How Much Car Insurance Do You Need in Nevada?
The state minimum won’t cover a real crash. Here’s how much to carry — and why uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is the one line you should never skip.
By Omid Shamim, Attorney at Law · Personal Injury & Workers’ Compensation · Last updated September 13, 2026
The short answer: Nevada’s legal minimum is 25/50/20, and it will not cover a serious crash. Carry at least 100/300/50 in liability coverage, 250/500/100 if you own a home or have savings, and make your uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) limits equal to your liability limits. Nevada law requires your insurer to offer that match, and the only way to lose it is to reject it in writing. Never sign that form.
If you searched this question, you probably suspect that the number on your insurance card isn’t the number that will actually protect you. You’re right.
Nevada’s legal minimum auto insurance is one of the lowest in the country, and it was written for a world where a hospital bill and a replacement car cost a fraction of what they do today. As a personal injury attorney in Las Vegas, one of the hardest conversations I have to have is explaining to my clients why they have $180,000 in medical bills, but the driver who hit them only has a $25,000 policy, and that we may not be able to recover more than that from the at-fault driver’s insurance. The conversation is even harder when the injured person could have protected themselves for a few dollars a month and didn’t know it.
This guide answers two questions. First, how much liability coverage should you actually carry in Nevada? Second, why is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) the single most important line on your policy, and why should you never sign the form that lets your insurer leave it off?
Nevada’s minimum auto insurance is a floor, not a plan
Nevada requires every registered vehicle to carry liability insurance of at least 25/50/20 under NRS 485.185. In plain terms, that is:
- $25,000 for bodily injury to one person in a crash you cause
- $50,000 total for bodily injury to everyone in that crash
- $20,000 for property damage you cause
Those limits took effect July 1, 2018, when the Legislature raised them from 15/30/10. That sounds like progress until you look at what $25,000 buys. A single ambulance ride, an emergency room visit with a CT scan, and one follow-up with an orthopedist can exhaust it. A night in the hospital exceeds it. Surgery is a multiple of it.
Meanwhile, the $20,000 property damage limit doesn’t cover the average new vehicle on a dealer lot, let alone the pickup truck, the wall, and the landscaping in a multi-car crash.
The minimum exists so the state can say every driver has something. It was never designed to make an injured person whole. The DMV’s enforcement mechanism, Nevada LIVE, checks only that a policy exists, not that it’s adequate.
What the numbers mean when you’re the one who’s hurt
Insurance limits are abstract until you’re on the wrong end of them, so here’s how a real claim works.
Say a driver runs a red light on Eastern Avenue and T-bones you. You have a broken wrist that needs a plate and screws, six weeks off work, and physical therapy. Your medical bills are $95,000 and your lost wages are $12,000, before any compensation for the pain and the months of recovery.
If the at-fault driver carries the Nevada minimum, their insurer’s maximum exposure for your injuries is $25,000. That’s it. The insurer will tender that $25,000 and close the file. The remaining $82,000 in bills, plus everything else you’re owed, doesn’t disappear. It just has nowhere to come from, unless the at-fault driver personally has assets worth chasing (most minimum-limits drivers don’t) or you carry coverage that steps in.
Now flip it. If you cause that crash while carrying 25/50/20, the same math runs against you. The injured person’s lawyer will look at your policy, then look at your house, your wages, and your savings. A minimum policy protects the other driver from you a little, and protects you from a judgment not at all.
That is the whole reason to carry more than the minimum: liability coverage protects your assets, and UM/UIM coverage protects your body.
How much liability coverage should you carry in Nevada?
I’m going to give you numbers, because an article that says “it depends” isn’t useful. These are my opinions as an attorney who handles these claims every day, not a quote from your insurer, and your own situation may call for more.
The realistic floor: 100/300/50. That’s $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, $50,000 property damage. This is the point at which a policy can actually pay for a serious but non-catastrophic injury, and it’s the tier most insurers price reasonably. If you’re a renter with modest savings and you drive a paid-off car, this is where you should be. Anything less and you are one bad intersection away from a judgment that follows you for years.
