Car Insurance Coverage Calculator: How much do I need?
Two questions decide most of your auto policy: how much liability to carry (size it to what you could lose in a lawsuit) and whether collision & comprehensive still pay off on your car. This tool answers both. No sign-up, nothing stored.
If you cause a serious crash, the other party can come after your assets. Your liability limit should cover what you'd have to protect.
How this works
Liability limits
Liability pays for the other person's injuries and property when you're at fault. State minimums are dangerously low — a single ER visit can blow past them, and you personally owe the rest. A good rule: your bodily-injury liability limit should be at least as large as your net worth, because that's what a judgment can reach. This tool maps your assets to a standard limit tier:
- Under $50k: at least 50/100/50 — well above most state minimums.
- $50k–$100k: 100/300/100.
- $100k–$300k: 250/500/100.
- Over $300k: 250/500/100 plus a personal umbrella ($1M+) — umbrellas are cheap for the coverage.
The numbers read as per-person bodily injury / per-accident bodily injury / property damage in thousands. Always carry matching uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage — plenty of drivers have little or none.
The 10% rule for collision & comprehensive
Collision and comprehensive only ever pay up to your car's value, minus the deductible. When the yearly premium climbs past roughly 10% of what you'd actually collect (car value − deductible), you're paying a lot to insure a little. That's the point to consider dropping them and self-insuring the car. Liability, though, you keep no matter what. For the full breakdown, see the guides at TheInsurance.Guide.