South Carolina requires every driver to carry uninsured motorist coverage, and unlike most states, it does not let anyone decline it. That single rule sets South Carolina apart from the majority of states, where uninsured motorist coverage is either optional or not required at all.
Most drivers can recite the number “25/50/25” without knowing what it actually breaks down to, or why those three figures matter once a real crash and real medical bills enter the picture. South Carolina minimum auto insurance requirements are more specific and more limited than many policyholders realize until they need to rely on them after a car accident.
South Carolina Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements: What 25/50/25 Means
Under South Carolina Code Section 38-77-140, every auto insurance policy issued in the state must include liability coverage of at least 25/50/25. Each number represents a specific, separate limit. The first number, $25,000, is the maximum your policy pays toward injuries to any one person in an accident you caused. The second number, $50,000, is the combined maximum your policy pays toward all injured people in that same accident, regardless of how many people were hurt. The third number, $25,000, covers property damage, typically the other driver’s vehicle or anything else damaged in the crash.
Did You Know?
South Carolina requires uninsured motorist coverage, so your own policy may provide coverage if the driver who caused your accident has no insurance.
South Carolina Liability Insurance Requirements: How the Numbers Affect a Claim
South Carolina’s minimum insurance limits matter most when a crash causes serious injuries or hurts several people at once. For example, say three people are injured, and their combined medical bills reach $90,000. If the at-fault driver carries only the state minimum, their insurance provides no more than $50,000 for everyone injured in the crash, with a maximum of $25,000 for any one person.
That creates a problem when the cost of an injury is higher than the insurance available. A person could have $40,000 in medical bills and additional losses from missed work or ongoing treatment, but the at-fault driver’s policy may still only provide up to $25,000 for that person’s claim.
When this happens, the claim does not necessarily end with the at-fault driver’s policy limit. Other insurance may be available, including coverage through the injured person’s own policy. Finding every source of available coverage becomes especially important when several injured people are seeking compensation from the same limited policy.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage in South Carolina: What It Means for Your Claim
South Carolina requires auto policies to include uninsured motorist coverage. Under Section 38-77-150, drivers must carry at least 25/50/25 in uninsured motorist coverage, and unlike some optional types of coverage, it cannot simply be declined.
This coverage matters when the person who caused your crash has no insurance or cannot be identified, as can happen in a hit-and-run. Instead of having to rely solely on an uninsured driver’s ability to pay for your injuries, you may be able to make a claim through your own uninsured motorist coverage.
That does not mean your insurance company automatically pays everything you claim. You still need to establish the other driver’s responsibility for the crash and document your injuries and losses. Your insurer may also dispute what the claim is worth. The important difference is that uninsured motorist coverage gives you another potential source of compensation when there is no liability insurance available from the driver who caused the accident.
Why Minimum Insurance May Not Cover a Serious Injury Claim
South Carolina’s minimum insurance limits can look substantial until they are compared with the cost of a serious injury. A driver carrying the minimum has only $25,000 in bodily injury coverage available for any one person hurt in a crash.
Consider a spinal cord injury. According to the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center’s spinal cord injury data, average first-year health care and living expenses are estimated at more than $687,000 for paraplegia and more than $1.4 million for high tetraplegia. Those figures do not include indirect costs such as lost wages, benefits, or lost productivity. Against expenses at that level, South Carolina’s $25,000 minimum bodily injury limit may cover only a small portion of the losses associated with a catastrophic injury.
A serious traumatic brain injury can create a similar problem. Moderate and severe TBIs may require ongoing rehabilitation and can cause long-term or lifelong health problems that affect a person’s ability to work and live independently.
For someone injured in a car crash, this creates an important distinction: the value of the claim and the amount of insurance available are not necessarily the same thing. When the at-fault driver’s policy is not enough, identifying other potential sources of coverage becomes an important part of determining how the claim should move forward.
What Happens When the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance
South Carolina uses an insurance database to identify vehicles that may not have the required coverage. Drivers who allow their insurance to lapse can face suspension of their driving privileges and vehicle registration, along with reinstatement fees and other penalties.
For someone injured in a crash, however, the bigger concern is what happens to the claim when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance available. You can still pursue a claim, but there may be no insurance policy on the other side to pay for your medical bills, lost income, and other losses.
This is where South Carolina’s required uninsured motorist coverage becomes especially important. Rather than depending entirely on the uninsured driver to pay a claim personally, an injured person may be able to seek compensation through their own UM coverage. The fact that the other driver broke the law by driving uninsured does not, by itself, pay for the injuries they caused.
South Carolina’s Uninsured Driver Problem and Why It Matters Locally
South Carolina has a significant number of uninsured drivers on its roads despite state insurance requirements. Along the Grand Strand, that risk is compounded by the amount of traffic moving through Myrtle Beach each year, including visitors and drivers insured in other states.
For someone injured in a crash, the important issue is not simply whether the other driver broke the law by driving uninsured. It is whether there is enough insurance available to cover the losses caused by the accident. When the at-fault driver has no coverage, South Carolina’s required uninsured motorist coverage may provide another way to pursue compensation.
Tip
After a serious accident, identifying all available insurance can be just as important as determining the at-fault driver’s policy limits.
When Insurance Limits Affect Your South Carolina Car Accident Claim
The minimum insurance required by South Carolina law sets the amount of coverage a driver must carry. It does not set the value of an injury claim. Medical expenses, lost income, future treatment, and the other effects of a serious injury can easily exceed the amount available under a minimum-limit policy.
That is why determining available insurance coverage is an important part of a South Carolina car accident claim. Depending on the circumstances, that may mean looking beyond the at-fault driver’s liability policy to uninsured or other applicable coverage.
If you were injured in a crash and are unsure whether the available insurance will cover your losses, Morris Law can review the accident, the policies that may apply, and the options available for pursuing compensation.