Liability Coverage
Liability insurance is the foundation of every auto policy and the coverage required by nearly every state. It pays for damages you cause to other people and their property when you are at fault in an accident. It has two components:
- Bodily injury liability — Pays for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and legal defense costs when you injure someone in an accident. Limits are expressed per person and per accident (e.g., 100/300 means $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident).
- Property damage liability — Pays for damage you cause to another person's vehicle, fence, building, or other property. A single accident can easily exceed $50,000 in property damage if multiple vehicles are involved.
State minimum limits are dangerously low. A serious accident can generate medical bills of $200,000 or more. If your liability limits are insufficient, you are personally responsible for the difference — and your assets, wages, and future earnings can be at risk. Most insurance professionals recommend liability limits of at least 100/300/100.
Collision and Comprehensive Coverage
These two coverages protect your own vehicle. Neither is required by state law, but your lender will require both if you have a loan or lease on the vehicle.
Collision Coverage
Pays to repair or replace your vehicle when it collides with another vehicle or object, regardless of fault. If you are not at fault, your insurer pays you and then subrogate (recovers the cost) against the other driver's carrier. Collision coverage is subject to your chosen deductible — $500 and $1,000 are the most common options.
Comprehensive Coverage
Pays for damage to your vehicle from events other than collisions: theft, vandalism, hail, windstorm, fire, flooding, falling objects, and animal strikes. Comprehensive claims are generally not surcharged (they do not increase your premium) because they are not considered at-fault losses. Comprehensive also carries a deductible, which can be set independently from your collision deductible.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage protects you when the at-fault driver has no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage applies when the at-fault driver's liability limits are too low to cover your damages. Despite being mandatory in many states, these coverages are among the most misunderstood parts of an auto policy.
Approximately 12-14% of drivers nationwide are uninsured, with rates exceeding 20% in some states. Even insured drivers often carry only state minimum limits. UM/UIM coverage is your safety net — it fills the gap between what the other driver can pay and what your damages actually cost. Many states require carriers to offer UM/UIM coverage, and some require you to explicitly reject it in writing.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
PIP is mandatory in no-fault states and optional in many others. It pays for your medical expenses, lost wages, and sometimes funeral costs after an accident, regardless of who is at fault. PIP is designed to provide fast payment without waiting for a liability determination.
In no-fault states, PIP is your primary source of medical expense recovery after an accident. Your right to sue the at-fault driver for additional damages is limited to cases involving serious injury (the threshold varies by state). Medical payments coverage (MedPay) is a simpler version of PIP available in fault states — it covers medical expenses only, without the wage loss and other benefits.
State Minimum Requirements
Every state sets its own minimum auto insurance requirements. These minimums are the legal floor — the least amount of coverage you can carry and still legally operate a vehicle. They are not recommendations, and they are almost never adequate for a serious accident.
State minimums vary dramatically. Some states require as little as 15/30/5 in liability coverage. Others require 50/100/25 or more. Some states mandate PIP, UM/UIM, or medical payments coverage on top of liability. A few states allow drivers to self-insure or post a bond instead of purchasing a policy.
The Insurance Professor provides state-specific minimum requirements for every state. Tell us where you live, and we will explain exactly what your state requires — and why carrying more than the minimum is almost always the right financial decision.
Fault vs. No-Fault States
The United States is divided into fault (tort) states and no-fault states. The system your state uses fundamentally changes how accident claims are handled:
- Fault states — The at-fault driver's insurance pays for the other party's damages. The injured party can file a claim against the at-fault driver's liability coverage (third-party claim) or sue the at-fault driver directly. Most states follow the fault system.
- No-fault states — Each driver's own PIP coverage pays for their medical expenses and lost wages, regardless of fault. The right to sue is restricted to cases involving serious injury, death, or damages exceeding a threshold amount. About 12 states and Puerto Rico operate under some form of no-fault system.
- Choice states — A few states allow drivers to choose between fault and no-fault coverage options at the time of purchase.
Understanding which system your state uses is critical because it determines how you recover damages after an accident, which coverages are mandatory, and whether you have the right to sue the at-fault party.