car insurance requirement?
Florida has the lowest bodily injury liability requirement — zero — though it does require $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property damage coverage. New Hampshire technically has no insurance requirement at all, but drivers must still prove financial responsibility if they cause an accident. Pennsylvania and New Jersey's basic policy options come next-lowest at 15/30/5.
Do state minimums include full coverage?
No. Full coverage typically means liability plus collision and comprehensive, but state minimums only require liability (and sometimes PIP or uninsured motorist coverage). A car insured at the state minimum has no coverage for its own damage in a crash, theft, hail, or fire — that requires collision and comprehensive, which lenders always demand on financed vehicles.
How much liability insurance do most drivers actually buy?
Industry patterns suggest roughly a third of insured drivers carry 100/300/100 or higher, another third carry state-minimum limits, and the rest fall in between. Drivers with any real assets — a home, retirement accounts, meaningful savings — usually go higher because their exposure to a lawsuit is greater. Younger drivers and those with older paid-off cars are the most common state-minimum holders.
Can I drive legally in another state with my home state's minimum coverage?
Yes, in most cases. Auto policies automatically adjust to meet the higher of the home state's or visiting state's minimums when a driver crosses state lines, so a legal policy in one state is generally legal in another. However, this only satisfies the legal requirement — it does not raise the actual coverage limits, so an accident in a higher-minimum state can still create out-of-pocket exposure.