Tools

How much car insurance do I need?

A starting point for your limits and options, from liability to gap and rental, built from common rules of thumb and your state's minimums.

Runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent or stored by this site. Results are estimates for planning, not a quote or advice.

What it tells you

There is no single right amount of car insurance, but there are sensible starting points. This tool asks a few questions about what you own, what you earn and how you use your car, and suggests a set of limits and options with the reason for each. It also shows your state's legal minimum so you can see how far above the floor the suggestion sits.

The rules of thumb it uses

  • Liability should protect what you could lose. The more assets and income a lawsuit could reach, the higher your limits should be. The tool steps from 50/100/50 to 100/300/100 to 250/500/100, and suggests an umbrella policy once exposure passes about $500,000. Insurers usually require 250/500 underlying limits before they will sell an umbrella.
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist limits should match your liability limits where your state allows. They protect you and your passengers when the other driver has little or no insurance. See uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage explained.
  • Collision and comprehensive are worth keeping while they pay for themselves, and are required while you have a loan or lease. Check older cars with the Should I drop full coverage? calculator.
  • Pick the highest deductible you could pay tomorrow from savings. The deductible break-even calculator shows the trade-off.
  • Gap coverage matters while you owe more than the car is worth — see the gap insurance calculator.
  • Rental reimbursement is worth more when you have no second car to fall back on.

What it does not know

The suggestions are generic. They do not account for state asset-protection laws, business use of the car, household members with poor driving records, or the price of each option in your area. Treat the result as a list of questions to take to an agent or to price in quotes — then compare those quotes with the car insurance quote comparison worksheet.

Why not just buy the minimum?

State minimums were set as a legal floor, and some have not kept pace with medical and repair costs. One serious crash can exceed them. Read state minimum vs full coverage: which do you need? and how much liability coverage do you need? for the longer explanation.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

Related guides

How much liability coverage do you need? A practical method for choosing car insurance liability limits based on what you own, what you earn and what extra coverage actually costs you. State minimum vs full coverage: which do you need? How state-minimum car insurance differs from "full coverage," what each pays after a crash, and a simple test for deciding which one fits your car and finances. Umbrella insurance: liability protection above your auto policy How a personal umbrella policy sits on top of your car insurance, what it covers and excludes, and the underlying limits you must keep to make it work. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage explained How UM and UIM coverage pay when the driver who hits you has no insurance or too little, which states require it, and how much to buy.

Terms used here

Liability coverage The part of a car insurance policy that pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others, plus your legal defense, up to your limits. Uninsured motorist coverage Coverage that pays injury costs for you and your passengers when a driver with no insurance, or a hit-and-run driver, causes the crash. Umbrella policy Extra liability insurance, usually sold in amounts of $1 million or more, that pays after your auto or home liability limits run out. Minimum coverage The least car insurance a state lets you carry to drive legally, usually liability coverage at set limits and sometimes PIP or uninsured motorist coverage. Gap insurance Pays the difference between a totaled car's actual cash value and the larger balance still owed on its loan or lease.

Latest on this topic