Car insurance in Massachusetts

Massachusetts raised its minimum limits

A recent state law changed the required amounts: Chapter 275 of the Acts of 2024 raised minimums from 20/40/5 to 25/50/30 for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025. The property damage minimum saw the biggest jump, which matters because repairing or replacing a modern car can easily run past the old floor.

Any policy issued or renewed after the effective date must meet the new limits, so most drivers have already been moved up at renewal. The increase does not mean the new minimums are enough for everyone. Drivers with savings or a home to protect often look at higher limits, and an umbrella policy usually requires higher underlying limits anyway. The state minimums tool shows how the Massachusetts floor now compares with other states.

The four compulsory parts of a Massachusetts policy

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance lists four required coverages. One detail is easy to miss: the required bodily injury coverage applies only to accidents in Massachusetts and does not cover passengers in your own car. Optional bodily injury coverage can raise the limits and add passengers and out-of-state accidents.

No-fault PIP and the right to sue

Under no-fault, your own policy pays the first share of injury costs whoever caused the crash. Massachusetts PIP covers medical bills, up to 75% of lost wages and replacement services, all within one $8,000 limit. That is a modest amount next to a serious hospital stay, which is why medical payments coverage and your health plan still matter.

No-fault also limits lawsuits. Under state law, you can claim damages for pain and suffering against the at-fault driver only if your reasonable medical expenses are more than $2,000, or the injury causes death, loss of a body member, permanent and serious disfigurement, certain loss of sight or hearing, or a fracture. This kind of rule is called a tort threshold.

For example, a driver with a sprained wrist and modest doctor bills below the threshold would rely on PIP, while a driver with a broken arm could pursue a claim against the at-fault driver because a fracture is one of the listed exceptions.

How the Safe Driver Insurance Plan affects your premium

Massachusetts uses a statewide merit rating system called the Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP). It reviews a 6-year experience period and adds surcharge points for at-fault accidents and traffic violations, while each incident-free year earns a credit point that can lead to a discount.

If you disagree with a fault finding, you can appeal to the state Board of Appeal. The rate increase after a claim guide and the after an accident guide walk through what to send and when.

Optional coverage choices in Massachusetts

Beyond the four required parts, Massachusetts drivers choose from a standard menu of optional coverages:

• Optional bodily injury: higher limits, plus passengers and accidents outside the state.
• Underinsured auto: pays when the at-fault driver's limits are too low; amounts you collect from that driver reduce what this coverage pays.
• Medical payments: at least $5,000 when you buy it, for medical and funeral costs of people in your car.
• Collision and limited collision: damage to your own car from a crash.
• Comprehensive: theft, fire, vandalism, falling objects, animal strikes and glass.
• Substitute transportation and towing: a rental car during covered repairs and towing when your car breaks down.

Collision and comprehensive carry a standard deductible of $500 unless you choose another amount or have an excessive claims history. The deductible guide explains how a higher deductible trades a lower premium for more out-of-pocket risk.

Costs, uninsured drivers and crash data

Massachusetts drivers spent an average of $1,326.46 per insured vehicle in 2023, slightly above the national average of $1,281. The average premium for a policy with liability, collision and comprehensive was $1,413.49, a little below the U.S. figure of $1,438.

Only 7.9% of drivers were uninsured in 2023, well below the national rate of 15.4%. Roads are comparatively safe too: IIHS recorded 363 crash deaths in 2024, or 5.1 per 100,000 people, below the national rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people.

Moving across a state line changes the rules. See New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.