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Car insurance is required by law in every state. These requirements vary wildly. In Florida the minimum requirements are 10/20/10, meaning if you cause an accident each person could receive up to $10,000 for bodily injuries with a maximum paid per accident of $20,000, and an additional $10,000 for property damage. Wisconsin has the strictest minimum requirements at 50/100/55. The minimum insurance requirements for Alaska and Maine are also high -- 50/100/25. States with low minimum insurance requirements include Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Keep in mind, these are only the legal minimums required. Depending on how much you can afford, it might be a good idea for you to carry additional coverage. Also, these insurance minimums cover only damage to other motorists, their passengers, and other people's property - not your own. For that, you need medical payments coverage, collision coverage, and other-than-collision (comprehensive) coverage.
The Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements by State
Here is an explanation of how to read the table:
First number: Bodily injury liability maximum for one person injured in an accident.
Second number: Bodily injury liability maximum for all injuries in one accident.
Third number: Property damage liability maximum for one accident.
For example, if you live in California, the minimum liability limits are $15,000 for injury liability for one person, $30,000 for all injuries and $5,000 for property damage in an accident. California does not require you to have personal injury protection (PIP) or uninsured motorist coverage (UM).
| State | Liability required? Liability minimums (in thousands of dollars) | PIP required? | No-fault state? | Uninsured motorist coverage required? |
| Alabama | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | No |
| Alaska | Yes, 50/100/25 | No | No | No |
| Arizona | Yes, 15/30/10 | No | No | No |
| Arkansas | Yes, 25/50/25 | Yes | No | No |
| California (1) | Yes, 15/30/5 | No | No | No |
| Colorado | Yes, 25/50/15 | No | No | No |
| Connecticut | Yes, 20/40/10 | No | No | Yes |
| Delaware | Yes, 15/30/10 | Yes | No | No |
| Florida (2) | No, 10/20/10 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Georgia | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | No |
| Hawaii | Yes, 20/40/10 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Idaho | Yes, 25/50/15 | No | No | No |
| Illinois | Yes, 20/40/15 | No | No | Yes |
| Indiana | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | No |
| Iowa | Yes, 20/40/15 | No | No | No |
| Kansas | Yes, 25/50/10 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kentucky | Yes, 25/50/10 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Louisiana | Yes, 15/30/25 | No | No | No |
| Maine (3) | Yes, 50/100/25 | No | No | Yes |
| Maryland (4) | Yes, 20/40/15 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Massachusetts | Yes, 20/40/5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan | Yes, 20/40/10 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Minnesota | Yes, 30/60/10 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mississippi | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | No |
| Missouri | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | Yes |
| Montana | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | No |
| Nebraska | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | No |
| Nevada | Yes, 15/30/10 | No | No | No |
| New Hampshire | No, 25/50/25 | No | No | Yes |
| New Jersey (5) | Yes, 15/30/5 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New Mexico | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | No |
| New York (6) | Yes, 25/50/10 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| North Carolina | Yes, 30/60/25 | No | No | Yes |
| North Dakota | Yes, 25/50/25 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ohio | Yes, 12.5/25/7.5 | No | No | No |
| Oklahoma | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | No |
| Oregon | Yes, 25/50/10 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes, 15/30/5 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rhode Island (2) | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | Yes |
| South Carolina | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | Yes |
| South Dakota | Yes, 25/50/25 | No | No | Yes |
| Tennessee (2) | Yes, 25/50/15 | No | No | No |
| Texas | Yes, 25/50/25 |
No | No | No |
| Utah (2) | Yes, 25/65/15 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Vermont | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | No |
| Virginia | Yes, 25/50/20 | No | No | Yes |
| Washington | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | No |
| Washington D.C. | Yes, 25/50/10 | No | No | Yes |
| West Virginia | Yes, 20/40/10 | No | No | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Yes, 50/100/55 | No | No | Yes |
| Wyoming | Yes, 25/50/20 | No | No | No |
1) Low-cost policy limits for drivers in the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan are 10/20/3.
(2) Instead of policy limits, policyholders can satisfy the requirement with a single combined policy. Amounts vary by state.
(3) In addition, policyholders must carry at least $1,000 for medical payments.
(4) PIP may be waived for the policyholder but it is compulsory for passengers.
(5) Basic policy (optional) limits are 10/10/5. UM/UIM coverage is not available under a basic policy but UIM is required under a standard policy.
(6) In addition, policyholders must have 50/100 for wrongful death coverage.
One final note on state minimum auto insurance requirements: Just because a state has low minimum insurance requirements that does not mean insurance rates in that state will be lower than states with higher minimum insurance requirements. In fact, the opposite is usually true. States have low minimum insurance requirements because insurance rates in that state are so high. If Florida had higher minimum insurance requirements insurance would likely be unaffordable for many people.
