South Carolina car insurance requirements
Last checked September 27, 2026
Average premium per insured vehicle (2023)
$386
33rd highest of 51 states and DC. Up 21.3% since 2019, against 21.4% nationally.
| Year | South Carolina | National | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $318 | $382 | -16.6% |
| 2020 | $313 | $371 | -15.8% |
| 2021 | $318 | $377 | -15.7% |
| 2022 | $334 | $400 | -16.5% |
| 2023 | $386 | $464 | -16.7% |
These are not quotes. They are the average premium actually written per insured vehicle, as reported by insurers to state regulators and compiled by the NAIC — which makes them slower to update than a quote engine, and much harder to argue with. The average covers policies far above the legal minimum, so it is not the price of a minimum-limits policy.
Source: NAIC — Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (June 2025)
What South Carolina requires
Recent changes
Full historyJanuary 1, 2026
Reinstatement fee for driving uninsured rises to $700
January 1, 2026
Fault can now be apportioned to a non-party, and the alcohol exception is gone
Guides covering South Carolina
- What Changed in 2026
Liability minimums doubled in Hawaii, two states dropped pure comparative fault, New Hampshire stopped inspecting cars, and three crash reporting thresholds moved — a dated account of the 2026 changes, and the ones already signed for 2027 and beyond.
- The Fine Is the Cheapest Part
A first-offense fine for driving uninsured runs from $30 in Florida to a $1,500 floor in Delaware — but South Carolina's $100 fine arrives with a $700 reinstatement fee, and the reinstatement is usually the bigger number.
- When a State Contradicts Itself
A state's statute and that same state's own agency page often give different answers on the same day. Seven cases we hit reading all 51 jurisdictions, why it happens, and where the agency is the one that's right.
- What a Gap in Coverage Actually Costs
A lapse is billed differently in every state — by the day in New York and Maryland, by the reinstatement in Florida, by a registration fee in Tennessee, by a $600 noncompliance fee in Virginia, and in Ohio by a fine that does not appear at all.
- The Crash You Are Required to Report Is Smaller Than You Think
Crash-report triggers start at $500 in Georgia and New Jersey and reach $3,000 for a Virginia police report; Florida's is $500 before 1 October 2026 and $2,000 from that date, and Pennsylvania and Maryland use no dollar figure at all.
- The One Percentage Point That Decides Your Claim
Across the states covered on this site there are four different rules for what your own share of the blame does to your claim — and in North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, being 1% at fault ends it entirely.
- Two Deadlines, and Sometimes Two Agencies
A new resident usually gets one deadline for the car and another for the license — 20 days apart in Florida, 60 in Texas, and no grace period for either in Michigan, Arizona or Massachusetts.
- No-Fault Does Not Mean Nobody Is at Fault
No-fault restricts the right to sue rather than removing it. Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York run it, New Jersey and Pennsylvania let you choose, and Michigan lets every driver pick one of six PIP ceilings — which changes who pays after a crash.
- Your State's Own Website May Be Telling You the Wrong Number
Nine examples where official agency pages, printed handbooks and widely repeated figures describe car insurance rules that no longer exist — or never did.
- The Form Some States Do Not Use
An SR-22 is a certificate, not a policy — and in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina and Michigan the form does not exist at all.
- Fifteen Thousand Dollars, or Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand
The legal minimum for injuring one person in a crash ranges from $15,000 in Pennsylvania to $250,000 in Michigan — and in Florida there is no bodily injury requirement at all.
Check the law yourself
Every figure on this page comes from a numbered section of South Carolina law or from the agency that administers it. See every statute we cite for South Carolina, with what each one governs and the date we last read it.
Who to ask in South Carolina
- South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) — coverage, policies, complaints
- South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) — registration and titles
- South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) — driver licensing and SR-22
Checked against the primary sources above on September 27, 2026. If a figure here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it — what we have corrected so far is public.