Kentucky’s Minimum Insurance Limits and Modern Crash Costs

Kentucky requires $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage and $25,000 in property damage liability coverage under KRS 304.39-110. The statute was created in 1974 and amended in 1976, 1984, 1986, and 2017; the 2017 amendment raised the property damage minimum from $10,000 to $25,000. At least five states have raised their bodily injury minimums above Kentucky’s since January 1, 2025.

Current Kentucky Minimum Liability Limits

KRS 304.39-110 lets a policy meet Kentucky’s tort liability requirement in one of two ways:

• Split limits of at least $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to all persons in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage in one accident.
• A single limit of at least $60,000 for all bodily injury and property damage in one accident.

The policy must also provide basic reparation benefits. Under KRS 304.39-020, those benefits are capped at $10,000 for all economic loss to one person from one accident. A motorcycle policy meets the requirement with the liability coverages alone. The firm’s Kentucky minimum car insurance requirements article explains how each limit applies after a crash.

Statute History Since 1974

The history note for KRS 304.39-110 lists its creation in 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 385, effective July 1, 1975, followed by amendments in 1976, 1984, 1986, and 2017. The 2017 change came from Senate Bill 114 (2017 Ky. Acts ch. 157), which raised the property damage minimum from $10,000 to $25,000. A Legislative Research Commission note on the statute applies that increase to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2018.

The 2017 act left the $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident bodily injury figures and the $60,000 single limit unchanged. The current statute text carries an effective date of June 29, 2017.

States That Raised Minimums in 2025 and 2026

Virginia, California, Utah, North Carolina, and New Jersey each raised their minimum liability limits for policies issued or renewed on or after dates in 2025 or 2026. All five now require more than $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person.

Virginia and North Carolina now require twice Kentucky’s $25,000 per person bodily injury minimum, and North Carolina requires twice Kentucky’s property damage minimum.

Uninsured Drivers in Kentucky

An estimated 14.1% of Kentucky motorists were uninsured in 2023, ranking Kentucky 20th among the states, according to Insurance Research Council estimates published by the Insurance Information Institute. The national estimate for 2023 was 15.4%. The estimate is a ratio of uninsured motorist claims to bodily injury claims, not a count of registered vehicles without coverage.

Under KRS 304.20-020, a Kentucky auto liability policy must include uninsured motorist coverage at the KRS 304.39-110 bodily injury limits unless a named insured rejects it in writing. The firm’s article on rejecting uninsured motorist coverage covers what that rejection changes.

Medical and Vehicle Costs Against the Minimums

Kentucky hospitals reported $3,039.62 in adjusted expenses per inpatient day in 2024, according to KFF’s analysis of American Hospital Association survey data. The national figure was $3,297.26. That figure measures a hospital’s own expense, not the bill a patient receives, and $25,000 equals about eight days of it.

Vehicle prices set the scale for the property damage minimum. Buyers paid an average of $49,220 for a new vehicle in May 2026, according to Kelley Blue Book, nearly twice Kentucky’s $25,000 property damage minimum. A totaled car claim against a minimum policy can exceed that limit when a newer vehicle is destroyed or several vehicles are damaged in one crash.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet estimates the economic cost of 2024 public-road collisions in Kentucky at $9.96 billion, covering lost wages, medical expenses, administrative costs, property damage, and employer costs. Those collisions injured 29,235 people, as the firm’s Kentucky car accident statistics for 2024 article reports.

Coverage Above the Kentucky Minimum

Underinsured motorist coverage applies when an at-fault driver’s liability limits are lower than the judgment against that driver. KRS 304.39-320 requires every insurer to make that coverage available on request, and the insurer pays its own insured up to the underinsured motorist limits. The firm’s underinsured motorist claims article explains how those claims proceed after a settlement with the liability insurer.

Kentucky law also defines added reparation benefits as optional coverage beyond the $10,000 in basic reparation benefits. The firm’s added PIP coverage article describes that option.