How Car Insurance Works in New Hampshire

Whether New Hampshire requires car insurance, when a driver must prove they can pay for a crash, the least a car insurance policy here must cover, uninsured motorist coverage, and what to do if your insurer cancels your policy.

Checked against its sources October 26, 2026.

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This guide is written by Granite Record from the official pages it links to. Where a citation allows only one source, cite the official page for the part you rely on. The date below is the day the page was read.

MLA: “How Car Insurance Works in New Hampshire.” Granite Record, https://graniterecord.org/guides/car-insurance. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
APA: Granite Record. (n.d.). How Car Insurance Works in New Hampshire. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://graniterecord.org/guides/car-insurance
Chicago: Granite Record. “How Car Insurance Works in New Hampshire.” Accessed November 2, 2026. https://graniterecord.org/guides/car-insurance.
BibTeX: @misc{guides-car-insurance, title = {How Car Insurance Works in New Hampshire}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/car-insurance}, note = {Accessed 2 Nov. 2026} }

At a Glance

New Hampshire law does not require you to carry car insurance, but you must be able to pay enough to meet its financial responsibility requirements if you cause an accident, or your driving privileges may be suspended. After a crash you were in without insurance, or after certain convictions, the state can suspend your license and registration until you file proof of financial responsibility, usually an insurance company’s certificate. A motor vehicle liability policy here must cover at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for one accident, and $25,000 for damage to property, and must include uninsured motorist coverage, and on a private passenger car medical payments coverage.

Do you have car insurance?
- YesYour policy carries at least the state’s minimums and uninsured motorist coverage.
- NoThe law does not require it, but a crash you must report, or certain convictions, can cost you your license and registration until you file proof of financial responsibility.
Were you just in a crash?
- Someone was hurt, or the damage is over $1,000Report it to the DMV in writing within 15 days, unless the police investigated.
- No one was hurt and the damage is lessExchange information at the scene.

Step by Step

Financial responsibility

What the law requires
New Hampshire law does not require you to carry car insurance. You must, though, be able to show you can pay enough to meet the state’s financial responsibility requirements if you cause an accident, and if you cannot, your driving privileges may be suspended, as the Insurance Department’s Auto Insurance Consumer Guide explains.
The financial responsibility law decides when the state requires proof that you can pay for damage you cause: after a crash you had to report and had no insurance for, or after certain convictions (the next two steps).
That proof means being able to pay $25,000 for injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for injury to or death of two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for damage to property, for each vehicle registered in your name.
The Insurance Department’s Automobile Insurance page divides auto insurance into two basic coverage areas, liability and property damage. With a question about your coverage, call its Consumer Services unit at (603) 271-2261, toll free in New Hampshire at 1-800-852-3416, or email [email protected].
Auto Insurance Consumer Guide (Insurance Department)Automobile insurance (Insurance Department)
The law: RSA 264:20
After a crash
Stop at the scene. Give the other driver, anyone hurt, and the owner of any property damaged your name and address, your driver’s license number, your insurance company and policy information, the registration number of the vehicle, and the name and address of each person in it.
If anyone was hurt or killed, or the damage to property is over $1,000, report the crash to the DMV in writing within 15 days, unless a police officer investigated it.
If the crash had to be reported and you had no insurance policy or bond covering it, the state suspends your license and registration, and you must turn in your plates, until you put up enough security to pay any judgment for the damage and file proof of financial responsibility. You receive notice at least 10 days before the suspension starts. It lasts until you are released from the claim, win in court, or pay a judgment against you. If no one tells the DMV within 2 years that they have sued you, it may give you back your license and registration once you file proof.
The law: RSA 264:25, RSA 264:3, RSA 264:7
After certain convictions
The state may also suspend your license and registration until you file proof of financial responsibility, and keep it on file, after a conviction for:
- driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- failing to stop and report after a crash;
- homicide or assault arising from driving;
- a second conviction for speeding at an excessive rate, or for reckless driving.
You receive notice at least 10 days before the suspension starts. The DMV may stop requiring the proof after 3 years, if you have no new conviction, crash or unpaid judgment.
The law: RSA 264:2, RSA 264:7
Filing proof of financial responsibility
Proof is usually a certificate that an insurance company or a surety company files with the DMV for you, showing that you carry the amounts the law sets. It can also be a deposit of money or securities with the state. Ask your insurance company to file the certificate.
The law: RSA 264:21, RSA 264:20

Your policy

What a car insurance policy must include
A motor vehicle liability policy, the kind of car insurance whose terms New Hampshire law sets, must cover your liability to others for at least $25,000 for injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for one accident injuring or killing more than one, and $25,000 for damage to others’ property. You may buy more.
It must also include:
- Uninsured motorist coverage, which protects you when a driver with no insurance, or a hit-and-run driver, injures you. It is at least as much as the policy’s coverage for injury, and if you buy more than the minimum liability coverage, it rises to match.
- On a private passenger car, medical payments coverage of at least $1,000 per person, for reasonable medical costs of the driver and passengers hurt in a crash in your car, for costs within 3 years of the crash.
Automobile insurance (Insurance Department)
The law: RSA 259:61, RSA 264:15, RSA 264:16
If your insurer cancels or will not renew your policy
Once a policy has been in effect for 60 days, or once it has been renewed, an insurer may cancel it only if you do not pay the premium, if you ask it to, or if you were not a New Hampshire resident when the policy was issued or renewed, unless the car was garaged only in New Hampshire then. It may not cancel or refuse to renew your policy solely because of your age, where you live, your race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status or lawful occupation, or because another insurer turned you down.
The insurer must send you written notice that states its specific reasons. The cancellation takes effect at least 45 days after the notice, or 10 days for not paying or in the first 60 days of a new policy. The notice tells you how to reach the Insurance Department, and you may ask the Insurance Commissioner to review the decision by writing within 10 days of receiving it.
File a complaint (Insurance Department)
The law: RSA 417-A:4, RSA 417-A:3, RSA 417-A:5, RSA 417-A:7

Common Questions

Does a driver under 18 need insurance?

A person under 18 gets a license only with written permission from a parent or guardian (or, where there is none, another responsible adult), or with insurance coverage shown when applying (RSA 263:17).

Does my car insurance or my health insurance pay my medical bills after a crash?

You choose: you may claim under your car policy’s medical payments coverage, your health insurance, or both, but you may not be paid twice for the same bill.

Does an umbrella policy include uninsured motorist coverage?

Yes, an umbrella or excess policy over a car policy includes uninsured motorist coverage equal to its limits, unless you turn it down in writing.

How long must I keep proof on file?

Until the DMV stops requiring it. It may do so after 3 years, if you have had no new conviction, crash or unpaid judgment.