Auto Liability Limits South Carolina North Carolina

Opening answer

Comparing auto liability limits in South Carolina and North Carolina starts with each state's statutory floor, not with a single national number. South Carolina still requires $25,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 of bodily injury liability per accident, and $25,000 of property damage liability per accident, commonly written as 25/50/25.[1][2] North Carolina raised that floor on July 1, 2025. Policies issued or renewed on or after that date must carry at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $50,000 of property damage, written as 50/100/50.[3][4] Those figures are a legal minimum. They are not a household plan, and many Carolina drivers choose higher limits because medical care and vehicle repairs often cost more than the floor.

How split limits are written

Liability on a personal auto policy is usually sold as split limits. The Insurance Information Institute explains the three-number format this way: the first two numbers are bodily injury (BI) liability, and the third is property damage (PD) liability. A 20/40/10 example means up to $40,000 for all persons injured in one accident, subject to $20,000 for one individual, plus $10,000 for property damage.[5]

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) puts the same idea in consumer language. Bodily injury liability applies to injuries caused to someone else. Property damage liability pays for damage caused to another party's car, objects, or structures.[6]

North Carolina's Department of Insurance walks through a higher example of 100/300/50. That package would pay up to $100,000 to any one injured person, up to $300,000 for all injured parties combined in a single accident, and $50,000 of property damage liability for that accident.[7] The same split-limit logic applies at the statutory floor. The numbers change. The way the cap works does not.

Two caps matter on every crash that injures more than one person. The per-person limit is the most the policy will pay for one injured claimant. The per-accident limit is the most the policy will pay for all bodily injury claims from that crash, even if several people are hurt. Property damage has its own per-accident cap. Once a cap is reached, the remainder of a covered claim is not paid from that limit.

South Carolina floor: 25/50/25

The South Carolina Department of Insurance states the current minimum in plain terms. The state requires a minimum of $25,000 per person for bodily injury and $50,000 for all persons injured in one accident. The minimum for property damage is $25,000 for all property damage in one accident.[1]

That consumer page matches the statute. South Carolina Code Section 38-77-140 requires:

• $25,000 because of bodily injury to one person in any one accident
• $50,000 because of bodily injury to two or more persons in any one accident
• $25,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident[2]

The same section says an insurer may sell liability coverage in excess of those requirements.[2] The floor is compulsory. Higher limits are allowed.

South Carolina also requires uninsured motorist coverage equal to the minimum amounts of liability coverage (25/50/25). That is a separate coverage from liability. It pays when the policyholder is injured, or when the insured vehicle is damaged, by a hit-and-run driver or an uninsured driver.[1] Underinsured motorist coverage must be offered, but it is not required.[1]

South Carolina implements a tort system. The three basic coverages sold under that system are bodily injury liability, property damage liability, and uninsured motorist coverage.[1] Optional coverages listed by the Department include medical payments, rental reimbursement, and towing and labor.[1] State law also states that personal injury protection (PIP) is not mandated under the automobile insurance laws of South Carolina.[2]

North Carolina floor: 50/100/50 after July 1, 2025

North Carolina used a lower floor for many years: $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 of property damage, written as 30/60/25. The North Carolina Department of Insurance explained that starting July 1, 2025, for all new or renewed policies on or after that date, the minimum bodily injury limits increased to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, and the property damage minimum increased to $50,000.[3]

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles publishes the same change in a table. For policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2025, the minimums are $50,000 for bodily injury to one person, $100,000 for bodily injury to two or more people, and $50,000 for property damage.[4]

Those figures are now in the statute. G.S. 20-279.21 sets the owner's policy limits at $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and $50,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.[8]

In a July 22, 2026 consumer post, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey restated the current rule: state law requires motorists to maintain a minimum 50/100/50 liability coverage. If a driver is at fault, the policy would pay up to $50,000 to any one person for an injury, up to $100,000 for all injured persons, and up to $50,000 for property damage.[9]

North Carolina also requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The Department of Insurance notes that uninsured motorist coverage applies to injuries to the insured and passengers, plus damage to the insured vehicle, if an uninsured driver is at fault. Underinsured motorist coverage pays injury claims when an at-fault driver does not have enough insurance to fully pay the loss.[9] That is a separate topic from liability limits. The point for this comparison is simple: liability pays people the insured injures. Uninsured and underinsured coverage is first-party protection when another motorist cannot pay.

