Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Delaware

Delaware's minimum car insurance law layers three separate requirements onto every registered vehicle: 25/50/10 liability, mandatory PIP, and automatic UM/UIM coverage that only drops if you reject it in writing.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 10, 2026
6 min read

Minimum car insurance requirements in Delaware

Delaware doesn't ask for just one number. Registering a car here means carrying three separate kinds of coverage at once: liability, no-fault medical benefits, and uninsured motorist protection. Skip any piece of that and you can lose your registration and your license on the same visit to the DMV.

The liability floor: 25/50/10

Delaware's financial responsibility law sets the minimum liability limits at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $10,000 for property damage, the coverage most people mean when they say "25/50/10."1 That's what has to be on the policy before a vehicle can be titled or registered in the state, and it's the amount that pays out if you injure someone else or damage their car while driving.

Those numbers haven't moved in recent years, and there's no phased increase currently working through the General Assembly. If you're comparing quotes, 25/50/10 is the legal floor, not a recommendation. A single serious injury claim, an ER visit, an ambulance ride, a few days in a hospital, clears $25,000 fast.

Delaware also won't register a car on an out-of-state policy; coverage has to come from a carrier authorized to write business in the state.2 Drivers have to keep a valid Delaware insurance identification card in the vehicle and produce it on request to a police officer or to anyone else involved in a crash.2

PIP rides on top, no matter who caused the crash

On top of liability, Delaware requires Personal Injury Protection (PIP) on every registered vehicle, regardless of fault.3 The statutory minimum is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident for medical bills and lost wages, plus up to $5,000 for funeral costs, and it covers expenses incurred within 2 years of the crash.3 It pays your own medical bills right away, before anyone argues about who caused the wreck.

The claims-handling side has teeth. Once an insurer gets written notice of a PIP claim, it has to send a claim form within 10 days, then pay or issue a written denial within 30 days of getting the completed proof of loss.4 Miss that window and the insurer owes monthly interest on the overdue amount: 1.5% for the first month it's late, 2% in months two through four, and 2.5% after that.4 PIP doesn't cap what you can recover from the at-fault driver separately; it just gets your bills paid first.

Motorcycles fall under the same statute, with one narrow carve-out: an owner can elect to exclude PIP coverage for a rider hurt while off-highway, but on-road PIP is otherwise mandatory the same as it is for cars.3

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is automatic, unless you say no

Delaware also requires every auto policy to include uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage at the same limits as the liability policy, so a standard 25/50/10 policy carries 25/50 in UM/UIM by default.5 You don't have to buy it separately. What you can do is reject it, but only in writing, on a form the insurer supplies, and that rejection carries forward through renewals until you ask in writing to add the coverage back.5 Insurers are also required to offer enhanced UIM limits up to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, capped at whatever your own bodily injury liability limit is.5

Given how many drivers on the road are running the state minimum or nothing at all, this is the piece of the policy that actually protects you when the other driver can't cover what they broke.

Driving without it gets expensive fast

Delaware runs vehicle registrations through an electronic insurance verification system that flags coverage gaps automatically, not just at renewal.6 If a vehicle turns up uninsured, the Division of Motor Vehicles suspends the registration and starts charging a penalty: $100 for the first 30 days of the lapse, then $5 for every additional day it continues.6 Getting the registration back requires proof of insurance and a $50 reinstatement fee.6

Driving on the road while uninsured is a separate offense from the registration lapse. A first conviction brings a fine of $1,500 to $2,000 and a 6-month suspension of driving privileges; a second offense within 3 years jumps to $3,000 to $4,000, with another 6-month suspension.3 Courts can reduce the minimum fine if you show you bought a policy between the citation and sentencing, but the suspension still runs.3

Why the minimums leave a gap

Delaware is an at-fault state, and it follows a modified comparative negligence rule: you can still recover damages as long as you're not more at fault than the other driver, but whatever percentage of fault is assigned to you comes off the top of your award.7 There's no statutory cap on compensatory or punitive damages in an ordinary car accident case. The one damages cap on Delaware's books, at 18 Del. C. § 6855, applies only to medical negligence claims and has nothing to do with traffic collisions.8 That combination, real exposure with no ceiling, is why a $25,000 liability policy protects the driver who caused the crash from almost nothing if the injuries are serious, and why the UIM boost up to 100/300 is worth asking for rather than waiving.

After the crash, the deadlines are short

Coverage only matters if you can still use it. Delaware gives you 2 years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, and a separate 2-year window for property damage claims like vehicle repairs.9 If the injured person was under 18 at the time, that clock doesn't run until the disability of infancy is lifted.10 PIP has its own, shorter internal deadline: expenses have to be incurred within 2 years of the accident to qualify for reimbursement, which is a different clock than the lawsuit deadline.3

You'll likely need the official crash report to sort out coverage and fault. Delaware State Police handles those requests by mail only.11 Our Delaware crash report guide covers how to get one. If the crash left your car damaged beyond the repair estimate, see our Delaware diminished value guide for how that claim works against the liability or UIM carrier.

None of this is a substitute for someone looking at your specific policy and your specific crash. If the numbers above don't cover what you're actually facing, our legal directory can help you find a Delaware attorney who handles car accident claims.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. 21 Del. C. § 2902(b)(2), Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title21/c029/sc01/index.html

  2. Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Services Registration, Insurance Requirements. https://dmv.de.gov/VehicleServices/registration/index.shtml?dc=ve_reg_insurance

  3. 21 Del. C. § 2118, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title21/c021/sc01/index.html

  4. 21 Del. C. § 2118B, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title21/c021/sc01/index.html

  5. 18 Del. C. § 3902, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title18/c039/index.html

  6. Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, Uninsured Motorist Compliance Program. https://dmv.de.gov/VehicleServices/uninsuredmotorist/

  7. 10 Del. C. § 8132, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c081/index.html

  8. 18 Del. C. § 6855, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title18/c068/sc06/index.html

  9. 10 Del. C. §§ 8119, 8107, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c081/index.html

  10. 10 Del. C. § 8116, Delaware Code Online. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c081/index.html

  11. Delaware State Police, Traffic Operations Section. https://dsp.delaware.gov/traffic-unit/

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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