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Knoxville Auto Insurance Requirements

Make sure you have enough insurance when you’re driving in East Tennessee

Auto insurance includes bodily insurance and property damage insurance in case you cause an accident. Tennessee requires that owners and drivers have at least the state minimum. When you purchase liability insurance, you should also purchase uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage. At Banks & Jones, we recommend that you purchase as much liability insurance and as much UM/UIM insurance as you can reasonably afford.

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What are the minimum car insurance requirements in Knoxville?

Tennessee’s Financial Responsibility Law requires that anyone who drives a car must have the financial ability to be able to pay a minimum amount of damages if the driver causes an accident. The standard way to ensure that you are financially responsible is to purchase car insurance.

Anyone who owns a car or a motorcycle is required to have the state minimum. The coverage applies to anyone the owner of the car grants permission to drive the car in addition to the owner himself/herself. Generally, commercial vehicles are covered by commercial insurance policies. If you drive an Uber or a Lyft, you should speak with our Knoxville auto insurance lawyers. We’ll review which coverage, your car insurance or the rideshare company’s insurance, is appropriate in case you’re held liable for an accident.

The state minimum liability coverage requirements, according to TN Code §55-12-102(12)(D):

  • $25,000 for each injury or death per accident
  • $50,000 for total injuries or deaths per accident
  • $15,000 for property damage per accident

Liability coverage means that if you cause an accident that injures or kill anyone, then the victim or family can file a claim against you – and your liability insurance will pay the victim’s or family’s damages up to your policy limits.

Bodily injury includes a victim’s medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, loss of consortium (enjoyment of marital relations), and loss of bodily function. Medical expenses include emergency transportation, ER care, hospitalization, surgeries at hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, doctor visits, rehabilitative therapy, psychological counseling, medications, and assistive devices.

Property damage includes the damage to a car, truck, or motorcycle that a victim owns. This damage amount includes either the cost to repair the vehicle or, if the vehicle is totaled, to replace the vehicle. Property damage can also include personal property damage such as damage to a laptop computer.

Why should I buy more than the state minimum liability car insurance?

Car accidents cause serious injuries that often require at least a few months to treat. Many Knoxville car accident victims require long-term care. Some Knoxville accident victims need care for the rest of their lives. Even when a victim’s condition stabilizes, they may need additional medical care to keep their condition from worsening – and they may have to live with a lifetime of chronic pain. Scars and disfigurement often require psychological counseling.

Let’s consider an example

An accident victim who suffers a herniated disc may need to spend a week in a hospital and may be out of work for three months. The cost of medical care is expensive. The average cost of one night in a hospital in Tennessee is about $2,500. The cost can be higher if the victim doesn’t have insurance, because healthcare providers charge more for patients who don’t have coverage. In addition to the hospital cost, there are added costs such as the physician’s cost. If a patient requires a week of hospitalization, that’s $17,500 for just the hospital stay. The total healthcare costs over just three months can be much higher for the hospitalization and all the follow-up care – doctor visits, therapy, medications, and any other health care.

According to Forbes, the average salary for a Tennessee worker in 2024 is slightly more than $1,000 a week. An accident victim who is out of work for just three months, is out more than $13,000 in income.

That’s $17,500 for the hospital bill, more for additional healthcare, and $13,000 for lost income. The pain and suffering value for a week in the hospital and three months of recovery can be $75,000. That’s more than $100,000 for an injury with a three-month recovery time.

For traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, severe burns, and other catastrophic injuries, the value of a victim’s case can be over $1 million.

Simply put, $25,000 in coverage isn’t going to fully compensate most Knoxville car accident victims. That’s why you buy as much car liability insurance as you can reasonably afford – including UM/UIM coverage in case the driver who struck you doesn’t have enough coverage.

On top of the bodily injury coverage, the property damage amount of $25,000 will likely not cover the cost of replacing many new cars.

Who can use my UM/UIM insurance if there is an accident?

In Tennessee, the people who should be able to use your UM/UIM liability insurance include the owner and any drivers that owner grants permission to drive their car. If a driver is a regular driver, they should be named on the insurance policy. Members of your household who are injured may also be able to file a UM/UIM claim through your liability policy if your car is involved in an accident. Some exceptions may apply.

What are the consequences if I don’t have car insurance?

According to the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security:

A conviction for failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility will be a Class C misdemeanor punishable only by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) and the potential for your vehicle to be towed. Also, once the State is notified of a conviction, the violator’s driver’s license will be suspended.

In addition, any victim could seek to collect any judgment that is not covered by your insurance against your home and personal property.

When do I need to disclose the auto insurance I have to others in Knoxville?

If you’re in an accident with another driver, you should be ready to disclose your insurance information. This information includes the name of the insurance company, the policy number, and your name and address. The police will also ask you to disclose your insurance information. Most drivers carry an insurance card with them or keep the card in the cars that are covered by the policies.

Tennessee may also permit you to use electronic verification of your insurance information.

What other auto insurance can I obtain in Knoxville?

Liability insurance is used to pay for a victim’s economic and personal damages. UM/UIM coverage is used to pay for your damages if the driver who caused your accident is uninsured or doesn’t have enough insurance coverage.

There are other types of insurance that you should consider buying, even though you’re not required to buy them. These insurance policies include:

  • Comprehensive coverage. This coverage pays for non-accident events such as fire, theft, and vandalism of your car.
  • Collision coverage. This coverage pays for the cost to repair or replace your vehicle in the event of an accident, whether you’re at fault or not. The policy should state clearly whether the replacement value is the fair market value of the car (what you could have sold it for before the crash) or the cost of buying a similar car. The cost to buy a new car is normally higher than the fair market value.
  • Umbrella coverage. This coverage is excess coverage. It pays for liability damages over and above your liability policy limits, up to the limits of the umbrella coverage
  • Rental insurance. This coverage pays for the cost of renting a car while your damaged car is being repaired.
  • GAP coverage. This insurance covers the difference between what you still owe on your car and the actual cash value of your car.

If you lease or rent a car, you may be required to purchase comprehensive or collision coverage in case the car is damaged in a Knoxville car accident.

You should make sure that you have personal health insurance, which should pay for your medical care regardless of fault subject to a deductible and the terms of the insurance policy.

You may also consider buying insurance for labor and towing, damage to a classic car, and other coverages, depending on your situation.

Do you have a Knoxville auto insurance lawyer near me?

At Banks & Jones, we meet car accident victims and the families of anyone killed in a car accident at our Knoxville office located at 2125 Middlebrook Pike. If you’re too injured to come to our office, we can make alternate arrangements including home visits, hospital visits, and talking by phone or video.

We’ll answer all your insurance and personal injury questions. We Fight 2 Win all the compensation you deserve.

Get help now. Speak with our experienced Knoxville auto insurance lawyers today

The strongest jury verdicts and settlement awards are only as good as the insurance coverage that can pay those recoveries. At Banks & Jones, we understand the complexities of insurance coverage. If you have questions about your coverage, we’ll answer them. If you’re in an accident, we identify every insurance policy that can pay your financial and personal damages and work to obtain the maximum recovery possible. Please call us or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.

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