Cheapest Liability-Only Car Insurance Of 2024 (2024)

Liability-only car insurance typically describes the most basic car insurance you can buy, based on the minimum insurance requirements of your state. Liability car insurance covers the cost of the other driver’s injuries and property damage when you are at fault for an accident.

Car owners who are considering buying liability-only auto insurance should consider the fact that this coverage will not pay for repairs to their vehicle if they’re in an accident, nor will it cover losses resulting from injuries they personally sustain. The best car insurance policies will package together additional types of coverage, such as collision and comprehensive insurance.

While this “bare-bones” auto insurance coverage is not nearly as robust as full coverage car insurance, liability-only insurance is significantly more affordable. Full coverage car insurance includes higher liability limits, uninsured motorist coverage, and collision and comprehensive insurance.

The average national rate for liability-only car insurance is $697 annually. That’s compared to $1,810 a year for full coverage car insurance.

Exact costs vary based on factors that can include:

• The car insurance company.
• Your age and gender.
• Your credit, in states that allow credit to be considered.
• Your driving record.
• Your location.

Liability-Only Car Insurance Costs By State

Liability-Only Car Insurance Costs By Gender

USAA, Auto-Owners, Westfield and American Family have the cheapest liability car insurance among companies we analyzed. Each of them charges less than $500 annually on average for liability-only car insurance.

Average Cost of Liability-Only Car Insurance

The best way to find the cheapest liability-only car insurance is to shop around and compare car insurance quotes from multiple car insurance companies.

Request quotes for the same level of liability coverage from each insurance company so you can make an apples-to-apples comparison.

Make sure to maximize any discounts offered by the company. Standard car insurance discounts include:

• Buying multiple policies.
• Insuring more than one vehicle.
• Vehicle safety features, such as anti-lock brakes.
• Having certain anti-theft devices.
• Recent history of being a good driver.
• Paying in full for the policy term.

Liability-only car insurance is almost $100 a month cheaper than full coverage car insurance, on average, according to Forbes Advisor’s analysis. Liability-only insurance costs an average of $53 a month. Full coverage costs an average of $150 a month.

Full coverage insurance usually has higher liability limits and includes collision and comprehensive coverage.

Monthly Cost of Liability-Only vs. Full-Coverage Car Insurance

Liability-only car insurance comes with two different varieties of insurance protection: bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage.

Bodily Injury Liability Coverage

Bodily injury liability insurance can pay for another person’s medical bills, plus their pain and suffering expenses and lost wages, if you are found at fault in an auto accident.

Not only can this coverage pay for medical expenses, but it can also kick in to pay for legal bills if you’re sued following an accident. However, payouts only go up to your policy’s liability limits. You’re still responsible for accident-related bills that exceed your insurance policy limits.

Property Damage Liability Coverage

Property damage liability insurance pays for repairs when you damage another person’s property, such as their vehicle or damage to a fence that you crush.

If you’re shopping for car insurance, note that the limits of basic liability-only auto insurance policies may be insufficient in many types of auto accidents. If you cause an accident that causes damage beyond the limits of your policy, you are still personally liable for additional costs. You could still be sued and lose assets that you own.

Ultimately, this is the trade-off you make if you purchase liability-only car insurance. This type of insurance helps drivers meet the legal requirements in their states at the lowest possible cost, but it can also leave you financially vulnerable if you are in an accident that results in costly medical bills, property damage or both.

Weight the costs and risks when considering liability vs. full coverage car insurance.

How to Read Liability Car Insurance Limits

Car insurance companies package together bodily injury and property damage liability limits using a format that looks like this: 25/50/10.

With liability-only car insurance with 25/50/10 limits, the policy has:

• $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person
• $50,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per accident
• $10,000 in property damage liability coverage per accident

Liability-only car insurance does not include any optional car insurance types. Most importantly, it does not include any insurance for damage to your vehicle or injuries to you and your passengers. What’s not in liability-only car insurance includes:

• Collision coverage: Collision insurance pays to repair or replace your vehicle following an accident with another vehicle or object, or a hit-and-run accident.
• Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive insurance pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it’s stolen or is damaged by falling objects, fire, hail, floods, vandalism or other issues. Comprehensive coverage also pays for windshield repairs or replacement.
• Personal injury protection: PIP insurance can pay for medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages or funeral costs for you and your passengers, regardless of who caused the accident. Personal injury protection is required in some states.
• Uninsured motorist coverage: Uninsured motorist insurance pays medical expenses for you and your passengers if you’re injured in an accident involving an uninsured driver. Uninsured motorist coverage is required in some states. In some states you can also buy uninsured motorist coverage that pays for damage to your own vehicle that was caused by an uninsured driver.

Liability-only car insurance may make sense for you if:

• You can only afford bare-bones coverage.
• You can easily afford to repair or replace your car if it’s damaged or stolen.
• You don’t have a car loan or lease (which generally require collision and comprehensive insurance).
• You’re driving an older vehicle that isn’t worth much.
• You would not get your car repaired or replaced if it’s damaged or stolen.

How much car insurance you need varies by state. In addition to liability insurance you might have to buy:

• Personal injury protection (PIP): Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance can pay for medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages or funeral costs for you and your passengers, regardless of who caused the accident.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist protection: Uninsured motorist coverage pays out if you’re hit by a driver who has no car insurance—or not enough coverage—to pay for your medical bills and related expenses.

You will typically need full coverage car insurance if you loan or lease your car. Lenders usually require you to have comprehensive and collision coverage in addition to liability insurance.

If you own your car but you don’t have enough savings to pay to repair or replace it, you likely want full coverage car insurance. It can help reduce out-of-pocket costs if your car is damaged, stolen or totaled.

Liability-only car insurance is best suited for those who would not fix or replace their car if it was damaged or totaled, or who drive an older car that isn’t worth much.

While it may be tempting to buy state minimum auto coverage in order to save money on premiums, it’s crucial to remember the low limits of these policies can leave you financially vulnerable after a car accident.

For example, if your state’s minimum coverage limits are 25/50/10, this would provide only up to $25,000 for injuries per person to others and only up to $50,000 for injuries per accident. With the high cost of medical care, an accident that results in injuries could surpass these limits. A good rule of thumb is to buy enough liability insurance to cover what could be taken from you in a lawsuit.

Liability-only auto insurance and state minimum coverage may be a good fit for car owners who do not have the budget to buy more insurance than they are legally required to have. Minimal insurance is certainly better than none.

However, almost everyone else would be significantly better off with a more robust auto insurance policy that has higher limits for bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage, as well as full coverage options like collision and comprehensive coverage.

To identify the best liability-only car insurance companies, we evaluated insurers based on these measurements.

Car insurance rates (60% of score): We used data from Quadrant Information Services to find average rates from each company for the minimum amount of auto insurance required in each state.

Complaints (20% of score): We used auto insurance complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Each state’s department of insurance logs and monitors complaints against the companies that operate in their states. Most car insurance complaints are based on claims, including unsatisfactory settlements, delays and denials.

SR-22s available (10% of score): We gave points to insurers that offer SR-22 insurance. An SR-22 is a form that an insurance company files with a state that proves a car owner has the state’s minimum car liability insurance requirements.

CRASH report (10% of score): The CRASH Network collects information from collision repair specialists to grade insurance companies’ collision repair processes.

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