Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in New York

New York sets a legal floor for auto coverage: 25/50/10 in liability, a separate 50/100 tier for death claims, $50,000 in no-fault PIP, and mandatory uninsured motorist coverage. Here is every required number with the statute behind it.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 20, 2026
6 min read

If you drive in New York, state law sets the floor for what your auto policy has to cover, and that floor works differently here than in most states. New York is a no-fault state, so your own insurer pays your medical bills first no matter who caused the crash. The state also requires coverage amounts that many drivers assume are higher than they really are. Here is exactly what the law demands in 2026, with the statute or agency source behind each number.

New York City alone logged 6,625 reported crashes in April 2026,1 and 6,773 back in January 2026.2 At that volume, the gap between carrying the legal minimum and carrying enough is not an abstract question.

The liability minimums New York requires

Every registered vehicle in New York needs a liability policy from a company licensed by the state Department of Financial Services (DFS).3 DFS sets the bodily injury and property damage floors, and the Vehicle and Traffic Law adds one piece that most summaries skip.

The bodily injury minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, with $10,000 for property damage in any one crash.3 Most people write this as 25/50/10. What the shorthand hides is a separate, higher requirement for death claims. VTL 311(4) requires $50,000 for the death of one person and $100,000 for the death of two or more people in a single accident.4 So the honest way to state New York's mandatory liability floor is 25/50 for injuries, 50/100 for death, and 10 for property damage.

The $50,000 no-fault requirement

On top of liability, New York requires personal injury protection, the coverage usually called no-fault or PIP, at $50,000 per person.3 This is what pays your own losses after a crash regardless of who was at fault, and it covers you, your passengers, and pedestrians your car hits.

Insurance Law 5102(a) defines that $50,000 of 'basic economic loss' and lays out precisely what it pays: all necessary medical and rehabilitation expenses, with no dollar cap on care as long as the need is established within a year of the accident; lost earnings up to $2,000 per month for as long as three years; and other reasonable expenses up to $25 per day for up to one year.5 You can also buy an extra $25,000 of optional coverage for lost earnings and other expenses once the basic $50,000 runs out.5

Two limits catch people off guard. No-fault does not pay for damage to your own car, which is what collision coverage is for, and it does not pay for pain and suffering. To recover for pain and suffering in New York you have to meet the 'serious injury' threshold in Insurance Law 5102(d), which means stepping outside the no-fault system and bringing a claim against the at-fault driver.5

No-fault also runs on tight deadlines, and missing one can defeat an otherwise valid claim. Under Regulation 68 (11 NYCRR 65), you must give your insurer written notice of the claim within 30 days of the accident, submit medical bills within 45 days of treatment, and file lost-earnings claims within 90 days.6

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

New York also builds in protection for crashes with drivers who carry nothing. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is mandatory, cannot be waived, and has to match the $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury minimum.37

Supplementary underinsured motorist coverage, known as SUM, works differently. Your insurer has to offer it up to your own liability limit, but you can decline it or reduce it in writing.7 SUM is the coverage that steps in when the at-fault driver has some insurance but not enough for your injuries, which is common when that driver bought only the state minimum.

Why the legal minimum is usually not enough

Here is the practical problem. The $10,000 property damage floor has not kept up with what cars cost, and one serious crash involving a newer vehicle can blow through it. The $25,000 bodily injury limit vanishes against a single hospital stay. And since no-fault pays nothing for pain and suffering, a badly injured person has to collect those damages from the at-fault driver's liability policy or from their own SUM coverage. When both are set at the statutory minimum, there may be very little left to recover.

If your car is worth less after being repaired, that is a separate claim from your injury claim. New York's rules for recovering a vehicle's diminished value are covered on their own page.

Penalties for driving without insurance

New York enforces the insurance requirement in two different ways, and drivers often confuse them.

Driving an uninsured vehicle is a court matter under VTL 319. A conviction brings a fine of $150 to $1,500, up to 15 days in jail, or both, plus a $750 civil penalty.8 The DMV can also revoke your license, and restoring a revoked license costs another $750 civil penalty.9

A lapse in coverage is a separate, administrative matter handled by the DMV under VTL 318, with no judge involved. If your insurance lapses and you either surrender your plates or get new coverage within 90 days, you can pay a civil penalty and keep your registration: $8 a day for the first 30 uninsured days, $10 a day for days 31 through 60, and $12 a day for days 61 through 90.10 A full 90-day lapse adds up to $900. Once a lapse passes 90 days, you must surrender your plates, and the DMV suspends your registration and your license for a period equal to the number of uninsured days.10 Reinstating a suspended license carries a $50 termination fee.9

After a crash in New York

A crash in New York is reportable when it causes injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage, and the report goes to the DMV.11 You can find the process and pull the crash report for your New York accident on our dedicated page.

Because the no-fault clock starts the day of the crash, it pays to sort out your coverage right away. If your injuries are serious, or the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, a lawyer who handles New York cases can help you figure out which policies actually owe you money. You can find a New York attorney through our directory.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. thatcarhitme.com, New York Crash Report, April 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/april-2026-report

  2. thatcarhitme.com, New York Crash Report, January 2026. https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/new-york/new-york/january-2026-report

  3. New York State Department of Financial Services, How much auto insurance must I carry? https://www.dfs.ny.gov/faqs/consumer-auto/how-much-auto-insurance-must-i-carry

  4. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 311(4). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/311

  5. New York Insurance Law 5102 (basic economic loss and serious injury definitions). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/5102

  6. New York State Department of Financial Services, No-Fault Regulation 68 FAQ (11 NYCRR 65). https://www.dfs.ny.gov/apps_and_licensing/property_insurers/nofault_faqs_reg68

  7. New York Insurance Law 3420(f). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ISC/3420

  8. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 319. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/319

  9. New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Insurance requirements. https://dmv.ny.gov/insurance/insurance-requirements

  10. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 318. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/318

  11. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 605. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/605

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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