Car Insurance Laws by State: Minimums and Average Costs

Key facts

Fact	Figure
Jurisdictions that require liability insurance	49 states and the District of Columbia
States with a no-fault system	12, including 3 where drivers can choose
National average spent per insured vehicle (2023)	$1,281 a year
National average premium with collision and comprehensive (2023)	$1,438 a year
Drivers who were uninsured (2023)	15.4%
Motor vehicle crash deaths (2024)	39,254, or 11.5 per 100,000 people

Choose your state

Each state guide explains the legal minimum, whether the state is at-fault or no-fault, how personal injury protection and uninsured motorist rules work there, what drivers in that state spend on average, and who to contact at the state insurance department and motor vehicle agency.

How car insurance rules differ from state to state

Four decisions made by each state legislature shape almost every policy sold there.

The minimum liability limits. Most states write them as three numbers, such as 25/50/25, meaning thousands of dollars for injuries to one person, all injuries in one crash and property damage. A few states also accept a single combined limit, and a handful have unusual rules: New Hampshire does not require a policy at all, Florida requires personal injury protection and property damage liability to register a car, and Michigan lets drivers choose from several liability and PIP levels.
The fault system. In at-fault states the driver who causes a crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the other people's injuries. In no-fault states your own personal injury protection pays your medical bills first, whoever caused the crash, and lawsuits are limited to more serious injuries. Some at-fault states add a requirement to carry or be offered PIP-style benefits.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist rules. Some states require this coverage, others require insurers to offer it and let you reject it in writing, and some leave it optional.
How insurers may price policies. States regulate rating factors differently. California, for example, requires driving record, miles driven and years of experience to carry the most weight, and several states limit the use of credit-based insurance scores.

The guides on liability coverage, personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage explain each piece in more depth.

Minimum car insurance by state

The table shows each state's legal minimum, its fault system and its rules for personal injury protection and uninsured motorist coverage. Use the state minimum lookup to see one state in detail with the source for every line.

