Every driver registered in New York has to carry car insurance – that part isn’t optional. What’s less clear is whether the state’s minimum requirements would actually protect you if you caused, or were hurt in, a serious accident.
Here’s the short version: the average bodily injury claim in New York runs around $46,726. The state’s minimum liability limit per person is $25,000. That gap is exactly where a lot of injured people – and a lot of at-fault drivers – end up in financial trouble.
New York Minimum Car Insurance Requirements
New York requires every registered vehicle to carry:
- $25,000 bodily injury liability per person / $50,000 per accident
- $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident if the accident results in death
- $10,000 property damage liability per accident
- $50,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP), since New York is a no-fault state
This combination is often shorthand as 25/50/10. PIP is what makes New York a no-fault state – it pays your medical bills and a portion of lost wages after an accident regardless of who caused it, up to $50,000 per person.
Skipping insurance isn’t just risky, it’s expensive. Driving without the required coverage in New York can mean:
- a fine between $150 and $1,500
- an additional $750 civil penalty if your license is revoked
- registration and license suspension for up to 3 years
- up to 15 days in jail in some cases
Why the Minimum Isn’t Enough
New York’s 25/50/10 limits were set decades ago and haven’t moved much since, while medical costs have. New York drivers currently pay an average of about $152 per month for minimum coverage – roughly 56% higher than the national average – which tells you something about how much risk insurers price into even the “minimum” policy.
Example: Say you’re at fault in an accident that injures two people, and their combined medical bills come to $100,000. With only the state-minimum $50,000 per-accident limit, your insurer pays $50,000 – and you’re personally on the hook for the remaining $50,000, out of your own pocket or assets.
That risk cuts both ways. If someone else causes your accident while carrying only the state minimum, and your injuries and losses exceed $25,000, their policy simply won’t cover the rest. This is where uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage comes in.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) Coverage
New York requires every auto policy to include Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage, matching the same minimum limits as liability coverage: $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for injury, and $50,000 / $100,000 if the accident is fatal.
UM coverage steps in when the driver who hit you:
- has no insurance at all, or
- fled the scene and can’t be identified (a hit-and-run)
You file a UM claim with your own insurance company, not the other driver’s – since there isn’t one to file against.
Underinsured Motorist (UIM) and SUM Coverage
This is the coverage most drivers don’t think about until they need it. Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage applies when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough to cover what you actually lost.
New York law requires insurers to offer SUM limits up to $250,000 per person / $500,000 per accident, if you’ve purchased that much liability coverage yourself. The catch: you generally can’t carry more SUM coverage for yourself than you carry in liability coverage for others.
Example: The other driver carries the state minimum – $25,000 per person. Your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering add up to $100,000. If you carry SUM coverage, your own policy can pay the $75,000 difference, up to your SUM limit.
MVAIC New York: When There’s No Insurance at All
Sometimes neither driver has usable coverage – for example, an uninsured hit-and-run where you don’t own a car yourself and have no UM coverage to fall back on. That’s where the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) comes in.
MVAIC was created in 1958 under Article 52 of the New York Insurance Law as the state’s insurer of last resort. It pays out at the statutory minimum levels – up to $50,000 in no-fault benefits and up to $25,000 per injured person in liability coverage.
MVAIC claims come with unforgiving deadlines:
- Report the accident to police within 24 hours
- File a Notice of Intention with MVAIC within 90 days (hit-and-run or unidentified vehicle) or 180 days (identified but uninsured vehicle)
- Submit a no-fault application within 30 days of the accident
Miss any one of these, and MVAIC can deny the claim entirely, regardless of how serious the injury is. Given how procedural and unforgiving this process is, it’s one of the few insurance situations where getting an attorney involved from day one – not after a denial – genuinely changes the outcome.
How Much Coverage Should You Actually Carry?
There’s no single right answer, but a reasonable starting point is to carry liability and SUM limits that roughly match your assets and income – the amount you’d actually stand to lose in a lawsuit if you caused a serious accident. Many New York drivers who can afford it carry limits closer to 100/300 (100,000 per person / 300,000 per accident), well above the 25/50 minimum, along with matching SUM coverage.
Coverage Types at a Glance
Coverage Type | NY Minimum Required | What It Covers | Legal Basis |
Bodily Injury Liability | $25,000/$50,000 | Injuries you cause to others | NY Vehicle & Traffic Law § 311 |
Property Damage Liability | $10,000 | Damage you cause to property | NY Vehicle & Traffic Law § 311 |
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) | $50,000 | Your own medical bills/lost wages, regardless of fault | Insurance Law § 5102 |
Uninsured Motorist (UM) | $25,000/$50,000 | Injuries from an uninsured or hit-and-run driver | Insurance Law Article 52 |
Supplementary UM/UIM (SUM) | Optional, up to $250,000/$500,000 | Gap when the at-fault driver’s coverage is too low | Insurance Regulation 68 |
MVAIC | Statutory minimum only | Claims where no other insurance applies at all | Insurance Law Article 52 |
What to Do If You’re Hit by an Uninsured or Underinsured Driver
- Call the police and get a report number. This is required for both UM claims and MVAIC eligibility, and there’s a strict 24-hour window if the other driver fled the scene.
- Get the other driver’s information anyway, even if you suspect they’re uninsured – plate number, insurance card, photos of both vehicles.
- Notify your own insurance company as soon as possible to open a UM or SUM claim, even though the accident wasn’t your fault.
- Ask whether MVAIC applies to your situation if there’s truly no insurance anywhere in the picture – and note the 90-day filing window if it’s a hit-and-run.
- Don’t accept a quick settlement offer from any insurer before you know the full extent of your medical treatment. Once you settle, that claim is closed for good.
- Talk to a personal injury attorney before you sign anything. UM, SUM, and MVAIC claims all involve different insurers, different forms, and different deadlines – and they’re rarely straightforward to navigate alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is uninsured motorist coverage in New York? Uninsured motorist coverage New York requires on every policy pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or fled the scene. It matches your policy’s liability limits – at minimum, $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident.
What is SUM coverage in New York? SUM coverage – short for Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage – is optional coverage on your own policy that pays the gap when the at-fault driver’s insurance isn’t enough to cover your losses. Insurers must offer SUM limits up to $250,000/$500,000 if you carry that much liability coverage yourself.
What does New York car insurance law actually require? At a minimum, New York car insurance law requires 25/50/10 liability coverage, $50,000 in no-fault PIP, and matching uninsured motorist coverage. Drivers can – and often should – carry more.
What does 25/50/10 insurance mean? 25/50/10 is shorthand for New York’s minimum liability limits: $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 in property damage coverage per accident.
Protecting Yourself Beyond the Minimum
New York’s insurance requirements exist to make sure some money is available after an accident – they were never designed to guarantee full compensation for a serious injury. The Rybak Firm, PLLC has spent over 25 years helping injured New Yorkers pursue every source of available compensation, recovering more than $100 million in verdicts and settlements for clients across liability, UM/UIM, SUM, and MVAIC claims.
If you’ve been in an accident and aren’t sure whether the available insurance covers what you actually lost, it’s worth a free case review before you deal with any insurance company on your own.