Alabama minimum car insurance: the 25/50/25 rule

The text of § 32-7-6 says every policy or bond is subject, if an accident has resulted in bodily injury or death, "to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) because of bodily injury to or death to one person in any one accident and subject to the limit for one person, to a limit of not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and, if the accident has resulted in injury to or destruction of property, to a limit of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident." [1] In the text as the legislature publishes it, that sentence is the closing paragraph of the section; Alabama's mandatory-insurance and uninsured motorist statutes refer to it as "Section 32-7-6(c)." [2]

Section 32-7A-4(a): "No person shall operate, register, or maintain registration of, and no owner shall permit another person to operate, register, or maintain registration of, a motor vehicle designed to be used on a public highway unless the motor vehicle is covered by a liability insurance policy, a commercial automobile liability insurance policy, motor vehicle liability bond, or deposit of cash." [2]

For vehicles registered in Alabama, § 32-7A-4(b)(1) says the policy must be "in amounts no less than the minimum amounts set for bodily injury or death and for destruction of property under Section 32-7-6(c)." [2] The same subsection allows a bond or a cash deposit with the State Treasurer in at least those amounts [2]. Vehicles registered in another state must meet "the requirements of the laws of the state of registration" (§ 32-7A-4(b)(2)) [2]. Section 32-7A-5 lists exceptions, such as trailers and government-owned vehicles [3].

Section 32-7-23(a) says a policy may not be issued in Alabama for a vehicle registered or principally garaged here "unless coverage is provided therein or supplemental thereto, in limits for bodily injury or death set forth in subsection (c) of Section 32-7-6" for people legally entitled to recover from "owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles." [4] [4] The named insured "shall have the right to reject such coverage." [4] On renewal, the statute says that coverage "need not be provided in or supplemental to a renewal policy where the named insured had rejected the coverage in connection with the policy previously issued to him or her by the same insurer" unless the named insured requests it in writing [4].

What counts as "uninsured" is broader than "no insurance." Section 32-7-23(b) says the term uninsured motor vehicle "shall include, but is not limited to, motor vehicles with respect to which" [4] one of these is true.

• "Neither the owner nor the operator carries bodily injury liability insurance;" [4]
• "Any applicable policy liability limits for bodily injury are below the minimum required under Section 32-7-6;" [4]
• the insurer becomes insolvent after the policy is issued; and [4]
• "The sum of the limits of liability under all bodily injury liability bonds and insurance policies available to an injured person after an accident is less than the damages which the injured person is legally entitled to recover." [4]

Section 32-7-23(c) limits recovery under one contract: "The recovery by an injured person under the uninsured provisions of any one contract of automobile insurance shall be limited to the primary coverage plus such additional coverage as may be provided for additional vehicles, but not to exceed two additional coverages within such contract." [4] How this works with your policy is a question for your insurer or an attorney.

A serious injury can cost more than $25,000. Another driver's minimum coverage does not cap what a person's losses are; it is what that driver's policy must at least provide. This page does not estimate any claim's value.

• Whether you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and in what amount.
• Whether you signed a rejection of that coverage (the statute says you may).
• Your own medical payments coverage, if any. The statutes on this page do not require it.