Massachusetts Car Insurance Laws: Coverages, Penalties, and Surcharges

Massachusetts car insurance laws require every registered vehicle to carry four coverages: bodily injury liability of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, property damage liability of $30,000 per accident, personal injury protection of $8,000 per person, and uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. The bodily injury and property damage figures were raised effective July 1, 2025.¹ Driving without coverage can bring fines up to $5,000, up to a year in jail, and license suspension.²

The Four Required Coverages

Every motor vehicle liability policy in Massachusetts must include the same four parts. The 2025 update was the first increase in the minimums in years, and it applies to all current policies.¹

Bodily Injury Liability

This pays for injuries you cause to other people in a crash, and it pays for your legal defense if an injured person sues you. The minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.¹ Anything above your limits comes out of your own pocket, which is why many drivers buy more than the floor.

Property Damage Liability

Property damage liability covers harm you cause to someone else’s car, fence, building, or other property. For decades the minimum was $5,000; as of July 2025 it is $30,000 per accident.¹ A serious collision can still exceed $30,000, so higher limits are worth considering.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection, usually called PIP, pays your own medical bills and lost wages after a crash no matter who caused it. Every policy must include at least $8,000 per person.³ If you also carry health insurance, your health plan handles most medical costs after the first $2,000, and PIP covers deductibles, copayments, and lost wages up to the remaining limit.⁴

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage protects you, your passengers, and household members when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. The minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.¹ Hit-and-run crashes fall under this coverage because the other driver cannot be identified. Underinsured motorist coverage, which responds when the other driver has some insurance but not enough, is a separate optional purchase.

How No-Fault Limits Your Right to Sue

Massachusetts is a no-fault state. Your own PIP pays the first round of medical bills and lost wages, and in exchange you cannot sue the other driver for pain and suffering unless your case clears a specific threshold. Your reasonable medical expenses must exceed $2,000, or your injury must involve death, loss of a body part, permanent and serious disfigurement, significant loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture.⁵ A minor crash with soft-tissue soreness and a few hundred dollars in treatment does not qualify, even when the other driver was clearly at fault.

Optional Coverages You Can Add

Beyond the four compulsory parts, Massachusetts policies offer several add-ons. None are required by law, though a lender or lessor often requires some of them while a loan or lease is in place.¹

Collision pays to repair or replace your own vehicle after a crash, regardless of fault.
Comprehensive covers non-collision damage such as theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, and weather.
Underinsured motorist fills the gap when the at-fault driver’s liability limits fall short of your injuries.
Roadside assistance and towing covers tow service, jump-starts, lockouts, and flat tires.

Collision and comprehensive often make less sense on older vehicles where the payout would be modest. For a car worth more than a few thousand dollars, going without them is a gamble that rarely pays off.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

A first offense with no prior conviction carries a fine of up to $500 and a 60-day license suspension. For a general penalty or any later conviction within six years, the fine runs from $500 to $5,000, the court can impose up to one year in jail, and a second or later conviction brings a one-year license suspension.²

A convicted driver also owes an assessment to the state’s auto insurance plan: either $500 or one full year’s premium at the highest-rated territory and risk class, whichever is greater.² That amount can easily exceed the court fine. Once the suspension ends, reinstatement fees range from $100 to $1,200 depending on the circumstances.⁶ Future premiums will also rise sharply, because insurers treat an uninsured driving conviction as a major risk marker.

When Your Policy Lapses

You do not need to be pulled over for a coverage gap to catch up with you. Insurance status is tied directly to your vehicle registration. When your insurer cancels or non-renews a policy, it notifies the RMV, which mails a suspension notice giving you 10 days to show proof of new coverage.⁷ Respond in time with valid proof and nothing further happens. Miss the window and the RMV suspends or revokes your registration indefinitely, your plates become invalid, and driving on a revoked registration adds another charge. Registration stays suspended until you obtain new coverage and show proof. Even a brief gap between policies can trigger the process if you do not act quickly.

Surcharges Through the Safe Driver Insurance Plan

Massachusetts uses the Safe Driver Insurance Plan, or SDIP, to adjust your premium based on your record. Every at-fault accident and traffic violation within the past five years adds surcharge points, and points directly raise what you pay.⁸

Minor traffic violation: 2 points
Minor at-fault accident: 3 points
Major at-fault accident: 4 points
Major traffic violation: 5 points

Points stack up to a maximum of 45, and incidents older than five years drop off your policy experience period. If you have gone more than three years without an incident and have three or fewer surchargeable events in the most recent five years, each incident’s point value is reduced by one.⁹

Appealing an At-Fault Determination

If you believe your insurer wrongly classified a crash as your fault, you can appeal to the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal. You have 30 days from the date on your surcharge notice to file, and the appeal fee is $50. The form is on the back of the surcharge notice.¹⁰ Win the hearing and the surcharge is removed from your record. Miss the 30-day deadline and you forfeit the right to appeal that incident.

Reporting a Crash

If anyone is injured or killed, or damage to any single vehicle or other property exceeds $1,000, you must file a Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report with the Registrar within five days and send a copy to the police department where the crash occurred. The only exception is being physically unable to do so.¹¹ Failing to file when required can result in license suspension. The report is your obligation as the driver, separate from anything your insurer files.

1
Mass.gov. Basics of Auto Insurance
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 34J
3
Mass.gov. Mass General Laws c90 34M
4
Mass.gov. 8.00 Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 231 Section 6D
6
Mass.gov. Reinstate Your Drivers License
7
Mass.gov. Non-Motor Vehicle Suspensions
8
Mass.gov. Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP)
9
LII / Legal Information Institute. 211 CMR 134.10 – Computation of Safe Driver Insurance Plan Surcharges and Credits
10
Mass.gov. Appeal an At-Fault Accident
11
Mass.gov. Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report