Is car insurance required in every state?

Almost. Every state except New Hampshire requires minimum liability insurance to drive legally. New Hampshire doesn't require a policy, but it still holds you financially responsible for the damage you cause in an at-fault crash. Virginia was the other exception until July 1, 2024, when the state eliminated its uninsured motor vehicle fee.

How much car insurance am I required to carry?

It depends on your state. Minimums are written as three numbers, like 25/50/25, covering bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. Some states add PIP, UM/UIM or medical payments coverage on top. Check your state's exact limits, and remember they are a floor, not a recommendation.

What is PIP and do I have to carry it?

Personal injury protection pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages after a crash, regardless of fault. About a dozen no-fault states require it, including Florida, Michigan, New York and New Jersey. Everywhere else it is either optional or unavailable, and medical payments coverage fills a similar role.

Do I need car insurance if I don't own a car?

If you drive borrowed or rented cars regularly, a non-owner policy gives you liability coverage that follows you instead of a vehicle. It's also the usual way to satisfy an SR-22 requirement when you don't own a car.

Do I need to keep insurance on a car in storage?

If the car stays registered, most states require continuous coverage, and canceling creates a lapse that raises your future rates. A better option is dropping to comprehensive-only coverage while it's parked, which keeps the car protected against theft and weather and keeps your record clean. Some states also let you file a planned non-operation status with the DMV and surrender your plates.

What proof of insurance do I need to carry while driving?

Your insurance ID card, physical or digital depending on your state, plus your driver's license and your registration.

Car Insurance Minimum Requirements: What Every Driver Needs to Drive Legally

Key takeaways

Every state except New Hampshire requires a minimum amount of car insurance to drive legally.

Liability insurance pays for the harm you cause other people, not for your injuries or your car. Protecting yourself means adding coverage beyond the state minimum, most commonly comprehensive and collision.

In no-fault states you also have to carry personal injury protection (PIP), which pays your own medical bills regardless of who caused the crash.

In every state but New Hampshire you need car insurance to drive legally. Most states make you carry at least a minimum amount of liability insurance, which pays for the injuries and property damage you cause to other people, and a handful require additional coverage on top of that.

Jerry has helped 1,192,980 drivers compare car insurance from top-rated carriers, all without leaving the Jerry app.

Below, we walk through what the law actually requires, where the exceptions are, and why the legal minimum is usually not enough to be fully protected.

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What car insurance is required?

Almost every state requires a minimum amount of liability insurance, which pays for injuries and property damage you cause in an accident. It comes in two parts.

Bodily injury liability (BI). Covers medical bills, lost wages, and legal costs for anyone you injure in an accident you caused.
Property damage liability (PD). Covers damage you cause to other vehicles, buildings, fences, and anything else that is not yours.

Liability insurance limits are written as three numbers, like 25/50/25. That means $25,000 of bodily injury coverage for one person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage. Your state’s required limits may be higher or lower.

Many states require more than liability insurance. About a dozen no-fault states require personal injury protection (PIP), which pays your own medical bills and lost wages no matter who caused the crash. Roughly 20 states plus Washington, D.C. require uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, which protects you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough to cover the damage they cause. A few states also require medical payments coverage.

Here you can see what your state’s minimum car insurance requirements are.

Key takeaway: Nearly every state requires liability insurance, covering injuries and property damage you cause. It pays for other people’s injuries and damages if you cause an accident, but not you or your car. Many states also require PIP, UM/UIM or medical payments coverage.

How Jerry helps you meet your state’s requirements

Jerry lets you compare quotes and buy your policy in one app, and every quote you see through Jerry already meets your state’s minimum, so you don’t have to keep track of it yourself. Here is what you can do with Jerry.

Compare multiple insurers side-by-side. See prices and coverage from top carriers in one place. Jerry pulls them together in minutes, saving you hours of manual research.
Buy entirely online. Get covered without the phone calls or the spam. Jerry never sells your data and protects it with bank-level security.
Get help when you want it. Not sure whether you need full coverage, or how much liability to carry? Jerry’s licensed agents are a quick chat or call away, 7 days a week.
Stay covered over time. Jerry watches your rate, tells you when it is worth reshopping and reminds you about renewals so your coverage doesn’t lapse.

Let Jerry do the legwork. Get competitive quotes in minutes.

What happens if you drive without insurance?

