S.C. to Raise Minimum Auto Limits

Starting Jan. 1, drivers in South Carolina who buy the least amount of insurance coverage allowed by law will see their premiums go up as legislatively mandated changes in coverage take effect.

Those drivers will begin getting notifications this month from their insurance providers if their policies will be affected.

Minimum coverage will go to $25,000 of bodily injury per person in a wreck, up from $15,000; $50,000 of bodily injury per accident, up from $30,000; and, $25,000 of property damage coverage, up from $10,000.

The changes affect only those drivers buying minimum liability coverage.

Premiums for those drivers — about 1.5 million in South Carolina — will increase by as little as $32 or as much as $118 a year, according to a survey of auto insurance companies by the South Carolina Insurance News Service.

When the legislation was passed, state Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Hartsville, said the increase was needed to bring South Carolina’s minimum requirements in line with North Carolina and Georgia.

With the change, South Carolina, Georgia and eight other states will have the same coverage requirements.

North Carolina requires drivers to have $30,000 of bodily injury per person, $60,000 of bodily injury per accident and $25,000 of property damage coverage. According to the Insurance News Service, it is one of four states that have higher coverage requirements than South Carolina’s new limits.