Minnesota is a no-fault state
Minnesota uses a no-fault system for auto injuries. That means after a crash, your own policy pays your initial medical bills and certain other losses through Personal Injury Protection (PIP) — no matter who caused the accident. It's designed to get medical bills paid quickly without waiting for a fault determination.
No-fault applies to injuries, not vehicle damage. Repairs to your car still depend on fault and on the coverages you carry (collision, comprehensive, and the at-fault driver's liability).
What Minnesota law requires
Every Minnesota auto policy must include at least:
- Bodily injury liability: $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident.
- Property damage liability: $10,000 per accident.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP / no-fault): $40,000 per person — split as $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for non-medical losses like lost wages and replacement services.
- Uninsured motorist (UM): $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident.
- Underinsured motorist (UIM): $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident.
What we generally recommend
Coverage should match what you have to protect — your income and your assets. As a starting point for a typical Minnesota household:
- Liability: start at 100/300/100 ($100k per person, $300k per accident, $100k property damage) — but most households today should price out 250/500/250. Raising liability limits is one of the cheapest upgrades on a policy, and a single serious injury or a totaled newer vehicle can blow past 100/300/100 fast.
- Property damage: the $10k minimum is dangerously low. Newer trucks and SUVs — and plenty of $100k+ vehicles — share Minnesota roads, so $100k–$250k of property damage is sensible. Our liability limit estimator shows why.
- UM/UIM: match your liability limits — too many Minnesota drivers buy strong liability but leave UM/UIM at the minimum.
- Collision & comprehensive: carry them while your car is worth protecting; revisit as it ages.
- Umbrella policy: worth considering once you hit 250/500 limits and have meaningful assets.
Use our free calculators to translate your assets, income, and vehicle value into specific coverage and deductible decisions.
Choosing deductibles
Your deductible is what you pay before collision or comprehensive coverage kicks in. Raising it lowers your premium — but only makes sense if the savings pay back the added risk reasonably quickly. Our deductible break-even calculator shows exactly how long that takes for your numbers.
Discounts Minnesota drivers often miss
- Bundling auto with home or renters insurance.
- Multi-vehicle and multi-driver households.
- Telematics / safe-driving programs (with real trade-offs — see our guide).
- Good-student and driver-training discounts for teens.
- Paid-in-full and paperless billing.