The only (nearly) universally mandated type of car insurance is liability insurance. Other coverages, such as uninsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection (PIP), may be required depending on your state, but they’re generally more “elective” than liability insurance.
In short, liability insurance covers other people’s medical or repair bills if you are held liable for injuring them or damaging their property in an accident, as well as your legal fees if they sue you. However, car insurance liability coverage won’t pay for your medical treatments or car repairs after an at-fault accident.
The cost of your liability insurance policy may depend on the type of vehicle you drive, how often you drive it, where you live, and other individual risk factors. Here’s what you need to know.
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What is liability car insurance?
Liability insurance takes care of other people’s expenses whenever you’re held responsible for a car accident—protecting both yourself and others from major financial losses in the event of a crash. Unlike some other types of auto coverage, liability insurance claims don’t require a deductible. That means your insurer should cover 100% of the costs (up to your coverage limits) after a covered accident.
What does liability car insurance cover?
The primary role of liability car insurance is to cover medical and repair bills for others after an accident you cause—though it may also cover legal costs and other secondary expenses for you in certain cases. Liability car insurance coverage may be split into three separate categories: bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and supplementary payments coverage.
Bodily injury liability
If you injure someone in a car crash, bodily injury liability insurance can take care of the following expenses:
- Medical treatments for other drivers or their passengers
- Prescription drugs
- Lost wages for the people you’ve injured while they are out of work recovering
- Disability payments
- Your legal expenses—such as attorney fees, judgments, and settlements—if you are sued over a bodily injury claim
- Funeral expenses
- Rehabilitation care
- Pain and suffering damages
Property damage liability
Property damage liability insurance steps in to cover costs like these when you crash into someone else’s property:
- Car repairs for others equal to the actual cash value (ACV) of a totaled vehicle
- Repairs to or replacements of other types of property you damage, such as fences, buildings, or personal belongings
- Rental cars for others while they wait for their vehicles to be repaired
- Your legal expenses if you are sued over a property damage claim
Supplementary payments
Bodily injury and property damage liability coverage are the core components of car liability insurance. But your policy may also include supplementary payments coverage to help pay for certain extra expenses you incur after a car wreck. Expenses covered by your supplementary payments insurance may include the following:
- Bail bonds
- Premiums for appeal bonds and release attachment bonds
- Taxes or interest charged in relation to a legal judgment
- Lost wages while you attend hearings or trials at your insurance company’s request
- Any expenses related to emergency first aid for others that aren’t already covered by your bodily injury liability insurance
- Any other reasonable expenses you incur at your insurer’s request
What isn’t covered by liability car insurance?
Since liability car insurance only applies to car accidents where you cause someone else to experience a loss, it won’t provide coverage in incidents where you are the victim. Here are examples of situations and expenses that are either excluded from liability car insurance coverage or are only covered if you purchase additional coverage types:
- Medical treatments for you or your passengers
- Repairs to your vehicle or other property after an accident
- Damage to or the loss of your car because of an unexpected peril, such as fire, hail, theft, or vandalism
- Expenses you incur after you are struck by an uninsured or underinsured driver
- The outstanding loan balance on your car after it is totaled
- The costs of renting a car while you wait for your vehicle to be fixed after a crash
- Tows, jumpstarts, and other roadside assistance services
- Belongings stolen from your vehicle
- Routine repairs and maintenance
- Wear and tear or other types of progressive damage
Understanding liability insurance limits
When you get into a covered accident, your liability insurance provider will only pay out up to your policy’s stated coverage limits. The limits are typically expressed in an A/B/C format:
- A: The maximum amount the insurer will pay for bodily injury to a single person
- B: The total amount of bodily injury liability coverage available for all people injured in an accident.
- C: The maximum amount of property damage coverage you have per accident.
For example, if you had a 25/50/20 policy, you’d be fully covered if you got into an accident that resulted in $25,000 worth of medical costs for a single person. However, if you injured three people in one crash and they racked up a combined $75,000 in hospital bills, you wouldn’t be fully covered, since your policy in this scenario only provides up to $50,000 in total for all people injured in an accident.
In some cases, an auto liability insurance policy may instead come with a single limit that applies to all covered claims. For example, if your car insurance policy documents list a combined single limit of $100,000, then there is a maximum of $100,000 available to cover property repairs and medical bills for all injured people after a car accident you are responsible for.
State minimum liability insurance requirements
Liability car insurance is required by law in every state except for New Hampshire. And even then, drivers in New Hampshire who opt to purchase car insurance must meet minimum liability coverage requirements.
