Minimum car insurance requirements in New Hampshire

If you were just hit and you're trying to figure out whether the other driver was even insured, New Hampshire is a frustrating place to ask. It's the one state that doesn't make most drivers carry auto insurance at all.¹ That single fact changes how a crash claim works here, so it's worth knowing exactly what the law does and doesn't require.

New Hampshire requires responsibility, not a policy

New Hampshire runs on a financial responsibility law rather than a compulsory insurance law.² The state doesn't tell most drivers "buy insurance." It tells them "be able to pay for the harm you cause." You can satisfy that in two ways. The common one is buying an auto policy. The other is depositing money or securities with the state treasurer in the amount the law would require for a liability policy, which RSA 264:22 treats as equivalent proof.³ Almost nobody uses the deposit route, because tying up that much cash costs far more than a premium.

Because coverage is optional, most drivers don't even have to show proof of insurance to register a vehicle, unless the DMV has already placed them under a financial responsibility order.¹ So a New Hampshire driver can legally be on the road with no insurance and no deposit, right up until they cause a crash. That's the risk every other driver here shares.

The minimum limits if you buy a policy

Choosing not to insure is legal. Buying a policy that skimps below the state floor is not. If you carry auto insurance in New Hampshire, RSA 264:20 sets the minimum liability limits at $25,000 for bodily injury or death to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury or death to two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage.⁴ Agents write that as 25/50/25. These are also the exact numbers you have to prove if the state ever orders you to carry coverage after a crash or conviction.

Two coverages the state builds into every policy

New Hampshire doesn't stop at liability. Once you buy a policy, two more coverages come with it by default.

The first is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. RSA 264:15 requires your insurer to include UM/UIM in an amount equal to the liability limits you chose.⁵ In a state where the driver who hit you might carry nothing, this is the coverage that actually pays. You can reject it, but only in writing, and that rejection is broad: under the statute it applies to every insured person and every vehicle on the policy, and it stays in effect through renewals until you ask for the coverage back in writing.⁵ Think hard before signing that waiver here.

The second is medical payments coverage. Every private passenger auto policy issued or renewed in New Hampshire must include at least $1,000 per person in MedPay, and it pays reasonable medical costs incurred within three years of the crash no matter who was at fault (RSA 264:16).⁶ Those benefits are non-subrogable under RSA 264:17, which means your own insurer can't reach into your settlement to take the money back.⁷ The $1,000 minimum is genuinely low, so many drivers buy more.

When New Hampshire actually forces you to carry insurance

The "optional" part ends the moment you get into trouble on the road. The DMV's Financial Responsibility unit can order you to buy insurance, keep it, and file proof of it with the state on an SR-22 certificate.¹ That order usually follows a DWI conviction, an at-fault accident you caused while uninsured, or convictions for offenses like leaving the scene or repeat reckless driving. The underlying statute makes the driver give and then maintain proof of financial responsibility going forward (RSA 264:3).⁸ The requirement runs for three years, and the DMV may waive it only after three years have passed from the accident, conviction, or administrative action that triggered it (RSA 264:7).⁹ Drive uninsured, cause a crash, and you can lose your license until you both cover the damage and file that proof.

Why the state minimum is rarely enough

Treat 25/50/25 as a legal minimum and assume it won't be enough for a serious injury. New Hampshire is an at-fault (tort) state, so the driver who caused the crash, and that driver's insurer, are responsible for the damage. It's also a modified comparative negligence state under RSA 507:7-d: you can recover only if you were 50 percent or less at fault, and your compensation drops by your own share of the blame.¹⁰

What makes low limits especially dangerous here is that New Hampshire puts no cap on your damages in an ordinary crash case. The state's old cap on noneconomic damages was struck down as unconstitutional in Carson v. Maurer, 120 N.H. 925 (1980), and never replaced, and punitive damages are barred by RSA 507:16 unless a specific statute allows them.¹¹ The practical effect is that the money to make you whole has to come from real coverage, usually the at-fault driver's liability policy plus your own UM/UIM. One emergency room visit and a few weeks out of work can pass $25,000 fast. If your car itself lost resale value in the wreck, that's a separate claim; see our page on diminished value in New Hampshire.

What this means after a crash

You have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for injuries or property damage in New Hampshire (RSA 508:4, I).¹² That sounds like plenty, and it goes quickly once medical treatment and insurance back-and-forth start.

A few things are worth doing early. Get the official crash report, which you'll need to identify the other driver and their coverage; our New Hampshire crash report guide walks through how. Find out whether the at-fault driver carried insurance at all, because in this state that answer isn't a given. Don't sign any release from an insurer before reading the uninsured motorist warning it's required to include. And if you were hurt or the other driver was uninsured, talk to a lawyer who handles New Hampshire crashes; you can find an attorney here.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, Insurance Requirements / SR-22. https://www.dmv.nh.gov/tickets-accidents-or-restorations/insurance-requirements-sr-22

2. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 264, Accidents and Financial Responsibility. https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xxi/264/264-mrg.htm

3. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:22, Deposit of Money or Securities. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-22.htm

4. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:20, Amount of Proof of Financial Responsibility. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-20.htm

5. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:15, Uninsured or Hit-and-Run Motor Vehicle Coverage. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-15.htm

6. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:16, Medical Payments Coverage. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-16.htm

7. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:17. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-17.htm

8. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:3. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-3.htm

9. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:7. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-7.htm

10. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 507:7-d, Comparative Negligence. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507/507-7-d.htm

11. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 507:16; Carson v. Maurer, 120 N.H. 925 (1980). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507/507-16.htm

12. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:4, I. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/508/508-4.htm