For 40 years, Washington, DC, has required the same mandatory minimum limits for car insurance. This has been one of the many reasons why it is so difficult for accident victims to get the compensation they deserve. This is not about a payout. It is about accident victims who cannot afford to pay their hospital bills for an accident they did not cause. Not as bad but still important, the same is true of property damage. Again, the victim will have to pay out of pocket to have repairs done. Moreover, in almost all cases, the tortfeasor cannot afford a judgment against them, resulting in years of collection which can also be expensive. The result is injustice. While little can be done to protect people from all accidents, there are legislative steps we can take to protect accident victims from further disrepair.
The good news is that this may soon chance. A new proposal before the DC Council, Council Bil 26-0057, aims to bring the mandatory minimum limints into the modern decade and 2026. If the Bill is successful, it will be the first time the limits have risen in 40 years. For accident victims and our clients, this proposal matters. In more serious cases, the question is not just a matter of proving liability, but simply a matter of how much coverage is available to pay a victim’s medical bills. Even when an accident victim ahs health insurance, that health insurer wants to be paid back out of any recovery. And the lawyer is legally and ethically obligated to pay them a reasonable amount.
What Are the Current DC Car Insurance Limits?
In Washington, DC, the current auto insurance mandatory minimum limits are $25,000 per person, and $50,000 per accident for third-party liability insurance. This means if another driver collides into your vehicle causing you injury, the most you can recover from their insurance is $25,000. If there are multiple people in your vehicle, or even if there are multiple vehicles all injured by the negligence of that one driver, the most that can be recovered from his policy is $50,000. That is true under the current law in DC as of January, 2026. Unfortunately, this exact scenario plays out just about every day. This leaves several people out of luck as they have to pay for their damages with health insurance if they have it, and out of pocket if they do not.
There are two other issues with current DC car insurance limits. First, property damage minimum limits are $10,000 for third-party property damage claims. Thus, if you are driving a $30,000 car and are in an accident that requires anything over that amount, you are coming out of pocket or you are making an underinsured claim through your own policy. Regardless of how much coverage you have, $10,000 is an outdated amount for property damage in 2026.
Why DC’s Insurance Minimums Are Widely Viewed as Outdated
Many view DC’s auto insurance minimums as oudated because they are. The current limits were set in 1986. If that does not sound like a long time to you, understand that U.S. prices overall have risen by about 195%, according to the Consumer Price Index. That means somethat that would cost $1 in 1986 costs roughly $2.95 today, or nearly three times as much. Unfortunately, inflation is only one part of the equation. Medical care prices have risen significantly faster than overall inflation. According to the official data that is out only through 2025, medical care costs are about 409% higher than they were 40 years ago. To put this in perspective, that means a $10,000 medical bill in 1986 would be roughly $50,000-$55,000 in 2026.
This dramatic rise in medical costs helps explain why DC’s current 25/50/10 limits are insufficient to compensate an accident victim. When coverage is insufficient, the victim may have to delay necessary treatment. This puts them in a tough bind that leads to longer-lasting injuries. Worse yet, the aggravation from delaying treatment may not be compensable, as a plaintiff has a duty to mitigate their damages. Defense counsel will argue, with likely some degree of success, that a plaintiff could scrape together enough money for a treatment plan. If a jury or judge buys that argument, the aggravation from delaying treatment is not compensable.
What Council Bill 26-0057 Proposes to Change
Formally titled the Motor Vehicle Insurance Modernization Act of 2025, this Bill would update Washington, D.C.’s mandatory auto insurance requirements for the first time in 40 years. The Bill proposes that DC’s mandatory minimum limits should be doubled. This 100% increase both reflects how far current requirements lag behind modern comments as well as being nonetheless an insufficient amount. A quick glance at the increases of 195% according to the CPI and the 409% increase in medical care costs shows that the mere 100% increase for mandatory minimum limits will not be enough for accident victims in DC. In all, the Bill proffers four changes.
- Increases mandatory minimum third-party bodily injury liability coverage.
- Increases mandatory minimum property damage liability coverage.
- Raises required underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, including an additional $5,000 in mandatory UIM limits.
- Requires insurers to offer enhanced underinsured motor vehicle coverage on passenger vehicle policies.
What This Means for DC Drivers and Policyholders
While this is not as much as car accident victims require in many cases, if this bill passes, DC drivers, policyholders, and passengers in DC registered and insured vehicles will be able to draw from larger policies. In theory, if you already pay for a policy above the new 50/100/15, your premium should not change. But higher coverage requirements likely will lead to higher premiums for those who currently carry the minimum limit. This is not to say that the change is justifiable. In fact, insurance premiums have inflated about 5.76% per year, far outpacing general inflation of about 3%. Put another way, insurance premiums have gone up roughly 300% to 350% over the last 40 years, despite mandatory minimums staying exactly the same in Washington, DC.
For policyholders who have always had larger policies, higher limits may reduce reliance on underinsured motorist claims and personal health insurance following a crash. This will result in faster claim resolution, no interest on medical care balances, and less of a chance to face delays in treatment. While not necessarily pertaining to drivers and policyholders, this will also have a powerful effect on passengers. When there is a passenger, there is likely more than one claimant. That means the amount of available coverage is at least $100,000 for the accident instead of $60,000.
Lastly, higher minimums may reduce the frequency with which courts are necessary for inadequate insurance. Less frequently will we need to secure a judgment against a defendant and proceed with collections and wage garnishment. Instead, we can settle with their insurer.
What Happens If the Bill Passes or Fails
If Council Bill 26-0057 passes, Washington, DC, would formally update its auto insurance laws to reflect the financial and medical realities in 2026. Chances are, insurance companeis would follow suit by increasing premiums. However, as we now know, there is no justification for insurance companies to do this. They have already increased their premiums by approximately 300% to 350% over the last 40 years despite no change in mandatory minimums. However, insurrance companies tend to jump at the opportunity to maximize their profits, as we see daily when they lowball clients. Unfortunately, a side-effect of this legislation passing is that some policyholders will not wish to pay a higher premium, and will dump their insurance.
And while it is illegal to own or operate a car in DC without insurance, it happens daily. This could lead to less coverage being available in some instances. But in the aggregate, it is a big win for accident victims in the District. If the Bill fails, DC’s current insurance framework would not change. The financial burden of serious crashes would continue to fall disproportionately on injured individuals rather than being absorbed through adequate insurance coverage. The silver lining here is that the DC council would likely hear the issue again at some point in the future. This is a serious issue in DC and deserves the Council’s full attention.
Contact Gelb & Gelb Today
The Washington, DC, car accident lawyers at Gelb & Gelb have practiced personal injury law for 72 years. Over that time, we have successfully resolved over 10,000 cases. This has given an immense sample of cases that involved DC car insurance policies. We have the ability to weigh how policyholders with smaller policies from DC compare to policyholders from other states who just so happen to get into an accident in the District. We see first-hand how those with larger policies are able to get medical care faster and be more justly compensated for their damages.
If you are in a car accident in Washington, DC, call our office today for a free case consultation at (202) 331-7227.