The right answer for most households: 250/500/100. If you own a home, have retirement savings, earn a professional income, or have kids who’ll be driving your car in a few years, this is the number. The jump from 100/300 to 250/500 is usually far smaller in premium than the jump from minimum to 100/300, because insurers know that most claims never reach the higher tier.
| Coverage | Nevada legal minimum | Realistic floor | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury, per person | $25,000 | $100,000 | $250,000 |
| Bodily injury, per accident | $50,000 | $300,000 | $500,000 |
| Property damage | $20,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| UM/UIM bodily injury | Must be offered; can be rejected | Match your liability limits | Match your liability limits |
| Medical payments (MedPay) | Must be offered (min. $1,000) | $5,000–$10,000 | $10,000+ |
Minimums per NRS 485.185 and NRS 687B.145. “Floor” and “Recommended” are the author’s professional opinion, not a quote from an insurer.
Whatever tier you pick, the rule that matters most is next.
UM/UIM: the coverage that protects you, not the other driver
Everything above is about what happens when you cause a crash. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is about what happens when someone else causes it and can’t pay.
Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all, when their insurer has gone insolvent, or, critically, when they hit you and drive away. Under NRS 690B.020, a hit-and-run vehicle counts as uninsured as long as there was physical contact and you reported the crash to police promptly. If you’ve ever been hit by a car that didn’t stop, UM coverage is the only thing standing between you and paying your own medical bills.
Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage pays when the at-fault driver has insurance, but not enough. Remember the $25,000 policy against the $95,000 in bills? UIM is what fills that gap, up to your own UIM limit.
Both coverages follow you, not just your car. Under most policies you are covered as a driver, as a passenger in someone else’s vehicle, as a pedestrian, and as a cyclist, and resident relatives in your household are typically covered too. In a state where people walk across Las Vegas Boulevard and ride bikes through the streets of Reno, that matters.
What Nevada law requires your insurer to do
Nevada is a good state to be a policyholder, if you know your rights.
Your insurer must offer you UM/UIM coverage equal to your bodily injury liability limits. NRS 687B.145(2) requires every insurer selling auto liability coverage in Nevada to offer UM/UIM “in an amount equal to the limits of coverage for bodily injury sold to an insured.” If you buy 250/500 liability, they have to offer you 250/500 UM/UIM. The offer has to be repeated on every renewal.
You can only lose it by rejecting it in writing. Under NRS 690B.020, UM coverage is required on every Nevada auto policy unless you reject it “in writing, on a form furnished by the insurer describing the coverage being rejected.” There is no such thing as accidentally not having it. Somebody signed a waiver.
Here’s the problem: a lot of people signed that waiver without understanding what it was. It’s presented as a way to lower the premium. An agent slides it across the desk with the rest of the paperwork. The customer sees “reject” and a lower number and signs. Years later they’re in my office with a spinal injury and a $25,000 check from the other driver’s insurer, and I have to tell them the form they signed in 2019 is why there’s no second check coming.
Pull your declarations page tonight. It’s the one- or two-page summary at the front of your policy, and it’s also in your insurer’s app. Find the line for “Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury.” If it says “rejected,” “declined,” or “not purchased,” fix it tomorrow. If it shows a number lower than your liability limits, keep reading.
The UIM offset trap that catches almost everyone
This is the part of Nevada UIM law that most drivers, and frankly some insurance agents, don’t understand.
In Nevada, underinsured motorist coverage does not stack on top of the at-fault driver’s policy. It pays only the amount by which your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s limits, and only up to your own UIM limit. NRS 687B.145(2) says it plainly: UIM lets you recover “up to the limits of the insured’s own coverage” the damages “to the extent that those damages exceed the limits of the bodily injury coverage carried by that owner or operator.”
Work the math:
- You carry 25/50 UIM (the minimum). The driver who hits you carries 25/50 liability. Your damages are $150,000. The at-fault insurer pays $25,000. Your UIM insurer looks at your $25,000 UIM limit, subtracts the $25,000 you already received, and pays $0. Your minimum UIM policy was worthless the moment the other driver had a minimum policy too.
