September 16, 2025

The increase in the minimal compulsory limits of motor vehicle insurance in Massachusetts is not enough. The victims injured in car accidents due to a careless driver with minimal auto insurance limits are in the best position to speak to this. Just ask an injured victim who suffers life altering damage at the hands of a driver who only has minimal motor vehicle insurance coverage, and they will share with you how their entire lives were completely derailed with no safety net to catch them. Tr chasing the at fault driver for money outside their insurance policy limits. Most of the time, there is nothing to gain. You know the saying: you can’t get blood out of a stone.

As personal injures lawyers with decades of experience, my law partner Leslie Harkavy and I see too many cases with minimal coverage devastating the injured parties who have no way to get the compensation they deserve.

On July 1, 2025, the minimum compulsory limits for motor vehicle insurance increased in Massachusetts. Acts of 2024 Chapter 2024, passed into law on December 23, 2024, increases the compulsory limits of 3 categories:

Section 1: Coverage for bodily injury to others increased to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident;

Section 2: Coverage for bodily injury caused by an uninsured auto increased to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per        accident;

Section 3: Coverage for damage to someone else’s property increased to $30,000 per accident;

Section 4: These new minimums apply to policies written or renewing on or after July 1, 2025;

PIP (personal injury protection) remains at $8,000 per person.

In her letter to the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives on November 20, 2024, Governor Maura Healey noted that these increases were part of a larger plan to strengthen Massachusetts’ economic leadership.

These limits had not increased in over 30 years before this law was enacted. Maura Healey explained that “the proposed increases would provide meaningful coverage for those who experience personal injury or property damage due to a motor vehicle accident.”  It is debatable if the increases provide “meaningful coverage”. The injured party and their family would say just the opposite: there is nothing “meaningful” with $25,000 in insurance coverage when you have over $100,000 in medical bills, broken bones, lost wages and no end in sight to treating your injuries suffered in a car crash.

Although any increase in minimums for motor vehicle insurance coverage is beneficial, the minimal increases in this law are a far cry from providing “meaningful coverage.” Most motor vehicle accidents cause damages that are much more than $25,000 for bodily injury. According to a study by Martindale-Nolo research, the average payout for motor vehicle accidents where the person had physical injuries is $29,700, which is higher than the minimum coverage amount in Massachusetts. It is important to note that $29,700 is just the average. Many auto accidents have payouts much higher than this. There are clients who deserve hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars for the harm they suffered due to another driver’s careless behavior.

Oftentimes, those injured in a motor vehicle accident have significant, lifelong injuries. Many auto accidents result in extended hospital stays, imaging, multiple surgeries, seeing many different types of doctors, pain management, and physical therapy for those injured, and those are only the medical expenses. Many clients who are in auto accidents must take time off from work because of their injuries and the time needed to recover. Even just a few months off from work to recover from a necessary surgery can result in tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages. Pain and suffering are also key contributors to damages in a motor vehicle accident. Oftentimes, an auto accident and the resulting injuries can affect one’s life significantly. Someone who is active may no longer be able to participate in the activities they once did, such as running or tennis. We often see cases where clients don’t regain complete function of their injured body part as well, negatively impacting their livelihood and ability to complete tasks they once did with ease.

Therefore, although this increase is a step in the right direction, it does not do enough to recognize the real loss that victims of a car accident experience.  Often, it impacts their entire family. To protect yourself, it is best to purchase additional, optional auto insurance coverage beyond these minimum levels. This additional insurance is underinsured motorist coverage. We have represented individuals that without this additional underinsured motorist auto coverage, would have been compensated only $20,000.00, the previous compulsory auto limits. One example is a client who had a 1 million underinsured policy to protect himself and his family. He and his family had to deal with the reality of losing his income as he was no longer able to work and also had ongoing medical needs and disability from his car accident that required a major surgery. Their entire lives changed. Thankfully, they had the 1 million underinsured coverage to compensate them. It gave them future security and lessened the burden of financial strain. If they did not have this underinsured coverage on their own auto policy, they would only be compensated the $20,000 in bodily injury coverage that the at fault driver had who had no other assets to contribute for the harm they caused to my client and his family.

Increasing the minimal compulsory auto limits from $20,000 to $25,000 does very little to help someone like my client who lost his ability to work and function as he had. The increase is not enough and does little for our clients who suffer real harm due to another’s negligence. Too often, the people who are negligent and cause harm are the ones that have minimal coverage to compensate those they harm.

At Nadeau Harkavy LLC, we have over 60 years combined experience representing injured people and their families when they have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, trip and fall or other type of accident. We have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients over the years to help them get on with their lives after suffering the consequences of a serious accident.  We make sure everything is done to protect your interests while you and your family concentrate on getting better. We handle all types of car accident cases including wrongful death, spinal injury, and brain injury. We represent drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, as well as other types of car accident cases such as scooter, motorcycle, rideshare, and skateboard cases. We also handle other types of injury cases such as trip and fall, slip and fall, allergic reaction, dog bite, construction site, and catastrophic injury accidents. If you or a loved one has been harmed through no fault of your own, call us today for a free consultation about your legal rights at 617-674-7640.