Minnesota’s auto insurance requirements apply to every vehicle registered or principally garaged in the state, and a compliant policy must include four separate coverages: personal injury protection (PIP), liability, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist.1Minnesota Department of Commerce. Auto Insurance Basics The minimum liability limits follow a 30/60/10 structure: $30,000 per person for bodily injury, $60,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage. Dropping any one of the four coverages, or falling below the statutory limits, makes your policy non-compliant.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.49 – Insurers
Personal Injury Protection
Minnesota is a no-fault state. Your own PIP coverage pays your economic losses after a crash before anyone sorts out who caused it. The minimum benefit is $40,000 per person, split into two buckets: $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for non-medical costs such as lost wages, replacement services, funeral expenses, and survivor benefits.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.44 – Basic Economic Loss Benefits
Wage loss benefits pay 85 percent of your lost gross income, capped at $500 per week.3Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.44 – Basic Economic Loss Benefits If you’re self-employed, PIP also covers the cost of hiring someone to keep your business running while you recover. Higher earners often add PIP above the statutory floor because the $500 weekly cap hasn’t been adjusted in years.
Coordinating PIP With Health Insurance
Minnesota insurers offer both coordinated and uncoordinated PIP policies. With an uncoordinated policy, your auto insurer pays first and your health insurance covers anything beyond PIP limits. With a coordinated policy, your health insurance pays first and PIP picks up what health insurance doesn’t. Coordinated policies typically carry lower premiums. Ask your insurer which version you have before you need it.
Liability Coverage
The liability minimums are $30,000 for bodily injury to one person, $60,000 total for bodily injuries in a single accident, and $10,000 for property damage.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.49 – Insurers Property damage liability pays for things you hit that belong to someone else. It does not pay to repair your own car; that’s what collision coverage does, and Minnesota doesn’t require collision.
The 30/60/10 minimums haven’t kept pace with medical costs or vehicle values. One ER visit with imaging can easily exceed $10,000, and a serious multi-vehicle crash can blow through $60,000 quickly. If you carry only the statutory minimum and cause a serious accident, you’re personally on the hook for everything above your limits. That exposure is why many drivers voluntarily carry 100/300/100 or higher.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage applies when you’re hit by a driver who has no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap when the at-fault driver’s liability limits aren’t enough to cover your losses. Minnesota requires both at minimums of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.49 – Insurers
One rule catches drivers off guard: Minnesota prohibits stacking UM and UIM limits across multiple vehicles on the same policy. If you own three cars each with $50,000 in UIM coverage, you still have only $50,000 available per accident, not $150,000.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.49 – Insurers The way to get more protection is buying higher per-vehicle limits.
Penalties for Driving Uninsured
Driving without the required insurance is a misdemeanor for a first or second offense. A third violation within ten years, or causing an accident that results in death or serious bodily harm while uninsured, is a gross misdemeanor.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169.797 – Penalties for Failure to Provide Vehicle Insurance Every conviction carries a mandatory fine of at least $200 on top of any jail sentence the court imposes.
A conviction also triggers license revocation for up to 12 months, and if you own the vehicle, the registration is revoked for the same period.4Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169.797 – Penalties for Failure to Provide Vehicle Insurance Even without a criminal conviction, the Commissioner of Public Safety can administratively revoke your registration and suspend your license based on department records showing you lacked coverage.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169.792 – Revocation of License for Failure to Produce Proof of Insurance Getting your driving privileges back requires filing a certificate from an authorized insurer proving you now have coverage, plus a $30 reinstatement fee.6Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 171.29 – Revoked License, Conditions for Reinstatement
Failing to Show Proof
Not producing proof of insurance when a police officer asks for it during a traffic stop is a misdemeanor under a separate statute, even if you actually have coverage and just left the card at home.7Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 169.791 – Criminal Penalty for Failure to Produce Proof of Insurance You can avoid conviction by producing proof to the court administrator before your first scheduled court appearance. Keeping the card in the glove box or your insurer’s app on your phone avoids the whole issue.
SR-22 Certification
After certain offenses — including driving uninsured, DWI, or reckless driving — Minnesota may require you to file an insurance certification (sometimes called an SR-22) with the Department of Public Safety. This isn’t a separate type of insurance. It’s a form your insurer submits to the state confirming you carry at least the minimum required coverage. The certification generally has to stay on file for one year after your license is reinstated.
If your coverage lapses while the certification is active, your insurer notifies the state and your license can be suspended again, resetting the one-year clock. Not every insurer writes policies for drivers who need an SR-22, and the ones that do tend to charge more. The filing is handled by your insurance company; you just need to confirm they’ve sent the certification to DVS.
Coverage the State Doesn’t Require but You May Still Need
Meeting the statutory minimums doesn’t cover every situation. If you have a car loan or lease, the lender almost certainly requires collision and comprehensive coverage on top of what the state mandates. Collision pays to repair your vehicle after a crash. Comprehensive covers non-collision damage like theft, hail, or a deer strike. If you drop either coverage, the lender can force-place a policy and add the premium to your monthly payment, which typically costs far more than buying coverage yourself.
Gap insurance matters when you owe more on the loan than the vehicle is worth. If your car is totaled, your insurer pays the actual cash value at the time of loss, minus the deductible. If that number is less than your loan balance, you owe the difference. Gap coverage zeroes out the shortfall. It doesn’t help you buy a replacement or cover missed payments.
Rideshare and delivery drivers face a different gap. Personal auto policies almost universally exclude coverage while you’re driving for Uber, Lyft, or a food delivery app. Rideshare companies provide their own liability coverage in phases, with minimal protection while you’re waiting for a request and higher limits once you’ve accepted a passenger. A rideshare endorsement on your personal policy fills the gaps and usually costs far less than discovering you had no coverage at all after a claim.
The Tort Threshold
Because Minnesota is a no-fault state, you can’t sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering after every crash. You have to clear a tort threshold first. Non-economic damages are available only if your medical expenses exceed $4,000 or your injury results in permanent disfigurement, permanent injury, death, or disability lasting 60 days or more.8Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 65B.51 – Deduction of Collateral Sources, Subrogation, Limitation of Noneconomic Detriment The $4,000 figure has carve-outs: diagnostic x-rays and non-remedial rehabilitative treatment are subtracted from the total. If your expenses fall below the threshold, you’re limited to whatever your own PIP policy provides.
Deadlines for Filing a Claim
Minnesota gives you two years from the date of an auto accident to file a personal injury lawsuit.9Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 541.07 – Two-Year Limitations For property damage claims, the deadline is six years.10Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 541.05 – Various Cases, Six Years The two-year injury deadline is the one that catches people. Medical treatment often stretches out for months, and by the time a doctor can give a prognosis, the filing window may be closing. If your injuries look serious enough to clear the tort threshold, talk to an attorney well before the two-year mark.