Driving uninsured can come with some serious consequences, including:

💵 Fines and fees that climb higher with each repeat offense.
🚫 A suspended license and registration, plus reinstatement fees to get them back.
📋 An SR-22 filing. Many states require one after an uninsured driving citation, which flags you as high-risk for years.
⚖️ Personal liability. Cause a crash with no coverage and the other party can come after your savings, wages and assets.
📈 Higher premiums. A coverage lapse tells every insurer you quote with afterward that you are a bigger risk and they will factor that into the price.

Key takeaway: One at-fault crash without insurance can cost you thousands out of pocket. Meanwhile, a minimum liability policy starts at $77 a month, according to Jerry’s data. Comparing quotes is the fastest way to find out how little getting legal actually costs.

Consider getting coverage above your state’s minimums

Meeting your state’s minimum and actually being financially protected are two different things. State minimums typically aren’t high enough to cover the full cost of an at-fault accident, and liability coverage pays nothing toward your own injuries or car repair costs.

Here is the coverage Jerry recommends drivers to consider.

Liability of 100/300/100. That means $100,000 for one person’s injuries, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 for property damage. It is well above every state minimum and gives you real room if you cause a serious crash.
UM/UIM coverage. This covers you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. Get limits that match your liability insurance.
Comprehensive and collision if you could not easily pay to replace your car. These cover damage to your vehicle from a crash, theft or weather. Your lender will require both if you have a loan or lease.

Key takeaway: Consider liability limits of 100/300/100 with matching UM/UIM limits, plus comprehensive and collision coverage, if you can’t easily afford to fix or replace your car.

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FAQ

Is car insurance required in every state?

Almost. Every state except New Hampshire requires minimum liability insurance to drive legally. New Hampshire doesn’t require a policy, but it still holds you financially responsible for the damage you cause in an at-fault crash. Virginia was the other exception until July 1, 2024, when the state eliminated its uninsured motor vehicle fee.
How much car insurance am I required to carry?

It depends on your state. Minimums are written as three numbers, like 25/50/25, covering bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. Some states add PIP, UM/UIM or medical payments coverage on top. Check your state’s exact limits, and remember they are a floor, not a recommendation.
What is PIP and do I have to carry it?

Personal injury protection pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages after a crash, regardless of fault. About a dozen no-fault states require it, including Florida, Michigan, New York and New Jersey. Everywhere else it is either optional or unavailable, and medical payments coverage fills a similar role.
Do I need car insurance if I don’t own a car?

If you drive borrowed or rented cars regularly, a non-owner policy gives you liability coverage that follows you instead of a vehicle. It’s also the usual way to satisfy an SR-22 requirement when you don’t own a car.
Do I need to keep insurance on a car in storage?

If the car stays registered, most states require continuous coverage, and canceling creates a lapse that raises your future rates. A better option is dropping to comprehensive-only coverage while it’s parked, which keeps the car protected against theft and weather and keeps your record clean. Some states also let you file a planned non-operation status with the DMV and surrender your plates.
What proof of insurance do I need to carry while driving?

Your insurance ID card, physical or digital depending on your state, plus your driver’s license and your registration.

Methodology

Statistics, rates and conclusions in this article are based on Jerry’s proprietary database of real-world car insurance quotes, not third-party models or estimates. As a licensed insurance broker in all 50 states, Jerry has firsthand visibility into how quotes are generated and validated, and all data is aggregated and anonymized to protect privacy.

With millions of quotes delivered each year (often multiple offers per driver), our datasets are large enough to avoid bias toward any one region, insurer or driver type. Unless otherwise indicated, quotes shown are from drivers with clean records in the last 12 months. Quotes involving accidents, violations or credit use the last 18 months to ensure a reliable sample.

Editorial integrity

We’re all about balanced, unbiased and helpful content at Jerry. None of our articles are sponsored by advertisers or insurance companies, so you can trust the information we provide. As a comparison platform that works with 100+ insurers, Jerry has no reason to favor one insurer over another. Our job is to help you find the best fit for your situation.

Read Jerry’s car insurance data methodology to learn more about how we collect, verify and share real-world insurance data.

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Our experts

Ben Moore

Ben Moore is a writer and editor at Jerry and an auto insurance expert. He previously worked as a writer, editor and content strategist on NerdWallet’s auto insurance team for five years. His work has been published in The Associated Press, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, MarketWatch, Nasdaq and Yahoo News. He also served as a NerdWallet spokesperson, with appearances on local broadcast television and quotes in Martha Stewart and Real Simple magazine.

Ben has an extensive background in digital marketing, working on affiliate and programmatic advertising campaigns for brands like Cabela’s, H&R Block and Sears. He holds a bachelors degree in marketing from Olivet Nazarene University.