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What are state minimums for car insurance in West Virginia?

Things to remember...
  • West Virginia drivers must comply with minimum coverage limits for liability insurance and maximum coverage limits for uninsured motorist coverage
  • Your car insurance status in West Virginia may be verified electronically when you are pulled over or at random times
  • If you are not properly insured per the state’s minimum legal requirements, you may be fined or have your license suspended
  • Some West Virginia drivers may want to buy extra coverage for added benefits


Most states have minimum car insurance requirements that drivers must meet, and this holds true for West Virginia as well. Car insurance requirements in this state are designed to help drivers comply with the financial responsibility law.

This law states that you are legally obligated to pay for all damages you cause while driving in this state, and the required liability insurance gives you a means to pay for the damages you create for other people.

West Virginia drivers should be aware that they must purchase a minimum amount of insurance, but you can also opt to purchase more than the required amount for additional benefit.

By learning more about the state’s car insurance requirements, you can better determine if you want to buy more than the minimum amount of coverage required or if the minimum requirements will fully meet your needs. Make sure you use our FREE quote tool above today! 

Table of Contents

How to Read Car Insurance Requirements

Reading car insurance requirements can seem complicated to some drivers, but you need to understand the requirements as well as the protections they provide if you want to be an informed consumer and maintain your status as a legal, licensed driver in this state.

These are some of the common car insurance types you will find as you shop around for new auto coverage in West Virginia:

  • Bodily Injury Liability – This liability insurance type is a requirement in West Virginia, and it offers benefits that pay others’ medical expenses and other related expenses if you cause a damaging event while driving your car.
  • Personal Injury Protection (PIP) / Medical Payments – PIP is not legally required for West Virginia’s drivers, but it is required in many other states because of how beneficial it can be. This coverage pays for your own medical expenses if you are in an accident, and it may be used as a supplement to your existing major medical coverage.
  • Property Damage Liability – If you damage someone else’s car or another type of property in West Virginia, property damage liability insurance can provide you with financial benefits to pay for the required repairs or for a full replacement.
  • Collision Coverage – Collision coverage pays for your own vehicle repairs or for a full replacement of a totaled vehicle if you are involved in a collision only. Other damaging events are not covered by this type of insurance.
  • Comprehensive Coverage – Comprehensive insurance pays for repair work or for a full replacement of a vehicle if it is stolen, vandalized, damaged by bad weather, in a collision with an animal, and more. This coverage may be required by your lender if you have a car loan, but it is not required by the state.
  • Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage – West Virginia drivers are required by law to purchase uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. In addition to paying for your expenses if you are hit by someone who is not properly insured, this type of car insurance also pays your expenses if you are a victim of a hit and run accident.

When you read through West Virginia’s auto insurance requirements, you will notice that there are minimum coverage limits for liability insurance and maximum coverage limits for uninsured motorist insurance.

You should ensure that any policy that you buy in this state complies with these legal requirements.

What is the minimum coverage requirements for West Virginia?

Before you start requesting quotes for new car insurance rates in West Virginia, you need to know how much coverage to request quotes for. West Virginia requires drivers to have a minimum of:

  • $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury liability insurance
  • $25,000 per accident for property damage liability insurance

In addition, West Virginia also requires drivers to have a maximum of:

  • $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for bodily injury coverage under uninsured motorist insurance
  • $50,000 per accident for property damage under uninsured motorist insurance

West Virginia’s car insurance requirements may vary in some cases. For example, if you use your car for commercial or business purposes, other requirements may apply. Spend time learning more about coverage requirements for any special situation that affects you.

What are the penalties for driving uninsured in West Virginia?

Because the West Virginia car insurance requirement is a law, drivers could face numerous penalties associated with not complying with these legal requirements.

For example, you could have your vehicle’s registration or your driver’s license suspended if you are caught driving without insurance in this state.

Remember that West Virginia uses an electronic system to identify violators of the car insurance law.

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Minimum Requirement vs. Recommended Coverage

Deciding how much car insurance you should buy is rarely easy to do. The state’s requirements can serve as a basic guideline, but there may be instances when you want to buy more than the minimum coverage required by law.

Any expenses that you create while driving that are not paid for by your coverage are your responsibility, and you may consider increasing your coverage types and limits to decrease the amount of money you may potentially have to pay out of your own funds if you are involved in a serious accident.

How to Buy Cheap Auto Insurance in West Virginia

Because it is a legal requirement for drivers to buy coverage in West Virginia, you may be wondering what the fastest and easiest way is to get quotes from reputable companies.

You should first determine which providers you want to contact for quotes, and these ideally will be reputable and established insurance companies that have excellent financial strength. Then, you need to decide what type of coverage you want and what limits to request.

Remember that asking for similar quotes on car insurance will help you to identify the most affordable price available. Shopping online may save you time and energy when gathering and reviewing quotes.

Make a reminder to repeat this process every six months so that you can take advantage of potentially better car insurance rates in this state in the future. Don’t miss out on our FREE insurance comparison tool below! Just enter your ZIP code and get your free quote now!

Learn more about cheap auto insurance in West Virginia here.

References:

  1. http://www.iii.org/article/what-covered-basic-auto-insurance-policy
  2. https://wallethub.com/edu/collision-insurance/7292/
  3. http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/auto-insurance/comprehensive-auto-insurance-cover.htm
  4. http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Topics/Insurance/Cars-Auto-Insurance/State-by-State-Minimum-Coverage-Requirements
  5. http://www.iii.org/article/eight-auto-insurance-myths

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