A policy that has not yet renewed after July 1, 2025 could still show the older 30/60/25 figures until renewal. The Department of Insurance said the new limits apply to policies issued or renewed on or after that date.[3] The Division of Motor Vehicles table draws the same line between "before July 1, 2025" and "after July 1, 2025."[4] Households that still see 30/60/25 on a declarations page should confirm the renewal date with the agent who services the policy.

What bodily injury liability pays

Bodily injury liability is third-party coverage. It does not repair the insured vehicle. It does not pay the policyholder's own hospital bill from the same crash. It responds when the insured (or another covered driver) is legally responsible for injuring someone.

South Carolina's Department of Insurance says bodily injury claims may include medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.[1] North Carolina's consumer guide is more specific. Bodily injury liability can pay medical and funeral expenses, lost wages, disability, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, lawsuit settlements, and legal expenses, up to the limits listed in the policy.[7]

That list is why the per-person number matters. A single claimant can generate emergency care, follow-up treatment, time away from work, and a claim for pain. The per-accident number matters when more than one person is hurt, for example two occupants of another vehicle, or a driver plus a pedestrian.

A short illustration, not a quote or a premium: under South Carolina's $25,000 per-person cap, a $40,000 bodily injury claim for one person would use the full $25,000 from the BI limit. The remaining $15,000 of that claim would not be paid from that limit. Under North Carolina's $50,000 per-person cap, the same $40,000 claim would still fit inside the per-person number. Raise the claim to $70,000, and the North Carolina floor would also leave a remainder.

The per-accident cap can bind even when each person is under the per-person number. Two injured people with $30,000 of claims each would total $60,000. That total exceeds South Carolina's $50,000 per-accident BI limit. It still fits inside North Carolina's $100,000 per-accident BI limit. Three injured people with $40,000 of claims each would total $120,000, which exceeds both floors.

What property damage liability pays

Property damage liability pays for damage the insured causes to property belonging to another party. South Carolina's Department of Insurance is explicit: this includes vehicles, and it also includes buildings, walls, fences, and equipment. The South Carolina minimum is $25,000 for all property damage in one accident.[1]

North Carolina's Department of Insurance describes the same coverage as paying for the repair or actual cash value of another individual's automobile or property, plus legal expenses, subject to a single limit for all property damage from any one accident.[7] The current North Carolina floor for that limit is $50,000.[3][4][8][9]

Property damage is easy to underestimate because the number on a declarations page looks large next to a fender. Newer vehicles, trucks, and SUVs, plus a light pole, a masonry wall, or a parked second vehicle, can add up quickly. One damaged late-model vehicle can approach or pass South Carolina's $25,000 PD cap by itself. North Carolina's $50,000 PD cap is higher, and it is still a cap.

Liability does not pay to repair the insured vehicle. Collision and comprehensive are the physical-damage coverages for the insured auto. Those are optional under South Carolina law, though a lender may require them.[1] North Carolina's commissioner makes the same distinction: collision and comprehensive are part of "full coverage," and a lender will likely require that package if there is a loan.[9]

Why many Carolina households choose higher limits

The statutory floor answers a licensing and registration question: what is the least liability a policy may carry and still satisfy state law. It does not answer a household question: what limit is enough for the crashes that actually happen on Carolina roads.

NHTSA's 2019 crash-cost report (revised in 2023) is the most recent national accounting of that scale. In 2019 there were 36,500 people killed, 4.5 million people injured, and 23 million vehicles damaged in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. Economic costs totaled $340 billion. Medical expenses were $31 billion. Property damage was $115 billion. Lost market and household productivity was $106 billion. Each fatality carried an average discounted lifetime economic cost of $1.6 million.[10] Those are societal totals, not a typical claim. They still show why a $25,000 or $50,000 per-person BI limit is a floor, not a match for a serious injury.

Hospital and repair prices have not stood still since 2019. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, from July 2025 to July 2026, the Consumer Price Index for hospital services rose 5.2 percent, and the index for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose 6.6 percent.[11] A 2024 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality brief found that the average hospital production cost for a treat-and-release emergency department visit in 2021 was $750. That figure excludes physician fees and does not include patients admitted to the same hospital.[12] It is a conservative hospital-cost number, not a billed charge, and it is already several years old.

