Car Insurance in South Carolina

How does car insurance work in South Carolina?

You must insure every car you register, and the state keeps watch for you. When your insurer ends a policy, it tells the Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV). If no new policy shows up, you get a letter. You then have 20 business days to have an insurer verify coverage electronically.

Miss that deadline and the SCDMV suspends your license plate, your registration and your driving privilege. No officer has to pull you over first. That is the biggest practical difference from states where the main risk is a roadside ticket.

Fault decides who pays after a crash, usually through the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. Three coverages are required: bodily injury liability, property damage liability and uninsured motorist coverage. Everything else is optional unless your lender demands it.

What does the South Carolina minimum cover?

The legal minimum is called 25/50/25. It means $25,000 for one person’s injuries, $50,000 for all injuries in one crash, and $25,000 for property damage. These limits pay the people you hurt and the things you damage. They do not pay for your car or your own injuries.

South Carolina adds a twist many states lack. The uninsured motorist (UM) coverage built into every policy must match those same limits. If a driver with no insurance, or a hit-and-run driver, injures you, your own UM coverage pays. The property damage part usually carries a $200 deductible. The state says you should get that back if your insurer recovers its money from the other driver.

You may buy extra UM, and insurers must offer underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage up to your liability limits. UIM pays when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough. You can refuse UIM, but not basic UM.

Compare other states with our minimum lookup.

Are the minimums going up?

Not yet. In the 2025-2026 session, a tort reform bill (S 244) and an amended liquor liability bill would raise the limits to 50/100/50. The Senate passed S 244 in March 2025, and it has sat in a House committee since April 2025. A smaller bill would raise limits to 30/50/30 and also stalled. The 2025 tort reform law that was signed does not touch the minimums.

Bills not passed by the end of the two-year session die, so expect no change soon. Do not wait for the law to decide your limits, though. See the coverage section below.

What happens if you drive without insurance in South Carolina?

If you let a policy lapse, the first hit is usually automatic. The state suspends your plates, registration and license after the lapse letter goes unanswered. A lapse can also bring a fine of $5 a day, up to $200 per vehicle for a first offense. A separate $200 fee applies when the state has to recover plates you did not turn in.

There is a clean way out. If you turn in your plate and registration to the SCDMV before you cancel the policy, you are not penalized. That helps if you are selling a car, storing one, or leaving the state.

The penalties get heavier after a conviction:

• If you own the car. Your license and registration stay suspended until the SCDMV gets an uninsured motorist fee. The SCDMV page says $700. The statute sets a $600 base that the Department of Insurance can adjust each year, so expect $600 to $700 and confirm the current amount. Your insurer must then file an SR-22 certificate for three years.
• If you do not own the car. Your license is suspended for 30 days, and reinstatement costs $100.
• In court. A first offense is a misdemeanor with a fine of $100 to $200 or 30 days in jail.

One piece of older advice is now wrong. Many websites still describe a fee that let owners stay on the road uninsured. That option ended on July 1, 2024. After a no-insurance ticket, you have 30 days to prove the car was insured, or your license is suspended.

What is an SR-22 in South Carolina?

An SR-22 is a form your insurer files with the state to prove you carry coverage. It is not a policy. South Carolina uses it for three years after an uninsured-driving conviction, and we found no FR-44 requirement. Read our SR-22 explainer if you need one, and see high-risk insurance for what it does to pricing.

What does a lapse letter look like in real life?

Say you switch jobs in March and your employer’s car discount ends. You cancel your old policy on the 10th and plan to buy a new one “this week.” You forget. Three weeks later a letter from the SCDMV arrives. It says you have 20 business days to verify coverage.

If you buy a policy right away and your insurer verifies it, the problem is probably over. If you ignore the letter, your plates and registration are suspended, and driving anyway risks a ticket. In this example the fix cost one phone call. Ignoring it could have cost hundreds of dollars.

The dates are invented; the deadline and consequences are real.

How much does car insurance cost in South Carolina?

For context only, NAIC data put the average at $1,497.66 per insured vehicle in 2024. That is a state figure. It covers liability, collision and comprehensive for all drivers combined. It compares with $1,431.63 for the whole U.S., and with $1,116.44 for South Carolina in 2020. That is a rise of about 34% in four years.

Published estimates for one clean-record driver look different, because they follow a single profile. They are not quotes.