State	Minimum coverage	Fault system	Personal injury protection	Uninsured motorist
Alabama	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Must be included unless the named insured rejects it
Alaska	50/100/25	At-fault	Not required	Must be offered in writing; can be rejected by signature
Arizona	25/50/15	At-fault	Not required	Must be offered in writing on an approved form; optional
Arkansas	25/50/25	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Must be offered; can be rejected in writing	Included unless you sign a rejection
California	30/60/15	At-fault	Not required	Must be offered; can be rejected by signing a waiver
Colorado	25/50/15	At-fault	Not required	Included unless rejected in writing
Connecticut	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Delaware	25/50/10	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Required: $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident	Included unless rejected in writing
District of Columbia	25/50/10	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Must be offered; optional	Required: $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury and $5,000 property damage
Florida	$10,000 PIP + $10,000 property damage	No-fault	Required: $10,000	Included at bodily injury limits unless rejected in writing on an approved form
Georgia	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Optional
Hawaii	40/80/20	No-fault	Required: $10,000	Must be offered at liability limits; can be rejected in writing
Idaho	25/50/15	At-fault	Not required	Included unless rejected in writing
Illinois	25/50/20	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Indiana	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Included unless rejected in writing (minimum $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage)
Iowa	20/40/15	At-fault	Not required	Included unless rejected in writing
Kansas	25/50/25	No-fault	Required: $4,500 medical, $4,500 rehabilitation, up to $900 a month disability for one year, $25 a day substitution, $2,000 funeral, plus survivors benefits	Required at least $25,000/$50,000; only limits above the minimum can be rejected in writing
Kentucky	25/50/25	Choice no-fault	Required: $10,000 per person (basic reparation benefits)	Included unless rejected in writing
Louisiana	15/30/25	At-fault	Not required	Included at bodily injury limits unless rejected, lowered or limited to economic-only on the Commissioner's form
Maine	50/100/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: $50,000/$100,000
Maryland	30/60/15	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Must be offered (at least $2,500); can be waived or limited	Required: $30,000/$60,000 bodily injury and $15,000 property damage
Massachusetts	25/50/30	No-fault	Required: $8,000 per person	Required at least at the compulsory bodily injury limits
Michigan	50/100/10 (default 250/500/10)	No-fault	Required: choose a PIP medical level (unlimited by default; $500,000; $250,000; $50,000 for Medicaid enrollees; opt-out for Medicare enrollees)	Optional
Minnesota	30/60/10	No-fault	Required: $40,000 per person ($20,000 medical and $20,000 income loss and other non-medical benefits)	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Mississippi	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Optional
Missouri	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Montana	25/50/20	At-fault	Not required	Included at the bodily injury minimums ($25,000/$50,000) unless you reject it by signing a form
Nebraska	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Nevada	25/50/20	At-fault	Not required	Must be offered at your bodily injury limits; optional
New Hampshire	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required if you buy a policy: limits equal to your liability coverage
New Jersey	35/70/25	Choice no-fault	Required: $15,000 per person per accident (up to $250,000 for certain injuries)	Required in a Standard Policy: at least $35,000/$70,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage
New Mexico	25/50/10	At-fault	Not required	Must be included at the state minimums or higher; the named insured can reject it
New York	25/50/10	No-fault	Required: $50,000 per person (basic no-fault)	Required: same as the bodily injury minimums ($25,000/$50,000), for accidents in New York
North Carolina	50/100/50	At-fault	Not required	Required: equal to your bodily injury limits unless you choose otherwise (never below the liability minimums); includes property damage
North Dakota	25/50/25	No-fault	Required: $30,000 per person (basic no-fault)	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Ohio	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Optional: insurers may offer it; you can choose a lower amount or decline it
Oklahoma	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Optional: not part of the required minimum; can be added to a policy
Oregon	25/50/20	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Required: $15,000 per person for medical expenses	Required: equal to your bodily injury limits unless you elect lower limits in writing (not below $25,000/$50,000)
Pennsylvania	15/30/5	Choice no-fault	Required: first-party medical benefits of $5,000	Must be offered; optional (can be rejected on a separate signed form)
Rhode Island	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: equal to your bodily injury limits; can be lowered in writing (not below 25/50), or dropped only if you buy minimum coverage and sign an advisory notice
South Carolina	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage
South Dakota	25/50/25	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Must be offered: supplemental first-party benefits (medical expenses, disability income, accidental death); optional to buy	Required: equal to your bodily injury limits (insurer need not exceed $100,000/$300,000 unless you ask)
Tennessee	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Not confirmed
Texas	30/60/25	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Included in every policy unless you reject it in writing (required amount: $2,500 per person)	Must be included (combined UM/UIM) unless you reject it in writing
Utah	30/65/25	No-fault	Required: $3,000 per person	Included at your liability limits unless you reject it or choose lower limits in writing (not below the bodily injury minimums)
Vermont	25/50/10	At-fault	Not required	Required: at least $50,000/$100,000 bodily injury, plus property damage up to $10,000 ($150 deductible)
Virginia	50/100/25	At-fault	Not required; optional medical expense and income loss benefits are available	Required: equal to your liability limits unless you reject the extra amount (never below the state liability minimums)
Washington	25/50/10	At-fault (add-on PIP)	Must be offered; can be rejected in writing (basic PIP pays up to $10,000 per person for medical costs)	Included at your liability limits unless rejected in writing (Washington's underinsured motorist coverage also covers uninsured and hit-and-run drivers)
West Virginia	25/50/25	At-fault	Not required	Required: at least the state minimum limits ($25,000/$50,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage)
Wisconsin	25/50/10	At-fault	Not required	Required: $25,000/$50,000
Wyoming	25/50/20	At-fault	Not required	Must be included at $25,000/$50,000 unless the named insured rejects it

Liability limits are bodily injury per person / per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars. Each state's sources are listed in the state minimum lookup.

Remember that the minimum is a legal floor, not a recommendation. A serious crash can cost far more than minimum limits pay, and liability coverage never pays to repair your own car. Our coverage checklist helps you decide what to add.

At-fault and no-fault states

Fault system	Number	States
No-fault	9	Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Utah
Choice no-fault	3	Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
At-fault (add-on PIP)	8	Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington
At-fault	31	Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Each state's sources are listed in the state minimum lookup.

If you move between a no-fault and an at-fault state, your policy has to change with you. The guide for new residents covers the deadlines for registering and insuring a car after a move.

Average car insurance cost by state

These are the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' averages per insured vehicle. They mix drivers who carry only the legal minimum with drivers who carry full coverage, so they show how places compare rather than what any one driver will pay. Your own price depends on your ZIP code, driving record, age, car and the coverage you choose; see what affects car insurance rates.

