How Much Liability Limits Coverage Do You Need?

Liability Limits Coverage

Every state except New Hampshire, Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida requires full liability coverage. While New Hampshire and Virginia have no auto insurance requirements whatsoever, New Jersey and Florida only require property damage coverage and not bodily injury coverage. However, you’ll probably want more liability coverage than the minimum coverage your state mandates.

Limits

Across the United States, the average liability limits total $90,000 on average, with limits of around $18,000 for property damage, $26,000 for bodily injury per person, and $52,000 per accident. But remember, that’s an average; see your state’s exact required limits below.

What It Covers

Bodily injuries: Bodily injury covers any injuries or deaths you caused to another party in a car accident.
Property damage: Property damage coverage will reimburse the other party for car repairs and other property damages you caused in at-fault accidents.

What It Doesn’t Cover

Liability coverage doesn’t insure your injuries, deaths, or property damage for at-fault accidents. For these, you would need collision coverage and medical payments coverage, or personal injury protection (PIP). Liability coverage also doesn’t cover damages to your car from events other than collisions — like auto theft or vandalism, which requires comprehensive coverage.

Uninsured motorist coverage — not liability coverage — would cover your damages and injuries if someone with no insurance or insufficient insurance hits your automobile.

How It Works

Imagine hitting another car accidentally. If the passengers in the other car have injuries or property damage, your liability coverage would cover these costs up to the limit you’ve selected. Liability coverage does not include an insurance deductible, so once you file a claim and it’s approved, your insurance provider will begin liability payouts. However, if the bodily injuries or property damages are over the limit on your policy, you’d be responsible for paying the additional costs.

Do You Need It?

You need property damage coverage in every state except New Hampshire and Virginia. Bodily injury coverage is required in every state except New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida, and New Jersey. How much is required by law?

State Requirements

This table shows the minimum liability limits for each state, broken down by bodily injury and property damage limits.

State	Bodily injury per person minimum limit	Bodily injury per accident minimum limit	Property damage minimum limit	Total liability minimum limit
Alabama	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Alaska	$50,000	$100,000	$25,000	$175,000
Arizona	$25,000	$50,000	$15,000	$90,000
Arkansas	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
California	$15,000	$30,000	$5,000	$50,000
Colorado	$25,000	$50,000	$15,000	$90,000
Connecticut	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Delaware	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
D.C.	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
Florida	Not required	Not required	$10,000	$10,000
Georgia	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Hawaii	$20,000	$40,000	$10,000	$70,000
Idaho	$25,000	$50,000	$15,000	$90,000
Illinois	$25,000	$50,000	$20,000	$95,000
Indiana	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Iowa	$20,000	$40,000	$15,000	$75,000
Kansas	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Kentucky	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Louisiana	$15,000	$30,000	$25,000	$70,000
Maine	$50,000	$100,000	$25,000	$175,000
Maryland	$30,000	$60,000	$15,000	$105,000
Massachusetts	$20,000	$40,000	$5,000	$65,000
Michigan	$50,000	$100,000	$1 million within MI $10,000 outside MI	$150,000
Minnesota	$30,000	$60,000	$10,000	$100,000
Mississippi	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Missouri	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Montana	$25,000	$50,000	$20,000	$95,000
Nebraska	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Nevada	$25,000	$50,000	$20,000	$95,000
New Hampshire	Not required	Not required	Not required	$0
New Jersey	Not required	Not required	$5,000	$5,000
New Mexico	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
New York	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
North Carolina	$30,000	$60,000	$25,000	$115,000
North Dakota	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Ohio	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Oklahoma	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Oregon	$25,000	$50,000	$20,000	$95,000
Pennsylvania	$15,000	$30,000	$5,000	$50,000
Rhode Island	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
South Carolina	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
South Dakota	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Tennessee	$25,000	$50,000	$15,000	$90,000
Texas	$30,000	$60,000	$25,000	$115,000
Utah	$25,000	$65,000	$15,000	$105,000
Vermont	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
Virginia	Not required if you pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee	Not required if you pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee	Not required if you pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee	$0
Washington	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
West Virginia	$25,000	$50,000	$25,000	$100,000
Wisconsin	$25,000	$50,000	$10,000	$85,000
Wyoming	$25,000	$50,000	$20,000	$95,000

Costs

Liability insurance costs an average of $650.35 per year, but the exact cost of liability insurance varies depending on the state in which you reside.

