Car Insurance Requirements by State — All 50 States (2026)
Every state has different minimum coverage requirements. Most of those minimums are dangerously low. This guide gives you every state’s requirements in one searchable table — and explains what those numbers actually mean when you get into a serious accident.
Lead Insurance Editor · CFP · Licensed P&C Agent · 12 years
Disclosure: PolicyAmericana is an independent editorial resource and does not sell insurance. Full editorial policy
Key takeaways
- Every state except New Hampshire requires some form of auto insurance — but minimums vary enormously, from 10/20/10 in Florida to 50/100/25 in Maine and Alaska
- State minimums cover the other party’s losses — not yours. Driving at minimum coverage means your own car and your own medical bills are entirely your problem
- A single serious accident can easily exceed state minimums by five to ten times. Florida’s 10/20/10 minimum covers $10,000 per injured person — a single day in the ICU can cost more than that
- 12 states are no-fault states — your own insurance pays your medical bills regardless of who caused the accident, up to PIP limits
- Most insurance professionals recommend at least 100/300/100 liability — regardless of what your state requires
All 50 states — minimum car insurance requirements
Search or filter the table below. Click any column header to sort. Average rates are for a 35-year-old driver in standard health with a clean record driving a 2020 sedan — useful for comparison, not an individual quote.
Car Insurance Requirements — All 50 States
2026 minimums · Click headers to sort · Search by state name
| ST | State | Min. Liability | System | UM/UIM req. | PIP / MedPay | Avg. rate / yr |
|---|
Minimum limits shown as Bodily Injury per person / per accident / Property Damage. Average rates are market averages for a standard profile — your rate will differ. Sources: state DMVs, NAIC, Quadrant Information Services.
How to read liability limits
Auto insurance liability limits are written in three numbers separated by slashes — for example, 25/50/25. Here is what each number means:
Reading 25/50/25
$25,000 — maximum your insurer pays per injured person in the other car.
$50,000 — maximum total your insurer pays for all injuries in a single accident.
$25,000 — maximum your insurer pays for property damage (the other driver’s car, a fence, a building).
These limits protect the other party. They pay nothing toward your own injuries or your own vehicle.
Why state minimums are dangerously low
State legislatures set minimums for political and economic reasons — not because the numbers represent adequate protection. Most minimums were established decades ago and have not kept pace with medical costs or vehicle values.
The medical cost reality
The average cost of a hospital stay in the US is approximately $2,900 per day. A single night in an ICU costs $3,500 to $7,000. A serious multi-car accident involving three people with moderate injuries — broken bones, lacerations, a night or two in the hospital — can easily generate $80,000 to $150,000 in medical bills for the other parties.
Florida’s minimum liability is 10/20/10. Your insurer pays a maximum of $10,000 toward each injured person’s bills. If the accident generates $80,000 in claims, you personally owe the remaining $60,000 to $70,000. Your wages can be garnished. Your assets can be seized. This is not a hypothetical — it happens to drivers every year who believed their minimum-coverage policy protected them.
The vehicle replacement reality
The average new car transaction price in 2026 is approximately $48,000. A property damage minimum of $10,000 or $15,000 does not replace a modern vehicle. If you rear-end a new pickup truck at highway speed, your insurer pays $10,000 toward a $50,000 vehicle. You owe $40,000.
Minimum coverage means you are self-insuring the gap
When your liability limits are exhausted, every dollar above them comes from your personal finances. Minimum coverage is compliance, not protection. A household with assets — savings, a home, investments, future wages — has far more at risk than the cost difference between minimum and adequate coverage.
No-fault vs at-fault states explained
The table above shows whether each state uses a no-fault or at-fault system for handling injury claims. This distinction matters enormously when you are injured in an accident.
At-fault states (38 states)
In at-fault states, the driver who caused the accident is financially responsible for all injuries and property damage. If someone else hits you, their liability insurance pays your medical bills. If you are at fault, your liability insurance pays the other party’s bills — and you are personally responsible for anything above your limits.
