Texas law requires every driver to carry liability insurance and to be able to show proof of it. The required amounts are usually written as 30/60/25, and most drivers have never been told what those three numbers actually represent.
What the three numbers mean
- $30,000 — bodily injury liability per person. The most your policy pays for any single injured person's medical costs in an accident you cause.
- $60,000 — bodily injury liability per accident. The total across everyone injured, regardless of how many people are hurt.
- $25,000 — property damage liability per accident. The most your policy pays for the other party's vehicle and property.
Every one of these covers damage you cause to other people. None of it repairs your own vehicle or pays your own medical bills. That is what collision, comprehensive, personal injury protection and medical payments coverage are for, and none of them are required by the state.
Where $25,000 of property damage runs out
The average transaction price for a new vehicle in the United States has been above $40,000 for several years. Full-size pickups — which are everywhere in Texas — routinely run well past $50,000, and even a moderate collision on a modern vehicle can produce a five-figure repair bill once sensors, cameras and aluminum body panels are involved.
If you cause $38,000 in damage and carry the state minimum, your policy pays $25,000. The remaining $13,000 is a debt you personally owe. The other driver's insurer can and does pursue that money, including through wage garnishment.
One at-fault accident in a parking lot involving two late-model vehicles can exceed the minimum on its own.
Where $30,000 of bodily injury runs out
Thirty thousand dollars is not much medical coverage. An ambulance ride, an emergency room visit, imaging and a short hospital stay can consume it before any surgery, rehabilitation or lost wages enter the picture.
Serious injury claims regularly run into six figures. The portion above your limit is your personal responsibility, and unlike vehicle damage, there is no cap on how large a medical claim can become.
Coverages Texas does not require but you should look at
Uninsured and underinsured motorist
Texas has a meaningful share of drivers with no insurance at all, and many more carrying exactly the minimum. If one of them hits you, their coverage caps out fast and your injuries do not. UM/UIM steps in where their coverage ends. It is typically one of the least expensive coverages on the policy and one of the most valuable.
Personal injury protection
PIP pays medical expenses and a portion of lost income for you and your passengers regardless of fault. Texas carriers are required to offer it, and you must reject it in writing if you do not want it. A number of drivers have signed that rejection without registering what it was.
Collision and comprehensive
Collision repairs your vehicle after an accident. Comprehensive covers hail, theft, fire, flood and animal strikes — and in Texas, hail alone damages an enormous number of vehicles every year. Neither is required by the state, but both are required by any lender or lessor.
Proof of insurance in Texas
You must be able to show proof of coverage during a traffic stop, after an accident, at vehicle registration and at inspection. Electronic proof on your phone is accepted. Texas also operates an electronic verification system that lets law enforcement and county offices confirm coverage directly.
Driving without it carries fines that escalate on a second offense, and can lead to a surcharge on your license, suspension of your license and registration, and vehicle impoundment. It also makes future insurance more expensive and harder to obtain.
What higher limits actually cost
This is the part that surprises people. Moving from 30/60/25 to something like 100/300/100 often costs far less than the proportional increase in protection would suggest, because the expensive part of a liability claim is the first dollars, not the last ones.
The honest way to decide is to see both numbers side by side rather than to assume the better coverage is out of reach. Frequently the difference is a few dollars a month against several multiples of protection.
The uncomfortable summary
State minimum coverage keeps you legal. It does not reliably keep you financially intact after an accident you cause. It is a floor established by statute, not a recommendation from anyone who has looked at what accidents cost in 2026.
If your policy is at the minimum because that is what you were quoted years ago and nobody revisited it, it is worth looking at again. There are also legitimate ways to offset the cost so that better limits do not mean a higher bill.