Rank	State	Average spent per insured vehicle (2023)	Average premium with collision and comprehensive
1	Florida	$1,865	$1,994
2	Louisiana	$1,754	$1,983
3	New York	$1,753	$1,896
4	District of Columbia	$1,677	$1,818
5	New Jersey	$1,573	$1,693
6	Georgia	$1,555	$1,746
7	Rhode Island	$1,540	$1,710
8	Maryland	$1,477	$1,602
9	Delaware	$1,462	$1,569
10	Nevada	$1,462	$1,600
11	Colorado	$1,453	$1,655
12	Michigan	$1,444	$1,573
13	Texas	$1,429	$1,727
14	Connecticut	$1,394	$1,508
15	South Carolina	$1,367	$1,517
16	Arizona	$1,344	$1,505
17	Massachusetts	$1,326	$1,413
18	California	$1,225	$1,418
19	Mississippi	$1,200	$1,395
20	Oregon	$1,170	$1,268
21	Utah	$1,169	$1,285
22	Missouri	$1,155	$1,323
23	Pennsylvania	$1,155	$1,273
24	Illinois	$1,153	$1,257
25	Washington	$1,153	$1,235
26	Virginia	$1,114	$1,238
27	Alaska	$1,113	$1,262
28	Minnesota	$1,103	$1,223
29	Oklahoma	$1,084	$1,324
30	New Mexico	$1,082	$1,301
31	Alabama	$1,081	$1,269
32	West Virginia	$1,063	$1,227
33	Arkansas	$1,051	$1,296
34	Tennessee	$1,050	$1,212
35	Kentucky	$1,046	$1,208
36	New Hampshire	$987	$1,032
37	Nebraska	$981	$1,184
38	Montana	$975	$1,184
39	Kansas	$973	$1,182
40	Wyoming	$948	$1,180
41	Ohio	$947	$1,038
42	South Dakota	$937	$1,158
43	Indiana	$926	$1,032
44	North Carolina	$925	$1,097
45	Wisconsin	$922	$1,000
46	Vermont	$893	$958
47	Hawaii	$888	$998
48	Iowa	$873	$1,010
49	Idaho	$864	$981
50	Maine	$856	$926
51	North Dakota	$808	$961
	United States	$1,281	$1,438

Ranked from highest to lowest average expenditure. Figures are yearly averages per insured vehicle, rounded to the nearest dollar, not quotes.

States at the top of the list tend to combine dense traffic, high medical and repair costs, frequent lawsuits or theft, or rich no-fault benefits. States at the bottom are often rural with lower claim costs. The guide on how your ZIP code affects your price explains why location matters so much.

Uninsured drivers by state

The Insurance Research Council estimates the share of drivers with no insurance by comparing uninsured motorist claims with bodily injury claims. Where the share is high, uninsured motorist coverage matters more.

Rank	State	Estimated share of uninsured drivers (2023)
1	Mississippi	28.2%
2	New Mexico	24.1%
3	District of Columbia	23.1%
4	Michigan	22.3%
5	Tennessee	21.3%
6	Missouri	20.7%
7	Florida	20.6%
8	California	20.4%
9	Colorado	19.7%
10	Washington	19.1%
11	Georgia	19.0%
12	Ohio	18.5%
13	Delaware	17.6%
14	Maryland	16.9%
15	Alabama	16.8%
16	Wisconsin	15.6%
17	Illinois	15.2%
18	Oregon	14.7%
19	Texas	14.5%
20	Kentucky	14.1%
20	New Jersey	14.1%
22	Indiana	14.0%
23	Virginia	12.9%
24	Alaska	12.5%
25	Rhode Island	12.4%
26	Arkansas	12.1%
27	Kansas	12.0%
27	Oklahoma	12.0%
29	Connecticut	11.8%
29	North Carolina	11.8%
29	Vermont	11.8%
32	Louisiana	11.7%
33	Iowa	11.4%
34	Minnesota	11.3%
35	Nevada	11.1%
36	Pennsylvania	11.0%
37	Arizona	10.6%
37	North Dakota	10.6%
39	South Carolina	10.3%
40	New Hampshire	10.0%
41	Hawaii	9.6%
42	Nebraska	9.5%
43	South Dakota	9.4%
44	New York	8.6%
45	Massachusetts	7.9%
46	West Virginia	7.8%
47	Montana	7.2%
48	Wyoming	6.7%
49	Idaho	6.4%
50	Utah	6.2%
51	Maine	5.7%
	United States	15.4%

Ranked from the highest to the lowest estimated share of uninsured drivers.

Road safety by state

Crash risk is one of the things insurers price. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety publishes crash deaths for every state, both per person and per mile driven, which helps compare states with very different amounts of driving.