No-fault states (12 states)
In no-fault states, each driver’s own insurance pays their own medical bills regardless of who caused the accident. This coverage is called Personal Injury Protection (PIP). You can generally only sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering if your injuries exceed a defined threshold — either a dollar threshold (medical bills above a certain amount) or a verbal threshold (injuries meeting defined severity criteria).
The 12 no-fault states are: Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky (choice), Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey (choice), New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania (choice), and Utah. The three “choice” states let drivers opt into or out of the no-fault system.
Michigan is unique: it uses an unlimited PIP system for medical coverage and has recently reformed its rules to allow drivers to choose their PIP level. Michigan historically had the highest auto insurance rates in the country — partly because of this system.
What coverage you actually need
These are the coverage levels most licensed insurance professionals — including our team — recommend for a household with meaningful assets:
- Liability: 100/300/100. $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, $100,000 property damage. This is the baseline for adequate protection for most households.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist: match your liability limits. One in eight drivers is uninsured nationally. In some states it is one in five. If an uninsured driver totals your car and sends you to the hospital, UM/UIM coverage is the only thing that pays your bills.
- Comprehensive and collision: if your vehicle is worth over $5,000. Use our rule of thumb: if your vehicle’s current market value is over ten times your annual collision and comprehensive premium, keep the coverage.
- Medical payments or PIP: $5,000 to $10,000 minimum. Even in at-fault states, MedPay or PIP covers your own medical bills immediately — before fault is determined, which can take months.
Not sure if your current limits protect you?
Share your current coverage with our team and we will tell you directly whether you are adequately protected — free, one business day.
Frequently asked questions
Every state except New Hampshire requires liability insurance at a minimum. New Hampshire does not require insurance but requires drivers to demonstrate financial responsibility — most drivers buy insurance anyway. Most states require both bodily injury liability and property damage liability. The minimum limits range from Florida’s 10/20/10 to Maine and Alaska’s 50/100/25.
12 states additionally require Personal Injury Protection (PIP) as part of their no-fault systems. Many states require or offer uninsured motorist coverage. See the full table above for every state’s exact requirements.
25/50/25 means your liability insurance covers up to $25,000 per injured person, up to $50,000 total for all injuries in a single accident, and up to $25,000 for property damage. All three figures represent the maximum your insurer will pay — any costs above these limits are your personal responsibility.
These limits protect other people. They pay nothing toward your own injuries or your own vehicle damage, which require separate coverages (MedPay/PIP for medical, collision for vehicle damage).
In 49 states plus the District of Columbia, driving without insurance is illegal. New Hampshire is the only state that does not mandate auto insurance, but it requires drivers to prove they can cover damages out of pocket (financial responsibility law) and to purchase insurance if they cause an accident.
Penalties for driving uninsured vary by state but typically include fines of $200 to $1,000 for a first offense, license suspension, vehicle impoundment, and SR-22 filing requirements for reinstatement. More importantly, if you cause an accident while uninsured you are personally liable for all damages — with no insurer to cover you.
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays for your injuries and sometimes property damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver has insurance but their limits are too low to cover your damages.
UM/UIM is required in about 22 states. In states where it is optional, it is one of the most valuable coverages you can add — nationally, about 13 percent of drivers are uninsured, and in some states the rate is over 20 percent. If an uninsured driver causes a serious accident, without UM coverage your only recovery option is to sue them personally — a process that is slow, expensive, and often fruitless if the driver has no assets.
For most households with assets to protect, the recommended baseline is 100/300/100 liability with UM/UIM matched to liability limits. This means $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $100,000 in property damage coverage — combined with the same limits for uninsured/underinsured drivers.
For households with significant net worth (over $500,000 in assets), an umbrella policy extending liability coverage to $1 million or more is worth considering. Annual umbrella premiums are typically $150 to $300 per year for $1 million in additional coverage — extremely cost-effective protection.
Our full guide on how much coverage you need covers the decision-making framework in more depth.
Sarah Chen
Lead Insurance Editor · CFP · Licensed P&C Insurance Agent
Sarah spent 12 years as a licensed property and casualty agent in California and Texas. She has helped hundreds of clients understand their state’s requirements and make the transition from minimum coverage to adequate protection — often discovering in the process how much financial risk they had been unknowingly carrying.