To comply with your state’s laws, you must both maintain liability insurance and make sure your policy meets a certain coverage limit threshold. Check the following table for a rundown of the liability car insurance requirements in each state and the District of Columbia:
Details checked June 11, 2026
How much does liability insurance cost?
The national average cost of liability auto insurance is $736.65 per year as of the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) from 2023. But your premiums may differ based on a variety of different factors, including the following:
- Mileage
- Vehicle characteristics (vehicle age, make, model, safety features, etc.)
- Location
- Personal characteristics (age, sex, marital status, etc.)
- Credit history
- Coverage details
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Liability vs. full coverage car insurance
Who should consider liability car insurance?
All drivers need car insurance liability coverage; it’s almost universally required by law and can help you to avoid devastating out-of-pocket expenses in the event that you’re liable for a collision that injures someone or damages their property. But liability-only car insurance isn’t always recommended, since it can leave you underinsured.
That said, liability-only auto insurance may make sense in some situations, such as the following:
- Liability insurance is the only car insurance coverage type required by law in your state
- Your car isn’t valuable enough to justify purchasing physical damage insurance
- You have enough money saved up to buy a used car out of pocket in case of a total loss
- You have a health insurance plan that can cover your medical bills after a car accident
- You’re on a tight budget and want an insurance policy that meets your state’s requirements at the lowest price possible
Common liability car insurance mistakes to avoid
As you shop for a car insurance policy that includes liability coverage, be mindful of the following common mistakes:
- Assuming liability coverage is all you need: Liability coverage alone may not satisfy the legal requirements in every state. Also, comprehensive and collision insurance are often required to finance or lease a car.
- Buying only minimum coverage: While you may only need to purchase liability insurance with your state’s minimum coverage limits to remain legally compliant, you generally need more coverage to fully protect yourself from significant financial losses in case of an accident.
- Choosing limits solely based on price: A cheap car insurance policy won’t do you much good if it doesn’t provide an adequate amount of coverage.
Liability car insurance at a glance
- Definition: Liability coverage is a type of car insurance that protects you from financial losses if you are held liable for a car accident that injures another person or damages their property.
- Coverage: Liability car insurance can cover medical expenses and property repairs for others, plus legal expenses for you if you are sued after causing an accident. Your policy may also cover some supplementary expenses (think bail bonds, interest on court-ordered damages etc.).
- Exclusions: On its own, a liability auto insurance policy won’t cover repairs to your vehicle or medical bills for you or your passengers. And certain losses and expenses are broadly excluded from auto insurance coverage, such as gradual damage and routine maintenance costs.
- Requirements: Every state except for New Hampshire requires most drivers to maintain liability auto insurance.
- Limits: Your liability policy must meet minimum coverage limit requirements to comply with your state’s laws. The most common minimum limits are $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage per accident, but this varies from state to state.
- Recommendations: Government-required minimum coverage limits are often too low to fully cover the expenses related to a serious car accident. Consider opting for a policy that includes at least $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $300,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident, and $100,000 in property damage coverage per accident.
- Cost: Car liability insurance costs around $60 per month on average—but your premiums will ultimately depend on factors like your personal characteristics, where you live, the car you drive, and how often you use your vehicle.
How to get liability car insurance
To find the best and most affordable car liability insurance policy, compare quotes from three to five different insurance companies. When you compare, make sure you don’t just pay attention to how much each policy costs; consider factors like the amount of coverage each policy provides and whether the insurer has good customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings.
The takeaway
With the exception of New Hampshire, the government requires all drivers to have liability car insurance. Some states require additional coverage.
Liability car insurance will help you to pay for other people’s medical bills, lost wages, and property repairs if you’re at fault. It may even cover your legal defense if you’re sued.
Frequently asked questions
Is liability car insurance required?
Yes, liability car insurance is required by law in every state except for New Hampshire.
Does liability insurance cover my car?
No, your liability insurance won’t cover damage to your car from an accident you are liable for. To receive coverage for your own car repairs, you’ll need collision insurance.
How much liability car insurance should I carry?
You need to carry at least the minimum amount of liability car insurance required by law in your state. However, state-mandated minimum limits are fairly low, so it’s generally recommended that you instead opt for a policy with higher 100/300/100 limits.
Can I drive if I only have a liability car insurance policy?
Whether you are allowed to drive if you only have liability car insurance depends on your state’s laws. For example, some states only require liability coverage, while others must also carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection.