North Carolina Auto Insurance Coverage for New Drivers

New drivers who are looking for North Carolina auto insurance coverage need to familiarize themselves with the minimum level of coverage required under state law. All cars registered in the state must have at least this level of coverage in place.

North Carolina Auto Insurance Coverage Requirements

Liability auto insurance coverage is required in NC, and drivers must have at least 30/60/25 coverage in place. These numbers break down to $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage to pay for injuries and damages claimed by one person and $60,000 in coverage to compensate all victims injured in the same accident. Property damage liability coverage of $25,000 or more must also be bought, and this part of the policy pays for damage to other people’s property, including the other driver’s vehicle.

Uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury claims is also required under NC state law. The minimum coverage limits are the same as for third party liability protection. Drivers can choose to buy a policy with a higher coverage limit if they wish, and a policy providing up to $1 million in coverage may be purchased.

Optional Auto Insurance Coverage

Collision and comprehensive coverage is not required under North Carolina state law. Both of these types of coverage protect the car from physical damage. Even though they are optional, a new car owner who took out a loan to pay for his or her vehicle may need to keep both of them in place until the vehicle has been paid off.

How Much Raleigh Auto Insurance Coverage Do I Need?

The exact level of Raleigh auto insurance coverage that a particular driver needs depends on a number of factors. As a general rule, the more assets a driver has to protect, the more car insurance coverage he or she will need to have in place.

Under North Carolina state law, all vehicles registered in the state must have at least the following level of protection in place:

•  $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage to pay for one person’s personal injury claims as a result of an accident
• $60,000 in bodily injury liability insurance to compensate all victims of the same accident, no matter how many people were hurt in the incident
• $25,000 in property damage liability coverage to repair public property and the other driver’s vehicle following an accident

Public property covered under a third party liability insurance policy includes buildings, fences, guard rails, light stands and sign posts. This type of policy does not pay for claims involving personal property owned by the occupants of the other vehicle involved in an accident.

New drivers who have few assets to protect can get away with buying a policy that complies with the state minimum coverage requirements. As a person acquires assets the level of liability coverage that he or she has in place should also increase. At this point, the bodily injury liability portion of the policy should be increased to $100,000/$300,000, and property damage liability insurance should be increased to $100,000 per accident.