State guide
Car Insurance in North Carolina
Updated August 2026
North Carolina just made the biggest change to its auto insurance law in a generation. For every policy issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, the minimum liability limits are 50/100/50 — $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $100,000 per accident, and $50,000 for property damage — up from 30/60/25, which had stood since 1999. The change comes from Session Law 2023-133 (as amended by S.L. 2024-29) and puts North Carolina's floor among the highest in the nation.
The same law reworked uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: UIM is now included on all new and renewed policies, its trigger is based on your total damages rather than a comparison of policy limits, and insurers can no longer reduce UIM payouts by setting off other coverage (workers' compensation excepted). If your policy renewed at the old minimums, both your coverage and your premium changed — which makes this an unusually good moment to compare what different carriers charge for the new floor.
| Coverage | Required minimum |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability (per person) | $50,000 |
| Bodily injury liability (per accident) | $100,000 |
| Property damage liability | $50,000 |
| PIP / medical | Not required (at-fault state) |
| Additional requirements | Uninsured motorist coverage required; underinsured motorist coverage included on all policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025 |
| No-fault state | No |
| SR-22 used | No — this state doesn't use SR-22 filings |
Source: N.C.G.S. §20-279.21, as amended by S.L. 2023-133 and S.L. 2024-29; North Carolina Department of Insurance
Average annual expenditure for auto insurance in North Carolina was $840 in 2022, per the NAIC — well below the $1,127 countrywide average, though that predates the 2025 minimum-limit increase. (NAIC 2022 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (June 2024))
What changed on July 1, 2025
Two things happened at once. Minimum liability limits jumped to 50/100/50, so drivers who carried the old 30/60/25 saw their coverage — and typically their premium — rise at renewal. And underinsured motorist coverage went from optional-in-practice to standard: it's included on every new or renewed policy, claimants insured under multiple policies can combine (stack) their UIM limits, and the damages-based trigger means UIM can apply even when the at-fault driver's limits technically match yours.
Because carriers implemented the same statutory change with different rate filings, the price of an identical 50/100/50 policy now varies more between companies than it did before the transition — the spread a quote comparison is built to catch.
No SR-22 in North Carolina — the DL-123 instead
North Carolina doesn't use SR-22 filings. Its financial-responsibility paperwork is the DL-123: a certificate your insurance company prepares proving you carry the required liability coverage, typically needed when you're getting a license after a suspension, licensing for the first time as an adult, or coming back from certain convictions. It's usually valid for 30 days from issuance, and your insurer — not you — generates it.
Drivers who'd need a non-owner SR-22 policy elsewhere use a non-owner policy with a DL-123 here. Either way, the certificate is cheap; it's the underlying violation that moves your premium, and by very different amounts depending on the carrier.
Contributory negligence raises the stakes
North Carolina is one of the last jurisdictions using pure contributory negligence: if you're found even slightly at fault for a crash, you can be barred from recovering anything from the other driver. That legal backdrop makes your own coverage — collision, medical payments, UM/UIM — do more work than it does in comparative-negligence states, and it's part of why the legislature paired the higher minimums with stronger UIM rules.
Nationally, 15.4% of drivers were uninsured in 2023 (Insurance Research Council). North Carolina's mandatory UM coverage means you're never facing that risk bare — but the limits you choose above the floor are still yours to shop.
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Frequently asked questions
What are North Carolina's minimum car insurance limits now?+
For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025: $50,000 bodily injury per person, $100,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage (50/100/50), plus uninsured motorist coverage, with underinsured motorist coverage included — per N.C.G.S. §20-279.21 as amended by S.L. 2023-133.
Did North Carolina's insurance requirements change recently?+
Yes. On July 1, 2025 the minimums rose from 30/60/25 to 50/100/50 — the first increase since 1999 — and underinsured motorist coverage became standard on all new and renewed policies, with stacking allowed and most setoffs eliminated.
Does North Carolina use SR-22s?+
No. North Carolina uses the DL-123, a certificate of insurance your carrier prepares for license issuance or reinstatement, instead of SR-22 filings.
Is North Carolina a no-fault state?+
No. It's an at-fault state — and a pure contributory-negligence one, meaning a driver found even partly at fault can be barred from recovering from the other side. PIP is not required.
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