Utah's 30/65/25 Auto Minimums Still Aren't Enough — Here's Why

If you've ever bought auto insurance in Utah, you've probably been quoted the state minimum: 30/65/25. That's $30,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $65,000 per accident, and $25,000 of property damage liability — plus the mandatory $3,000 of Personal Injury Protection (PIP). It is the cheapest legal way to drive in Utah. It is also, for almost everyone on I-15, dangerously inadequate.

What those numbers actually buy you

Picture a routine afternoon on the stretch of I-15 between Washington and St. George. Brake lights, a missed reaction, and your vehicle rear-ends a newer pickup with two people inside. Nobody is killed, but both occupants are taken to Dixie Regional with neck and back injuries. The truck is a total loss.

Here's how a 30/65/25 policy responds:

• Property damage ($25,000): A current-model half-ton truck easily totals at $45,000–$60,000. You are personally on the hook for the difference.
• Bodily injury ($30,000 / $65,000): One ER visit, imaging, and a short course of physical therapy can run $20,000 per person — before any attorney gets involved. If one passenger needs surgery, the per-person limit evaporates instantly.

Anything above those caps comes out of your assets — wages, savings, equity in your Bloomington Hills house. Utah is not a no-fault state in the sense people assume; PIP covers your own minor medical bills, not the other driver's.

The limits we actually recommend

For most Southern Utah households we write, the right starting point is 100/300/100 with $5,000–$10,000 of PIP and matching uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. For homeowners or anyone with meaningful assets, we layer a personal umbrella policy ($1M+) on top — they're surprisingly cheap, often $200–$350 a year, because they sit above your auto and home limits.

These limits are a general starting point, not one-size-fits-all advice. Every household's situation — income, assets, risk tolerance, and state of residence — is different. We recommend reviewing your coverage with a licensed agent who can assess your specific needs before making any changes.

The cost difference between 30/65/25 and 100/300/100 is rarely what people expect. On most policies it's $10–$25 per month. For a fraction of one tank of gas, you replace "hope nothing big happens" with "actually protected."

Uninsured motorists are the other half of the story

Utah's uninsured driver rate hovers around 6%, and it climbs near the Mesquite and Arizona borders where out-of-state plates are common. If an uninsured driver hurts you, your only recourse is your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. We always quote UM/UIM at the same limits as your liability — there's no good reason to be better-protected against your own mistakes than someone else's.

What we do at renewal

Every OnPoint client gets a free coverage review at renewal. We re-shop the market across our entire carrier panel — Progressive, Safeco, Nationwide, Travelers, Hartford and others — and we flag any policy still sitting on state minimums. If you're not sure what your current limits are, pull out your declarations page or request a free review. It takes five minutes and it's the single highest-leverage thing you can do for your financial safety this year.