While Pennsylvania law only requires you to carry 15/30/5 liability limits and $5,000 in medical benefits, you actually need enough car insurance to fully protect your current assets and future income. Relying strictly on state minimums keeps you legal, but it leaves your savings and home dangerously exposed to lawsuits if you cause a serious accident.
Beyond the PA State Minimums: What Coverage Should You Actually Carry?
- Bodily Injury Liability: If you are at fault in a major crash, the other party’s medical bills will escalate quickly. I generally recommend carrying at least 100/300 ($100,000 per person / $300,000 per accident) so your personal assets aren’t at risk in a lawsuit.
- Property Damage Liability: PA only requires $5,000 to cover damage to another person’s property. With the average cost of a new vehicle exceeding $40,000 today, you should bump this up to at least $50,000 or $100,000 to avoid paying the difference out of your own pocket.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM): This coverage protects you if someone hits you and they don’t have enough (or any) insurance. You should always match your UM/UIM limits to your bodily injury limits so you are protecting yourself just as much as you are protecting others.
- Full Tort vs. Limited Tort: This is a choice unique to Pennsylvania. Full tort costs a bit more but gives you the unrestricted right to sue for pain and suffering if you are injured. Limited tort restricts this right, which can be a devastating trade-off just to save a few dollars a month.
What should you do next?
If you aren’t sure what your current limits are, it is time to pull up your declarations page and review your coverages. For a deeper dive into what all these terms mean and how to structure your policy, check out our complete Pennsylvania Auto Insurance FAQs.