State	Average annual cost of liability coverage in 2019
Alabama	$527
Alaska	$585
Arizona	$663
Arkansas	$484
California	$628
Colorado	$705
Connecticut	$799
D.C.	$898
Delaware	$819
Florida	$997
Georgia	$830
Hawaii	$479
Idaho	$434
Illinois	$521
Indiana	$445
Iowa	$350
Kansas	$426
Kentucky	$610
Louisiana	$1,024
Maine	$375
Maryland	$749
Massachusetts	$665
Michigan	$979
Minnesota	$502
Mississippi	$544
Missouri	$528
Montana	$438
Nebraska	$432
Nevada	$926
New Hampshire	$443
New Jersey	$958
New Mexico	$584
New York	$932
North Carolina	$392
North Dakota	$312
Ohio	$448
Oklahoma	$505
Oregon	$685
Pennsylvania	$549
Rhode Island	$918
South Carolina	$715
South Dakota	$337
Tennessee	$479
Texas	$650
Utah	$615
Vermont	$374
Virginia	$492
Washington	$705
West Virginia	$515
Wisconsin	$421
Wyoming	$356¹

How Much Car Insurance Coverage Do You Need?

We recommend these limits for car insurance coverage beyond the state requirements, if there’s room in your budget.

Coverage type	Recommended limit
Bodily injury	$500,000
Collision	Actual market value of car
Comprehensive	Actual market value of car
Personal injury protection	Equal to bodily injury liability
Property damage	$500,000
Uninsured motorist	Equal to bodily injury liability

You can also purchase personal umbrella insurance, which is extra insurance that extends the limits of your coverage. For example, if you’ve reached your bodily injury liability limit, your personal umbrella policy could increase your coverage.²

How Limits Affect Rates

The higher your limits, the more expensive your car insurance costs. One way to save money is to lower your limits. However, any personal injury or property damage costs above your limit will come out of your pocket. So if you pay more now for auto liability coverage, you may end up paying a lot less later.

Questions to Ask When Buying Auto Liability Insurance

Whether you’re working with an agent or a broker, be sure to ask these questions while obtaining a car insurance quote:

What is the minimum amount of liability coverage required by law?
Who pays for the damage if the accident isn’t my fault?
What are the limits?
What’s covered?
Who does it apply to?
Is there a step-down clause?
When does my coverage start and end?
Is it a good idea to bundle my liability coverage with my homeowners insurance to save money?
What other coverage options should I consider?
Will all of my medical expenses be covered?

Liability Insurance for Non-Owners

If you need borrowed car coverage, consider non-owner car insurance. You should get non-owner car insurance if you borrow the same car often or drive it long distances.

Non-owner car insurance includes bodily injury and property damage liability coverage if you have an at-fault accident, and it’ll kick in when the owner has reached their policy’s liability limits. Keep in mind that non-owner car insurance includes liability coverage only, meaning the other party’s expenses are covered, so it won’t apply to your own damages or injuries in an at-fault accident. That would require medical payments insurance or personal injury protection.

For more information on liability limits coverage, read our full guide to auto insurance coverages or read our auto insurance FAQs.

FAQs

Here we answer the questions we most often receive about liability limits coverage.

What does it mean if coverage limits are $25,000/$50,000?

If your coverage limits are $25,000/$50,000, it means you have a bodily injury liability limit per person of $25,000 and a bodily injury liability limit per accident of $50,000. In other words, if you have an at-fault accident, your car insurance will pay for the other party’s bodily injuries up to $25,000 per person or up to $50,000 per accident.

What should my liability limits be?

Your liability limits should be $500,000 for each component—bodily injury and property damage. However, not everyone can afford this much coverage, so get as much coverage as you can afford to pay for in premiums.

What are coverage limits for insurance?

Coverage limits for insurance are the maximum amount your insurance company will pay if you have a covered claim.

What if my car is totaled and I only have liability?

If your car is totaled and you only have liability coverage, then you will be responsible for paying out of pocket to replace your vehicle. Because you lack comprehensive or collision coverage, your insurance company won’t reimburse you for your car’s actual market value, as liability coverage only pays for property damages for third parties in accidents you cause.

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