Auto Insurance Requirements in Minnesota
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The State of Minnesota requires motor vehicle owners to carry liability insurance as well as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
In addition, all owners must carry no-fault insurance (personal injury protection). The respective minimums for each are $30,000/$60,000/$10,000 for liability, $25,000/$50,000 each for uninsured and underinsured, and $40,000 for personal injury protection (PIP).
Contents
If you're a Minnesotan vehicle owner, you must carry proof of insurance with you at all times in case you're pulled over by a police officer or involved in an accident. Proof of insurance includes your insurance ID card or the declarations page of your policy.
If, for some reason, you don't have it with you in your car, you are required to produce proof after the citation, no later than the date and time specified for your first court appearance. You can mail a copy of your insurance ID card or declarations page or a written statement from your insurer with your policy info to the court administrator of the district where the accident happened.
Minnesota required car insurance coverage
Required min. limits | |
|---|---|
|
Bodily injury (BI) | $30,000 per person/$60,000 per accident |
| Property damage (PD) | $10,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist BI (UMBI/UIMBI) | $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident for each |
| Personal injury protection | $40,000 per accident ($20,000 medical, $20,000 nonmedical) |
Minnesota car insurance minimum requirements
As a Minnesota resident, you must carry bodily injury, property damage, PIP, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage when you drive. Each coverage type comes with an amount that your insurer will cover.
Here are the mandatory minimum amounts, or limits:
Bodily injury (BI): BI covers the medical expenses for the people in the other car when you cause an accident. You must be covered for a minimum of $30,000 per injured person and $60,000 per accident (if two or more people are injured). Note that BI only kicks in when you cause the accident, and it also pays for your legal fees if the other party decides to sue you. It does not cover your nor your passengers' medical costs (that is PIP's job — see below). Higher limits are available and vary by insurer.
Property damage (PD): PD must cover as much as $10,000 worth of damage to other people's property in each accident you cause. This may include footing the bill for the other driver's car repairs or any collateral public property damage, such as to a utility pole or someone's house or business that you run into in the same crash. Higher limits are available, which vary by insurer.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI): UMBI needs to cover up to $25,000 for one injured person and $50,000 for two or more people in your car if an uninsured driver causes an accident you're involved in. A car is considered uninsured if it lacks any one — or all — of the required auto insurance coverages in Minnesota. Under such circumstances, your own insurer pays for your medical expenses.
Note that MN does not allow you to collect UMBI from multiple policies (for example, the coverage of the car you were sitting in and your own policy). If you happen to be in someone else's car during the accident, you have access to their insurance policy or yours, whichever has higher UMBI limits. You may want to buy higher limits, but your UMBI may never be higher than your BI limits.
Underinsured motorist bodily injury (UIMBI): Minimum UIMBI coverages are $25,000 for one injured person and $50,000 for two or more people in your car if an underinsured driver is at fault for the accident. A car is considered underinsured when it has all the coverages, but the limits are not enough to compensate you for all of your expenses. Similar to UMBI, you may not file a claim with more than one policy's UIMBI coverage, even if they are all available to you. You are, however, entitled to coverage by the policy that has the highest UIMBI limits. Your UIMBI limits may never be higher than your BI limits if you choose to buy more protection.
No-fault/personal injury protection (PIP) coverage in Minnesota
Because Minnesota is a no-fault state, PIP is also a required part of your auto insurance policy. This means your insurer will pay for your (and your passengers') medical expenses and lost income resulting from injuries sustained in a car accident. Minnesota's personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays up to a total of $40,000 per accident.
There are two types of expenses covered within this limit: $20,000 for medical and the other half for non-=medical benefits (or work loss benefits).
Your nonmedical benefits include the following:
- Disability and income loss benefit: In the event you are disabled or forced to stop working due to injuries from a car crash, Minnesota's PIP compensates you for 85% of your lost present and future income, up to $500 a week, until the limit is reached (about 40 consecutive weeks). If you were receiving some form of unemployment benefit that you will lose because you are unable to work, the same benefit applies.
- Replacement services benefit: When you are receiving a disability benefit, you may also claim a maximum of $200 a week for replacing household services you're responsible for in MN. For example, this can pay for hiring someone to take care of your family for you if you're unable to because of injuries sustained in the car crash.
- Funeral benefit: When someone covered under your policy dies from injuries as a result of a car accident, your insurer must provide as much as $5,000 for the funeral and burial expenses.
- Survivors benefits: If a covered driver passes away due to injuries from the car crash, and there are legal dependents who rely on the income or care provided by the deceased person, the dependents may make claims under survivors benefits. Specifically, they are entitled to a maximum of $500 per week of income loss (income that would have been made by the deceased) and up to $200 per week of replacement services.
Cheapest companies in Minnesota for minimum liability
Your right to sue
In exchange for no-fault protections and benefits, your right to sue the other driver is limited in Minnesota. However, there are circumstances in which you would be exempt from this restriction.
Sue for economic loss: If your economic loss (medical bills) is not fully covered by your PIP or MN health insurance, you have the right to sue the at-fault driver for the uncovered costs (which will be paid by their BI coverage).
Sue for noneconomic loss: To claim noneconomic loss (compensation for pain and suffering), Minnesota has several thresholds by which the court will determine whether or not you have a case. You must be able to prove either of the following:
- The medical expenses from the accident must exceed $4,000, even if it is fully covered, including the value of free medical care by a relative or member of the injured party's household.
- You've suffered permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, the inability to do most of your daily activities for more than 60 days or death (in which case your family could sue).
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