Vermont Minimum Car Insurance Requirements

What is the minimum car insurance you need in Vermont?

You need liability coverage of at least 25/50/10. Liability is the part of your policy that pays other people when you cause a crash. The first number is the most it pays for one injured person, $25,000. The second is the cap for everyone hurt in the same crash, $50,000. The third, $10,000, pays for damage to other people’s property, mostly their car.

Liability does nothing for you. It will not fix your own car or pay your own doctor. It also stops at the limit, so anything above it can come back to you.

Vermont adds a twist that most states do not. Your policy must also include uninsured and underinsured motorist cover (UM/UIM). It starts at 50/100, double the liability minimum. In short, Vermont makes you protect yourself at a higher level than you protect strangers.

Why is the uninsured-motorist number higher than the liability number?

The law sets the two floors separately, and they do not match. UM/UIM pays you when the other driver has no insurance, drove off, or carried too little. A driver is “underinsured” for you if their liability limit is lower than your own UM limit. With 25/50 on their side and 50/100 on yours, that is the normal case.

So a minimum-limits driver is the person most likely to leave you short, and your own policy is the backup. Check your declarations page. If your liability is higher than 50/100, your UM should match it unless you chose otherwise in writing.

UM also pays for your car, up to $10,000 per claim. There is usually a $150 deductible. If you carry collision cover, UM can pay that deductible instead.

What does the minimum leave out?

Quite a lot. Vermont does not require collision (your car in a crash), comprehensive (theft, fire, deer and moose strikes) or medical payments cover. Medical payments is optional, has no deductible and pays your own bills whoever was at fault. There is no required personal injury protection, because Vermont is not a no-fault state.

Fault matters for your own claim, too. If you are more at fault than the other driver, you generally cannot recover from them at all. You have three years to sue for an injury.

What happens if you drive without insurance in Vermont?

You get a civil traffic ticket, not a criminal charge. The fine can be up to $500, and you get 2 points on your license. Points matter because 10 points in two years brings a suspension. The exact amount you would pay at the Judicial Bureau is printed on the ticket, and we could not find a published schedule.

The bigger risk comes after a crash. If you cannot show you were insured in a crash with $3,000 or more in damage or any injury, the DMV will require an SR-22, a form your insurer sends to the DMV to prove coverage. If it is not filed within 20 days of the DMV’s notice, your license is suspended until it is. Other serious violations, such as DUI, also lead to an SR-22. See the Vermont uninsured driver page for the full picture.

Forgetting your card is a smaller matter. That is a penalty of up to $100 and no points. If you send proof that your policy was active that day within seven business days, you are not convicted.

How does Vermont check that you are insured?

Mostly through the officer at the roadside, the inspection station and the DMV. Carry your card or show it on your phone. The DMV will not give you a road test without a valid insurance card, and the law lets the Commissioner ask for proof before inspection.

We did not find any state program where insurers report policies to the DMV automatically. That is absence of evidence, not proof that none exists. Either way, a lapse can surface when a card is requested, so avoid even a short gap.

Do you have to carry more insurance if you finance or lease a car?

Yes, usually, but that rule comes from your contract, not from Vermont law. A lender or leasing company will require collision and comprehensive too, and sets its own maximum deductible. If your car is worth less than you owe, gap insurance can cover the difference.

Can you use a bond or deposit instead of insurance?

Technically yes, but few people do. The law accepts a liability bond at the same 25/50/10 amounts. It also accepts self-insurance, shown by filing $115,000 with the DMV in the form the Commissioner prescribes. Both take paperwork and tie up money. Talk to the DMV first.

Is the Vermont minimum changing?

Not that we could find. Statute text through the 2025 session still shows 25/50/10 for liability and 50/100 for UM/UIM, even after a 2025 act touched the UM section. A 2024 bill (S.150) to raise UM minimums was not adopted.

One bill is worth watching. S.7, passed by the Senate on February 5, 2025, would stop an insurer from subtracting the at-fault driver’s liability payment from your own underinsured cover. It would also limit what an insurer can claw back on medical payments. The last record we found showed it in the House Commerce Committee, with a public comment filed in May 2026. We could not reach the legislature’s page, so do not assume it passed.

What does a crash above the minimum look like?

Here is an invented example with round numbers. It is not a real case.

You rear-end a driver on I-89 in the rain. The other driver has $62,000 in medical bills and lost pay. Their car is totaled, worth $18,000. You carry 25/50/10.

• Your policy pays $25,000 for the injuries and $10,000 for the car.
• Your remaining bill: $37,000 plus $8,000, so $45,000.
• The other driver, or their insurer, can pursue that from you.

Now flip it. Someone with 25/50 limits hits you and your injuries total $60,000. Their policy pays $25,000. Your own UIM cover at 50/100 can then respond for the shortfall, but exactly how it counts the first $25,000 depends on your policy wording and on what happens to S.7. Ask your insurer before you need it.

Who should consider higher limits?

Think about more than 25/50/10 if any of these fit you:

• You own a home, savings or investments someone could go after.
• You drive a lot, or on highways and in bad weather.
• You carry passengers, such as kids’ teams or coworkers.
• You earn a good income that could be garnished.

A common step is 100/300/100, if your budget allows. Ask for a quote at several limits and compare the price difference. Our liability limit checker helps you size it.

What to do next

1. Find your declarations page and read the three liability numbers.
2. Confirm your UM/UIM limits are 50/100 or match your liability.
3. Save your insurance card on your phone and keep a paper copy in the glovebox.
4. If you finance or lease, check what your lender requires for collision and deductibles.
5. Ask your insurer or agent to price 100/300/100 next to your current limits.
6. If you ever get a ticket or DMV letter, send proof of coverage in force on that date, right away.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the legal minimum protects your own car or body.
• Letting a policy lapse for a few days between insurers.
• Trusting old pages that say an SR-22 lasts three years. For most triggers the statute now says one year, though the DMV’s own insurance page still says three.
• Skipping UM/UIM because it feels optional. It is not.

Bottom line

If money is tight, 25/50/10 plus the required UM/UIM keeps you legal. If you own anything worth protecting, price higher limits now, because the minimum can run out fast in a serious crash. This page is general information, not legal advice. Check details with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation or the DMV. Browse the Vermont hub for more.