North Carolina's commissioner made the practical point in 2026 without naming a package: many agents recommend even higher liability coverage, because the costs of automobiles and medical care can make higher limits a better long-run fit.[9] South Carolina's statute already authorizes those higher limits.[2] North Carolina's Department of Insurance uses 100/300/50 as one example of higher split limits.[7] Those are planning choices, not legal requirements, and the right number depends on assets, drivers in the household, and how the vehicles are used.

Households that live near the state line feel the difference every week. A Grand Strand or Horry County commute can cross into North Carolina. A Charlotte-area commute can cross into South Carolina. The policy still has one set of limits. The crash can happen in either state. Matching the higher of the two floors, or buying more than either floor, is one reason Carolina households look past the minimum.

None of this requires scare language. The math is ordinary. A limit is a cap. Medical care, lost wages, and vehicle repairs are bills. When the bills run past the cap, the remainder does not disappear. Higher liability limits are how many households keep more of that remainder inside the policy instead of outside it.

Liability is not collision, and it is not first-party medical

A declarations page can look crowded. Sorting the lines keeps the liability conversation honest.

• Bodily injury liability and property damage liability pay injured parties and damaged property when a covered driver is at fault, up to the split limits.
• Collision and comprehensive pay for physical damage to the insured vehicle, usually subject to a deductible.[1][9]
• Uninsured motorist coverage is required in both states at or above the liability floor. It is not a substitute for liability.[1][9]
• Medical Payments, often called MedPay, is the first-party medical coverage typically sold on these policies. South Carolina lists medical payments as optional, and South Carolina law does not mandate PIP.[1][2] North Carolina's Department of Insurance describes Medical Payments as paying reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses due to an automobile accident, up to the limit listed in the policy.[7]

Drivers shopping auto coverage in the Carolinas should read the liability line first, then decide whether the rest of the page still fits the household.

Practical takeaways

• South Carolina's auto liability floor remains 25/50/25: $25,000 BI per person, $50,000 BI per accident, $25,000 PD per accident.[1][2]
• North Carolina's auto liability floor for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025 is 50/100/50: $50,000 BI per person, $100,000 BI per accident, $50,000 PD per accident.[3][4][8][9]
• Split limits cap one person, then cap the whole crash, then cap property damage. Hitting any one of those three numbers stops payment from that limit.
• Bodily injury liability can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and legal defense. Property damage liability can include vehicles, buildings, walls, fences, and equipment.[1][7]
• 2019 national crash costs and 2025-2026 hospital and repair inflation help explain why many households buy more than the statutory floor.[10][11]
• Liability does not repair the insured vehicle and does not replace MedPay. Uninsured motorist coverage is required in both states and is a separate line.
• Households that drive in both Carolinas should compare the two floors, then choose limits that still make sense after the larger of the two minimums.

How we can help

Our team shops multiple carriers licensed in South Carolina and North Carolina and reviews split liability limits against how a household actually drives, including trips between the Grand Strand, Charleston, and Charlotte. Have more questions or want to get in touch? Contact the agency

Citations

1. South Carolina Department of Insurance, "Automobile Insurance" (2026)
2. South Carolina General Assembly, "South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 38, Chapter 77, Section 38-77-140 and Section 38-77-144" (2026)
3. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "Changes to the Rating of Automobile Insurance Policies, Effective July 1, 2025" (2025)
4. North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, "Vehicle Insurance Requirements" (2026-08-21)
5. Insurance Information Institute, "Automobile Financial Responsibility Limits By State" (as of 2022-10-25)
6. National Association of Insurance Commissioners, "What Does Auto Insurance Cover?" (2026-06-11)
7. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "Basic and Miscellaneous Auto Coverages" (2026)
8. North Carolina General Assembly, "G.S. 20-279.21. Motor vehicle liability policy defined" (2025)
9. North Carolina Department of Insurance, "Automobile insurance: What's covered and what isn't" (2026-07-22)
10. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2019 (Revised)" (2023-02-01)
11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), July 2026" (2026-08-12)
12. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, "Costs of Treat-and-Release Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2021 (HCUP Statistical Brief #311)" (2024-09)