Your Guide To Minimum Car Insurance Requirements By State

If you’ve ever wondered what the minimum requirements are for you to legally drive in your area, with this guide, you can quickly reference your state and read on to discover which car insurance policy fits your needs: minimum or full coverage.

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Required Coverage

Although there is no universal car insurance minimum across all the states, the consensus is that base coverage should include liability—i.e., some protection if you’re involved in an at-fault accident. Beyond liability car insurance coverage, state minimums are all over the map. Here are some of the more common state-required minimums:

Liability: If you find yourself involved in an at-fault car accident, liability coverage will help cover the damages brought on by your accident.
- Bodily Injury: Your plan will pay medical expenses to the injured party. However, there is a cap on how much your policy will payout; this is known as a bodily injury per accident cap.
- Property Damage: Your plan will help cover property damages incurred during your at-fault accident.

The downside to minimum coverage is your policy cap is considerably lower than if you had full coverage or umbrella coverage, meaning if you reach your financial liability limit (bodily or property), you’re on the hook for the remaining balance.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM): Most state’s base coverage requires you to have UM/UIM. If you’re struck by someone with insufficient or no car insurance, your policy will cover your expenses.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP): A smaller number of states mandate your base policy coverage to include PIP. PIP will help cover you and your passenger’s medical costs if you’re in an accident (at fault or not).

States That Don't Require Minimums

Some states have an entirely different spin on car insurance minimums, like Arizona, New Hampshire, and Virginia.

Arizona: Rather than traditionally paying for car insurance, Arizona allows you to place a bond or cash deposit down at the department of motor vehicles.
New Hampshire: This state doesn’t require everyone to have car insurance, just those convicted of driving infractions, like driving under the influence.
Virginia: For motorists with clean records, they can pay an annual fee (roughly $500) to allow them to drive uninsured — which means you absorb any accident-related costs.

Full Coverage Vs. Minimum Coverage Car Insurance

It’s helpful to know the difference between the minimum and full coverage car insurance options as it can help you decide which coverage is right for you.

Full Coverage: As the name suggests, full coverage means you have minimum coverage, comprehensive and collision coverage. Collision is financial protection for your vehicle while driving regardless of fault, while comprehensive protects your car when you’re not driving it. You’ll pay more for full coverage, but it offers total protection, so if a massive thunderstorm rolls through and drops a tree branch on your car — it’s covered.
Minimum Coverage: This is a bare-bones policy that allows you to operate a vehicle legally. However, it offers little financial protection should you get into an accident (at fault or not). Minimum coverage may come at a cheaper rate, but your assets are then exposed if you’re liable for a major accident.

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Driving Without Minimum Coverage Risks

If you choose to drive without car insurance, every time you get behind the wheel of the car, you’re at constant risk of being caught (pulled over or getting into an accident). The consequences of being discovered driving without minimum insurance vary by state and the nature of your offense; here are some of the possible outcomes:

You’re 100% liable for an accident you cause (personal and property damage alike), and if you can’t afford to pay out, your wages can be garnished to pay for damages.
Vehicle impoundment
Costly fines or tickets
License or vehicle suspension
Higher car insurance premiums

Car Insurance Minimum By State

We’ve taken the guesswork out of figuring out car insurance minimums by state, so all you have to do is consult this chart to find the bare-bones policy for your state.

STATE	BODILY INJURY	PROPERTY DAMAGE	UM BODILY INJURY	UM PROPERTY DAMAGE	PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION
Alabama	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $50,000	No	No	No
Alaska	Per Person: $50,000 Per Accident: $1,00,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Arizona	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	No
Arkansas	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
California	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000	Per Accident: $5,000	No	No	No
Colorado	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	No
Connecticut	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Delaware	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000
Florida	No	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	$10,000
Georgia	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Hawaii	Per Person: $20,000 Per Accident: $40,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	$10,000
Idaho	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	No
Illinois	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $20,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No
Indiana	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Iowa	Per Person: $20,000 Per Accident: $40,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	No
Kansas	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	$4,500
Kentucky	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	$10,000
Louisiana	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Maine	Per Person: $50,000 Per Accident: $100,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $50,000 Per Accident: $100,000	No	$2,000
Maryland	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	Per Accident: $15,000	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	$15,000	No
Massachusetts	Per Person: $20,000 Per Accident: $40,000	Per Accident: $5,000	Per Person: $20,000 Per Accident: $40,000	No	$8,000
Michigan	Per Person: $50,000 Per Accident: $100,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	$250,000 with qualifying health plan
Minnesota	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No	$40,000
Mississippi	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Missouri	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No
Montana	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $20,000	No	No	No
Nebraska	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No
Nevada	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $20,000	No	No	No
New Hampshire	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	$1,000
New Jersey	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000	Per Accident: $5,000	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000	No	$15,000
New Mexico	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	No
New York	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	$50,000
North Carolina	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	$25,000	No
North Dakota	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	$30,000
Ohio	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Oklahoma	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Oregon	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	$15,000
Pennsylvania	Per Person: $15,000 Per Accident: $30,000	Per Accident: $5,000	No	No	$5,000
Rhode Island	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
South Carolina	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No
South Dakota	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No
Tennessee	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	No
Texas	Per Person: $30,000 Per Accident: $60,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No	No	No
Utah	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $65,000	Per Accident: $15,000	No	No	$3,000
Vermont	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	Per Person: $50,000 Per Accident: $100,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No
Virginia	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $20,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	$20,000	No
Washington	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	No	No	No
Washington D.C.	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $5,000	No
West Virginia	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $25,000	No
Wisconsin	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $10,000	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	No	No
Wyoming	Per Person: $25,000 Per Accident: $50,000	Per Accident: $20,000	No	No	No

Minimum Car Insurance Requirements By State

No matter which state you call home, you need to be insured to legally drive. Driving uninsured is never worth the risk of getting caught or, worse, financial ruin in the event you’re responsible for an accident. So do your due diligence and make sure whenever you get behind the wheel, you’re insured.

Jessica Fox Jessica Fox has been a freelance writer for five years, with a specialty in health, wellness, and insurance. During this time, she’s written for some of the biggest B2B and B2C brands from around the world. Jessica is also the mother of two young daughters and loves coffee, writing, and working out.