- You carry 100/300 UIM. Same crash, same $25,000 from the other insurer. Your UIM insurer pays up to $75,000 ($100,000 limit minus $25,000 already paid). You’ve recovered $100,000.
- You carry 250/500 UIM. Your UIM insurer pays up to $225,000. You’ve recovered the full $150,000 in damages, with room to spare.
That is why “I have UM/UIM, I’m covered” is not the same as being covered. UIM at the state minimum protects you only against drivers who are completely uninsured. Against the far larger group of drivers carrying minimum limits, it does nothing at all.
My recommendation, without hedging: your UM/UIM limits should equal your liability limits. If you carry 100/300 liability, carry 100/300 UM/UIM. If you carry 250/500, carry 250/500. Nevada law already requires your insurer to offer you that match. All you have to do is not sign the rejection form.
What UM/UIM costs
There is no official Nevada-wide figure; regulators don’t break UM/UIM out separately, and your rate depends on your record, your car, and your ZIP code. But a Las Vegas insurance agent quoted by Las Vegas Weekly in February 2026 put typical UM/UIM coverage at roughly $150 to $250 a year, and that matches what I see on clients’ declarations pages: UM/UIM is consistently a small fraction of the liability premium, and raising it from the minimum to match your liability limits is usually the cheapest coverage increase available on the policy. Compare that to a single ambulance ride. Get a quote for matched limits before you assume you can’t afford it.
The no-plate problem on Nevada roads
If you’ve driven in Las Vegas lately, you’ve noticed the cars with no license plate, a temporary tag that expired in 2023, or a plate from a state the driver clearly doesn’t live in. You’ve probably wondered whether those drivers carry insurance. So has the state.
On October 10, 2025, the Nevada DMV launched the “Registration Spotter,” an online form that lets residents report vehicles with no plates, expired or invalid registration, or out-of-state plates on cars that clearly live here. The DMV’s Compliance Enforcement Division chief, J.D. Decker, said the agency was already fielding daily complaints and expected interest. Nobody expected the volume. The tool logged nearly 21,000 reports in its first two months, more than 35,000 by March 2026, and roughly 50,000 by September 2026. More than 80 percent came from Clark County.
The problem the reports describe is not a rounding error. In 2025, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police wrote 9,667 citations in which registration was the primary offense and 11,680 in which it was among the offenses. In October 2025 alone, Nevada Highway Patrol issued 1,475 registration-related citations out of 12,962 total. Between October and mid-December, North Las Vegas police wrote 881 registration citations and Henderson police wrote more than 300. And that’s with almost no dedicated enforcement: the DMV’s compliance division has roughly 30 sworn officers statewide, of whom only three patrol full time. As Decker put it, “I could double my staff and put them all on the road and we could make a dent. But we can’t stop it ourselves.”
Here’s what that means for your insurance decision, and I want to be precise about it because the connection is real but not automatic.
An unregistered vehicle is not necessarily an uninsured vehicle. Some of those cars have dealer paper tags that are legitimately pending. Some have a lapsed registration and an active policy. But three facts push the odds in the wrong direction.
First, NRS 485.185 requires liability insurance from a company “licensed by the Division of Insurance ... and approved to do business in this State,” and the DMV doesn’t accept out-of-state policies. A Nevada resident who keeps Arizona or Utah plates to dodge Nevada’s registration fees is, by definition, not carrying Nevada-compliant insurance, and the DMV has said these drivers frequently carry no Nevada coverage at all. Decker called the resident-with-out-of-state-plates problem “huge,” driven by the fact that every neighboring state is cheaper.
Second, registration and insurance are linked. Nevada LIVE ties your registration to continuous proof of insurance, so a driver who has stopped paying for registration has, in many cases, stopped paying for everything the registration depends on. The DMV’s own impound rule tells you how often these travel together: according to Decker, “between a driver license, insurance, and registration, if the person doesn’t have two out of the three, then generally the car will get impounded.” In one multi-agency enforcement effort, officers logged 26 registration violations and 14 insurance violations from the same stops.
