Mandatory Auto Insurance Requirements By State

Every state in the country has passed laws requiring that drivers provide auto insurance for their vehicles. These mandatory auto insurance laws are in place to protect people financially in the case of an auto accident. All states also have stiff penalties and fines associated with failure to comply with the auto insurance regulations.

Mandatory auto insurance in most states is limited to liability insurance, meaning you don’t have to have “full coverage” or a comprehensive policy to meet the mandatory requirements, just personal injury and property damage liability coverage. Most states do require some form of uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage as well.

The amount of insurance coverage that a liability policy provides is typically expressed in the form of a three-part ratio like 20/40/10. The first two numbers deal with the amount of personal injury insurance coverage and the third with property damage coverage. The numbers represent thousands of dollars. The above ratio would indicate personal injury insurance coverage up to a total of forty thousand dollars, with a maximum of twenty thousand dollars per person. Property damage is covered up to ten thousand dollars in insurance coverage.

The ratio discussed here is typical of the mandatory requirements of most states. In many cases these requirements are very unrealistic as the actual damages incurred in an auto accident can often exceed the minimums set by the laws. It is very easy for a serious accident to result in injuries that cost far more than twenty thousand dollars for one person’s medical expenses, and it easily costs more than ten thousand dollars to replace a vehicle that is a total loss due to an auto accident. It is therefore a good idea to purchase insurance at higher amounts than what your state requires.

Following is a listing of the liability amounts required by each state.

• Alabama: 20/40/10
• Alaska: 50/100/25 (Alaska’s requirements are the highest in the nation)
• Arizona: 15/30/10
• Arkansas: 25/50/15
• California: 15/30/5
• Colorado: 25/50/15
• Connecticut: 20/40/10
• Delaware: 15/30/10
• D.C.: 25/50/10
• Florida: 10/20/10
• Georgia: 22/50/25
• Hawaii: 15/35/10
• Idaho: 25/50/15
• Illinois: 20/40/15
• Indiana: 25/50/10
• Iowa: 20/40/15
• Kansas: 25/50/10
• Kentucky: 25/50/10
• Louisiana: 10/20/10
• Maine: 20/40/10
• Maryland: 20/40/10
• Massachusetts: 20/40/8
• Michigan: 20/40/10
• Minnesota: 30/60/10
• Mississippi: 10/20/5
• Missouri: 25/50/10
• Montana: 25/50/10
• Nebraska: 25/50/25
• Nevada: 15/30/10
• New Hampshire: 25/50/25
• New Jersey: 15/30/5
• New Mexico: 25/50/10
• New York: 25/50/10
• North Carolina: 30/60/25
• North Dakota: 25/50/25
• Ohio: 12.5/25/7.5
• Oklahoma: 10/20/10
• Oregon: 25/50/10
• Pennsylvania: 15/30/5
• Rhode Island: 25/50/25
• South Carolina: 15/30/5
• South Dakota: 25/50/25
• Tennessee: 20/50/10
• Texas: 20/40/15
• Utah: 25/50/10
• Vermont: 20/40/10
• Virginia: 25/50/20
• Washington: 25/50/10
• West Virginia: 20/40/10
• Wisconsin: 25/50/10
• Wyoming: 25/50/10

Note that these values are for illustrative purposes only and are subject to change in accordance to state laws.