Massachusetts Compulsory Auto Insurance: What Changed July 1, 2025
James Brazil lives in Mérida, Mexico. He founded Swift Agent Sites and studied Classics at the University of Mississippi.
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To register a car in Massachusetts you must buy four compulsory coverages. As of July 1, 2025, bodily injury to others is at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 if more than one person is hurt, and property damage is at least $30,000. Personal injury protection remains $8,000. Uninsured-auto bodily injury matches the $25,000 and $50,000 floors.
Those are minimums. Mass.gov says damage from a crash often costs more, and you can buy higher limits.
What do the four compulsory coverages pay?
The Division of Insurance describes them this way:
- Bodily injury to others. Pays if you, or someone you allow to drive, accidentally injure or cause the death of someone else. It applies to crashes in Massachusetts. It does not cover a passenger in your car. Floor: $25,000 per person and $50,000 if more than one person is hurt.
- Personal injury protection. Medical expenses, up to 75 percent of lost wages, and replacement services, up to $8,000. Massachusetts is no-fault for this piece. PIP pays you, a driver you allow, household members, passengers, and pedestrians, no matter who caused the crash.
- Bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto. Covers you, a driver you allow, and household members and passengers who are not covered by another similar Massachusetts policy, when an uninsured or hit-and-run driver causes the loss. At least $25,000 per person and $50,000 for everyone injured by that uninsured auto.
- Damage to someone else's property. At least $30,000 when you, a household member, or a driver you allow accidentally damages another person's property.
The bodily-injury compulsory coverage is narrow on purpose. Passengers in your car, and crashes outside Massachusetts, are why the state also describes an optional bodily-injury increase.
What optional coverage do companies have to offer?
Mass.gov says every company offers several options. One raises bodily injury to others to $40,000 for one person and $90,000 for everyone hurt, adds passengers in your car, and covers you outside Massachusetts. Underinsured motorist coverage pays when the other driver has some insurance, but not enough. Any amount you collect from that driver's bodily-injury coverage is deducted from yours. The state's example: underinsured limits of $50,000 per person, and a $25,000 collection from the other driver, leaves at most $25,000 from your underinsured coverage.
Collision pays damage to your car from contact with another object, regardless of fault. Comprehensive pays for theft, fire, vandalism, falling objects, hitting an animal, and glass breakage that is not from a collision. Medical payments of at least $5,000 are offered. A lender may require collision and comprehensive even though the state does not require them to register the car.
If you insure a used private passenger car, the insurer may inspect it before comprehensive coverage. The inspection can be deferred ten calendar days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays. Miss that window and the coverage suspends.
How should I compare quotes?
Massachusetts uses a competitive market. Companies are not identical. Mass.gov says to get the same coverages and limits from more than one company, and to ask an agency how many insurers it represents.
Have the VIN, the license numbers of household drivers, annual mileage, and any gap in coverage. Ask whether a quote is for six months or a year. A cheap number on a six-month term is not a cheap annual premium. Discounts required by law include passive restraints and other safety features, and drivers 65 or older. Low mileage and multi-car discounts are optional with the company.
Installment plans add a fee the Division of Insurance approves under M.G.L. c. 175, § 193B. Paying by electronic transfer may reduce or remove that fee. Ask before you assume the monthly price is the premium divided by twelve.
Does my homeowners policy cover the car?
No. Flood or water damage to the vehicle is a comprehensive-auto question. The state's flood notice says a homeowners policy does not cover the car, even in the garage, and that comprehensive cannot be bought after the flood to cover damage that already happened. Home insurance itself is a separate policy. See what homeowners insurance covers in Massachusetts and the FAIR Plan if you cannot find a home policy.
If you are moving the car into the state, the registration needs a Massachusetts policy. The mover who brings the furniture is a different license. See interstate moves into Massachusetts.
FAQ
What are the four compulsory Massachusetts auto coverages? Bodily injury to others, personal injury protection, bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto, and damage to someone else's property.
What changed on July 1, 2025? Mass.gov says the mandatory minimums for bodily injury and property damage increased. Bodily injury to others is at least $25,000/$50,000. Property damage is at least $30,000. PIP remains $8,000.
Does compulsory bodily injury cover passengers in my car? No. Mass.gov says that coverage does not include a passenger in your car, and it applies to accidents in Massachusetts. An optional limit can add passengers and out-of-state crashes.
Is collision required to register the car? Not by the compulsory list. A lender may still require it. You can buy it, subject to a deductible, often $500 unless you have an excessive claims history.
Who explains the options in plain language? Mass.gov says agents and companies must inform you in simple language of your coverage options when you apply, and when you ask later.
Next step
Pull the declarations page and match the four compulsory lines to the July 1, 2025 floors. Then ask a licensed Massachusetts agent for the price of higher bodily-injury limits and underinsured motorist coverage at the same numbers, on a full-year term.
Sources: Mass.gov: Basics of auto insurance, Mass.gov: Is your flood damage covered?.
This is general information for Massachusetts. It is not a recommendation to buy, drop, or switch a specific policy. Confirm current details with the insurer or a licensed agent who knows your situation.
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