Third, and most important for you: a car with no plate can’t be identified after it hits you. Decker said it directly: “A lot of vehicles without plates are responsible for reckless driving, hit-and-runs and fleeing. Those vehicles can be used in other crimes anonymously because they’re not identified.” When that driver leaves the scene, there is no at-fault policy to claim against, no one to sue, and no property damage claim. Your uninsured motorist coverage is the entire recovery. If you rejected it, the recovery is zero.
None of this is abstract to the people paying premiums, either. Nevada auto insurance rates rose again in 2026, and a Las Vegas insurance agent quoted by Las Vegas Weekly named uninsured vehicles as “one of the biggest drivers of rising prices.” You are already paying for the uninsured-driver problem in your premium. The only question is whether you’re also covered against it.
The bigger picture is worth stating candidly. The Insurance Research Council estimates that about 11% of Nevada drivers were uninsured as of 2023, which is below the national rate of 15.4%. Nevada is not the worst state in the country for uninsured drivers, whatever some websites claim. But one in nine is still a lot of cars on the 215 at rush hour. And the number that matters more is the one nobody puts on a billboard: the IRC also estimates that roughly one in three American drivers is either uninsured or underinsured, meaning they carry limits too low to cover a serious injury. In a state whose minimum is $25,000, that second category is enormous. Every driver you pass who bought the cheapest legal policy is, for practical purposes, uninsured against anything worse than a fender-bender.
That’s the risk UM/UIM covers, and it is not a risk you can drive around.
MedPay: the coverage that pays first and asks no questions
Nevada insurers must also offer you medical payments coverage (“MedPay”) of at least $1,000, under NRS 687B.145(3). Most sell it in tiers of $5,000, $10,000, or $25,000.
MedPay is no-fault coverage. It pays your medical bills (and those of your passengers) after a crash regardless of who caused it, with no deductible and no waiting for the other driver’s insurer to accept liability. It’s what pays the ER co-pay, the first few chiropractor visits, and the ambulance bill while the liability claim is still being fought over.
MedPay is inexpensive and I recommend it, with a caution: it is not a substitute for UM/UIM. A $5,000 MedPay limit is gone before you leave the hospital. Think of it as the coverage that keeps collection agencies off your back in the first sixty days, while UM/UIM is the coverage that makes you whole.
Your ten-minute policy checkup
Open your declarations page and check these four lines.
- Bodily injury liability. If it says 25/50, you are carrying the minimum. Move to at least 100/300.
- Property damage liability. If it says $20,000, raise it to at least $50,000. Cars are expensive.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury. This is the line. If it says “rejected,” call your agent tomorrow. If it’s lower than your bodily injury limit, ask for it to be matched. Nevada law requires your insurer to offer the match.
- Medical payments. If it’s blank, add $5,000 to $10,000.
If your agent pushes back on any of this, or tells you UM/UIM “isn’t worth it,” find a new agent. An agent who steers you away from UM/UIM is protecting the insurer’s loss ratio, not you.
If you’ve already been hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver
If you’re reading this after a crash, here’s what you need to know right now. (For the first 48 hours, see what to do after a car accident in Las Vegas.)
Your own UM/UIM claim is a real claim, and your own insurer will treat it like one. When you file a UM/UIM claim, your insurance company steps into the shoes of the driver who hit you. Their adjuster’s job is to pay you as little as possible, exactly as if they were the other driver’s carrier. They will ask for a recorded statement, dispute your treatment, question your injuries, and offer a fraction of what your claim is worth. Being a loyal customer for twenty years does not change this. It is the single most common surprise my UM/UIM clients report.
Report the crash to police and to your insurer promptly. For a hit-and-run, a timely police report is a condition of UM coverage under NRS 690B.020. For every other UM/UIM claim, late notice is the first thing an insurer looks for as a reason to deny.
