What do car insurance numbers mean?

If you’ve taken the time to research the car insurance card that you are required by law to have with you, you may have noticed your car insurance numbers. This is a series of numbers separated by backslashes. Yours might look like this: 25/50/25.

You can tell at a glance that these auto insurance numbers are not a date. What these numbers actually represent are the limits of your coverage. This article will help you understand what these numbers mean and look at the minimum auto insurance requirements by state.

Once you know your auto insurance numbers, you can decide that your current provider isn’t lowering it when it comes to liability limits. The best auto insurance companies can help you find the coverage you need. Enter your zip code below or call our designated quote team (855) 518-0148 to compare free, personalized insurance quotes.

In this article:

Overview car insurance numbers

No auto insurance is unlimited, and no insurance company will pay any amount on a claim. Auto insurance numbers are used to describe liability coverage limits for uninsured motorist coverage limits.

Liability insurance is used to protect you from civil liability if you are caught in an accident. A liability policy will help pay for damage to the other driver’s property and medical bills resulting from an accident you caused. While liability insurance usually doesn’t have a deductible, it does have a payout cap. But even that ceiling is not a fixed number. Instead, there are three separate payout limits:

• The maximum amount a provider pays to cover a person’s injuries
• The maximum amount that a provider will pay to cover the injuries of all persons in the accident
• The maximum amount a provider pays to cover property damage

Auto insurance numbers reflect these three categories in the above order by accident. The figures are written in thousands. That means that a liability policy with limits of 20/40/15 would be broken down as follows:

• $ 20,000 maximum payout for personal injury per person
• $ 40,000 maximum payout for accidental personal injury
• $ 15,000 maximum payout for property damage

Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) is used to pay for your vehicle damage and medical expenses if you have an accident with another uninsured driver. If the other driver has made a mistake and has no insurance, UIM will make sure you are covered.

Car insurance numbers for uninsured motorist coverage work the same way as for liability insurance. An exception is that uninsured motorist cover sometimes does not include compensation for material damage. In these cases there are only two numbers. So an uninsured motorist policy with the car insurance numbers of 25/50 would indicate:

• $ 25,000 maximum personal injury payout per person
• $ 50,000 maximum payout for accidental personal injury

Minimum auto insurance requirements by state

If you look up your state’s minimum auto insurance requirements, you’ll almost always see a range of auto insurance numbers for liability coverage. Your state may also require UM and medical coverage.

These auto insurance numbers don’t mean you shouldn’t buy more coverage. State minima are what’s required by law, but it’s often a good idea to get more than the minimum and additional types of coverage, such as collision and comprehensive insurance. That way you can make sure you are covered regardless of the type of accident you get.

Our recommendations for car insurance

If you’re looking for more coverage or want to compare rates between providers, there are some auto insurance companies that we recommend. USAA and Geico scored highest in our industry-wide rating for comprehensive coverage, low rates and excellent customer service.

Enter your zip code below or call (855) 518-0148 to get free quotes from providers in your area.

USAA was founded in 1922 as a mutual insurance collective. Since then it has become one of the largest companies in the US. Originally founded by military officers, USAA continues to offer insurance and banking products exclusively to members of the military service and their families. USAA is the only provider that we have rated a full 5.0 stars out of 5.0 stars in our review.

The company is also highly regarded by customers and industry experts. It has an A ++ financial strength rating from AM Best and scored a full 5 out of 5 (“among the best”) in each region in JD Power’s 2019 US Auto Insurance Study^SMThis shows that customer satisfaction is high across the country.

Read more about coverage in our complete USAA insurance review

Geico is our highest rated provider available to everyone. We rated Geico with 4.5 out of 5.0 stars for its extensive coverage and customer service. It has an A ++ rating from AM Best and an A + rating from the Better Business Bureau.

One reason Geico auto insurance is cheap for so many customers is that the company offers a wide variety of discounts, including:

• Good driver discount
• Discount for defensive drivers
• Military discount
• Federal employee discount
• Good student discount
• Discount for multiple vehicles
• Multiple policy discounts
• Discounts on airbags, anti-lock brakes and anti-theft devices

Read our Geico Review for more information on coverage and discounts.

FAQ: car insurance numbers

What do the numbers 25/50/25 mean in auto insurance?

The numbers on your auto insurance policy represent your limits of coverage. This is the maximum amount that your insurer pays out for a claim. The numbers 25/50/25 indicate $ 25,000 personal injury liability per person, $ 50,000 personal injury liability per accident, and $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident.

What do the numbers 50/100/20 in an insurance policy represent?

The numbers 50/100/20 represent the limits of your policy coverage. If you’ve covered this amount in auto insurance, your insurance company will pay $ 50,000 in personal injury liability per person, $ 100,000 in accidental personal injury liability, and $ 20,000 in property damage liability.

What does 100/300/50 represent on an insurance policy?

The numbers 100/300/50 represent the coverage limits of your policy. If you have these auto insurance numbers, your insurance company will pay $ 100,000 in personal injury liability per person, $ 300,000 in personal injury liability per accident, and $ 50,000 in property damage liability.