How much car insurance do I need?

How much liability insurance do I need?

To drive your car legally, you need at least the minimum amount of car insurance required in your state. But state-required car insurance levels aren’t generally high enough to cover every expense after an accident. To protect your finances, you’ll likely need more.

For example, almost every state requires you to have bodily injury and property damage liability coverage , which pay for other people’s injuries and property damage if you’re at fault. But while the average cost of a bodily injury liability claim in 2023 was $26,501, according to the most recent data from the Insurance Information Institute, that amount is already higher than the per-person minimum requirement in most states.

If the liability insurance l