The sources use different drivers, cars, limits and deductibles, so do not subtract one from the other.

Moving from the minimum to fuller coverage costs roughly three times as much in these sources (about 2.7 to 3.7 times). Your own price will move with your address, record and car. Our rate guide explains how insurers arrive at a price.

Where can you compare prices in South Carolina?

Start with the Department of Insurance’s free sample-rate tool. Large insurers must file sample rates for set driver profiles, and some smaller companies add theirs. You enter your county, car and driver details, and it shows illustrative prices. They are not quotes, and the department endorses none of the companies. Use the list to decide whom to quote with, then get real quotes.

What is unusual about insuring a car here?

• Mandatory UM, with a deductible. Many states do not require it. You can raise the limit above the minimum for more protection against uninsured drivers.
• Hand in your plates before you cancel. The lapse system is automatic, but surrendering the plate and registration first avoids penalties.
• Glass has no deductible. Insurers cannot apply a deductible to safety glass repair or replacement. If your policy lists one, ask why.
• Totaling a car. The Department of Insurance says a car is declared a total loss when repairs pass 75% of its value. You are paid what the car was worth just before the crash, which can be less than a Blue Book number.
• Weather and flood. Comprehensive covers flood, severe weather, theft and animal collisions, which matters in a coastal state. Liability-only policies get none of that. See our home insurance page for the property side.
• Credit. Insurers may use credit information, but the department’s rules say they cannot cancel or non-renew you based on credit alone. You may ask for one re-check a year. Our guide on credit and rates has more.
• A three-year clock. Injury lawsuits generally must start within three years. Save photos and bills right away.

Who do you call if something goes wrong?

The Department of Insurance handles complaints about insurers, agents and adjusters. Consumer Services is at 803-737-6180 or 1-800-768-3467, and the complaint form is at doi.sc.gov/complaint. Use that office for a stalled claim. The SCDMV handles suspensions, SR-22 filings and reinstatements. For suspected fraud, call 1-888-953-7283.

If standard insurers turn you down, South Carolina has an assigned-risk plan, the Associated Auto Insurers Plan, as a last resort.

Which South Carolina rules should shape your choices?

• Young drivers. Teens can get a permit at 15, a conditional license six months later, and a restricted license at 16. Adding a teen is usually the biggest premium jump a family sees. Read our teen driver guide and the licensing stages guide.
• After a DUI. Every DUI conviction requires an alcohol and drug safety program. Since May 2024, an ignition interlock is also required to clear a DUI suspension. Our DUI insurance guide covers what to expect.
• Financed or leased car. Lenders typically require collision and comprehensive, and sometimes gap coverage.

How much coverage should you buy?

The minimum is cheap, but it can run out fast. A serious injury can cost more than $25,000 in medical bills, and a newer car can cost more than $25,000 to replace. If you cause the crash, you owe whatever your policy does not cover.

Use this rule of thumb. If you own a home, have savings, or earn wages a court could reach, higher liability limits protect you. If you drive an old car worth under about $1,000, the state’s own tip is that liability-only may be enough. If you finance a car, you need full coverage anyway. Compare options in our full coverage vs liability guide and check yourself with the liability limit checker.

What to do next

1. Find your policy’s declarations page and check three things: liability is at least 25/50/25, UM is included, and the policy is active.
2. If you are about to cancel, sell or store a car, turn in the plate and registration before you end the policy.
3. If you got an SCDMV lapse letter, call your insurer or agent today and ask them to verify coverage electronically. Keep the deadline in view.
4. Decide whether to raise your liability limits. Many drivers go well above the minimum when they have assets to protect.
5. Run the Department of Insurance sample-rate tool, pick several companies, and request quotes on identical coverage.
6. Re-shop every year, or after a big life change such as a move, a new car or a new driver.

Common mistakes

• Cancelling a policy before a new one starts, even for a few days.
• Relying on articles about the uninsured fee, which no longer exists.
• Assuming the minimum will go up soon and waiting for the law.

Bottom line

If you simply want to be legal, keep a continuous 25/50/25 policy with UM and never let it lapse. If you have assets or a loan, buy higher liability limits and full coverage, and compare at least three quotes using the state’s sample-rate tool as a starting point. If you got a lapse letter or a ticket, act inside the deadline on the notice and verify the fee with the SCDMV.

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm rules with the South Carolina Department of Insurance or the SCDMV.