Utah car insurance: no-fault PIP, the tort threshold and the higher liability minimums

How Utah's no-fault system works

In most states, the at-fault driver's insurer pays for everyone's injuries. Utah flips the first step. After a crash, your own PIP coverage pays your medical bills and some other losses, no matter who caused it. Utah is the only no-fault state on its borders: Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming all use fault-based systems.

Utah PIP pays at least $3,000 per person for medical expenses, and it also covers limited lost income, household services, and funeral and death benefits. The point is speed: your own insurer pays early bills without waiting for a fault decision. Our personal injury protection guide explains how PIP claims work.

No-fault applies to injuries only. Damage to cars is still handled by fault. If another driver hits you, their property damage liability pays to fix your car; if you cause the crash, you need collision coverage to fix your own.

The tort threshold: when you can sue in Utah

Because PIP pays the first bills, Utah limits lawsuits for general damages such as pain and suffering. Under Utah Code 31A-22-309, you can step outside the no-fault system only if the crash causes at least one of these:

• death;
• dismemberment;
• permanent disability or permanent impairment;
• permanent disfigurement;
• a bone fracture;
• medical expenses of more than $3,000.

For example, if your medical bills after a minor crash come to $2,000 and you have no fracture or lasting injury, PIP pays those bills and you generally cannot sue the other driver for pain and suffering. If the bills pass the threshold, a claim against the at-fault driver's liability coverage opens up. See our glossary entry on the tort threshold and the no-fault vs at-fault states post.

Utah's higher liability minimums

Utah raised its liability minimums recently. The change in detail: Minimums rose from 25/65/15 (or $80,000 combined) to 30/65/25 (or $90,000 combined) for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. Any policy issued or renewed since then must carry at least the new limits. Some older state consumer pages and third-party tables still show the previous figures, so check the date on anything you read. Our post on state minimum coverage changes tracks similar updates elsewhere.

Even the new minimum is modest next to the cost of a serious crash. Higher bodily injury limits cost more but protect your savings if you are sued, and because Utah ties UM and UIM to those limits by default, raising liability also raises the protection you carry for yourself.

UM and UIM come at your liability limits by default

Utah policies include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at the same limits as your liability coverage. You can reject it, or pick lower limits, but only in writing, and UM cannot go below the bodily injury minimums. Utah's estimated uninsured rate of 6.2% is far below the national 15.4%, but UIM still matters: a driver with minimum limits may not have enough coverage for a serious injury. Our uninsured motorist coverage guide explains both.

How Utah finds uninsured vehicles

The Utah DMV (Utah State Tax Commission) compares its registration records with a database of policies written for Utah residents. If your car does not match a policy, you get a letter asking for proof. If you cannot provide it, the DMV revokes the registration.

Moving to Utah or staying a while? A non-resident's vehicle needs coverage that meets Utah law once it has been in the state for 90 days in the past year. See our new residents guide.

Car insurance costs in Utah

Utah is below the national average on both cost measures and on IIHS crash death rates. Two other Utah rules matter for individual drivers. The NAIC lists Utah among the states that ban credit-based insurance scores for rating or for offering or renewing a policy (California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Utah); see credit scores and car insurance. And Utah's legal blood alcohol limit is 0.05 g/dL, lower than the 0.08 used elsewhere, so a DUI arrest can come at a lower level, with the insurance fallout covered in car insurance after a DUI.