Rank	State	Crash deaths (2024)	Per 100,000 people	Per 100 million miles driven
1	Mississippi	753	25.6	1.81
2	Arkansas	603	19.5	1.53
3	New Mexico	409	19.2	1.43
4	South Carolina	1,038	18.9	1.67
5	Alabama	962	18.7	1.32
6	Wyoming	107	18.2	1.1
7	Montana	206	18.1	1.49
8	Tennessee	1,197	16.6	1.52
9	Louisiana	752	16.4	1.36
10	Arizona	1,229	16.2	1.74
11	South Dakota	146	15.8	1.4
12	Oklahoma	645	15.7	1.39
13	Kentucky	707	15.4	1.44
14	Missouri	955	15.3	1.17
15	North Carolina	1,619	14.7	1.24
16	West Virginia	256	14.5	1.49
17	Florida	3,138	13.4	1.26
18	Texas	4,160	13.3	1.35
19	Nevada	417	12.8	1.47
20	Maine	177	12.6	1.17
20	Oregon	538	12.6	1.44
22	Georgia	1,403	12.5	1.15
22	Nebraska	251	12.5	1.15
24	Delaware	126	12	1.27
24	Indiana	832	12	0.94
26	Idaho	238	11.9	1.19
27	Colorado	689	11.6	1.25
28	Kansas	339	11.4	1.07
29	North Dakota	90	11.3	0.9
30	Iowa	356	11	1.05
31	Michigan	1,098	10.8	1.1
32	Virginia	917	10.4	1.04
33	Wisconsin	595	10	0.86
34	California	3,876	9.8	1.19
35	Ohio	1,157	9.7	1
36	Alaska	70	9.5	1.27
37	New Hampshire	133	9.4	0.96
38	Illinois	1,177	9.3	1.13
39	Maryland	578	9.2	1.01
39	Washington	730	9.2	1.21
41	Vermont	59	9.1	0.82
42	Pennsylvania	1,127	8.6	1.18
43	Connecticut	310	8.4	1
44	Minnesota	477	8.2	0.81
45	Utah	277	7.9	0.77
46	Hawaii	102	7.1	0.96
46	New Jersey	670	7.1	0.84
48	District of Columbia	47	6.7	1.33
49	New York	1,101	5.5	0.91
50	Massachusetts	363	5.1	0.59
51	Rhode Island	52	4.7	0.68
	United States	39,254	11.5	1.19

Ranked by deaths per 100,000 people, highest first.

City guides

Our city guides add local data such as commuting times, households without a car and metro-area vehicle theft to the state rules.

Frequently asked questions

Which state requires the most car insurance?

It depends on how you measure it. Some states set high liability limits, others require personal injury protection or uninsured motorist coverage on top of liability. Compare the minimum coverage, PIP and uninsured motorist columns in the table above, or open a state guide for the full list.

Which states do not require car insurance?

New Hampshire does not require drivers to buy a policy, but drivers must be able to pay for damage they cause, and anyone who buys insurance there must meet the state's minimum limits. Every other state and the District of Columbia require liability insurance.

Why is car insurance so much more expensive in some states?

Prices follow claim costs. States with more traffic, more crashes, higher medical and repair bills, more theft, more lawsuits or generous no-fault benefits tend to have higher averages. Each state guide explains the main reasons for that state.

Does my car insurance work in other states?

Yes. Your policy covers you when you drive anywhere in the United States, and most policies automatically meet another state's minimum limits while you drive there. If you move, you will need a policy that meets your new state's rules once you register your car there.

Which state's rules apply to my policy?

The state where your car is registered and usually kept (the garaging address) decides which rules your policy must follow and which state insurance department regulates it.

How often do state minimums change?

Several states have raised their minimums recently, and more increases are scheduled. Each state guide notes recent and upcoming changes we found, and the state minimum lookup lists the effective dates.

Sources

Insurance Information Institute, Background on: No-fault auto insurance no-fault and choice no-fault systems
NAIC, Insurance Departments contact details for every state insurance department
Insurance Information Institute, Facts + Statistics: Uninsured motorists as of October 28, 2026
IIHS, Fatality Facts 2024: State by state as of June 1, 2026
NAIC, 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report as of February 13, 2026
Insurance Research Council, Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists: 2017–2023 (press release) as of February 20, 2025

Last reviewed October 28, 2026 by the StateCover Guide editorial team. See our editorial policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.

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