Don’t settle with the at-fault driver’s insurer without checking your UIM policy first. Many UIM policies require you to get your insurer’s consent before accepting the other driver’s limits, because settling can waive the insurer’s rights against the at-fault driver. Accepting a $25,000 check without that consent can jeopardize a much larger UIM recovery.
The deadline on a UM/UIM claim is different from the deadline on a lawsuit against the other driver. A personal injury lawsuit in Nevada generally must be filed within two years of the crash. A UM/UIM claim is a contract claim against your own insurer, and the Nevada Supreme Court held in Grayson v. State Farm (1998) that the six-year contract limitations period doesn’t begin until your insurer refuses to pay. That’s helpful, but don’t rely on it. Insurers use delay against you, and the two-year deadline against the at-fault driver still applies.
I handle UM and UIM claims throughout Nevada on a contingency basis. There is no fee unless you recover, and the first conversation costs nothing. If a driver with no insurance, no plates, or a minimum policy has left you with bills you can’t pay, call (702) 750-0750 or request a free case review. When you’re in need, call Omid.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum car insurance required in Nevada?
Nevada requires 25/50/20 liability coverage: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 bodily injury per accident, and $20,000 property damage, under NRS 485.185. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage must be offered by your insurer but can be rejected in writing.
Is uninsured motorist coverage required in Nevada?
Not strictly. Nevada law (NRS 690B.020) requires UM coverage on every auto policy unless the named insured rejects it in writing on a form provided by the insurer. Insurers must also offer UM/UIM limits equal to your bodily injury liability limits (NRS 687B.145). If your policy doesn’t have it, it’s because someone signed a rejection form.
How much car insurance should I have in Nevada?
In my opinion as a Nevada personal injury attorney, 100/300/50 is the realistic floor for anyone, 250/500/100 is right for most homeowners and professionals. Your UM/UIM limits should always match your liability limits. This is general information, not individualized advice; your circumstances may call for more.
Does underinsured motorist coverage stack on top of the other driver’s insurance in Nevada?
No. Nevada UIM pays only the amount by which your damages exceed the at-fault driver’s limits, up to your own UIM limit. If your UIM limit equals the other driver’s liability limit, your UIM pays nothing. That’s why minimum UIM limits provide almost no real protection.
Does UM coverage apply to a hit-and-run in Nevada?
Yes. Under NRS 690B.020, a hit-and-run vehicle is treated as uninsured if there was physical contact with you or your vehicle and you reported the crash to law enforcement in a timely manner.
Will my rates go up if I file a UM/UIM claim?
It shouldn’t. NRS 687B.385 prohibits an insurer from canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing the renewal premium on a private passenger auto policy as a result of a claim “with respect to which the insured was not at fault.” A UM/UIM claim for a crash someone else caused falls squarely within that protection.
What happens if I’m hit by a car with no license plate?
Get the driver’s information if they stop, photograph everything, and call police immediately. If the driver flees, a prompt police report preserves your hit-and-run UM claim. If the driver stays but has no valid insurance, your UM coverage is your primary source of recovery. Either way, call an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurer, including your own.
How long do I have to file a UM/UIM claim in Nevada?
Notify your insurer as soon as possible; most policies require prompt notice. The lawsuit deadline for a UM/UIM claim is six years from the insurer’s refusal to pay (Grayson v. State Farm, Nev. 1998), but the two-year deadline to sue the at-fault driver still applies and should drive your timeline.
Omid Shamim is a personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. This article is general legal information for Nevada residents, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Insurance policies differ; read yours.
Hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver in Nevada?
Your own insurer will fight your UM/UIM claim like any other. I’ll read your policy, find every dollar of coverage, and deal with the adjusters — at no cost to you unless you recover. When you’re in need, call Omid.
No fee unless you recover.
Attorney advertising. This page is general information for Nevada residents, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Coverage recommendations are the author’s professional opinion; insurance policies differ and you should read yours. Statutory minimums per NRS 485.185; statistics as reported by the Nevada DMV, the Insurance Research Council, and Las Vegas news outlets as of September 2026. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Omid Shamim practices at David Boehrer Law Firm.