Kansas requires at least $25,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 of property damage liability, often written as 25/50/25. Every policy also has to include personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident.
Kansas is a no-fault state. Your own PIP pays medical bills and lost wages after a crash no matter who caused it, and you can sue for pain and suffering only if your injury passes a legal threshold.
Key Takeaways
- Kansas requires 25/50/25 liability, PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. You can reject UM/UIM in writing only above 25/50, so the minimum layer stays on every policy.
- PIP pays at least $4,500 for medical expenses, plus lost wages, rehabilitation and other benefits. You can sue for pain and suffering only if medical treatment reaches $2,000 or the injury is on the state’s list of serious injuries.
- A first offense for driving uninsured is a class B misdemeanor with a fine of $300 to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A repeat within three years is a class A misdemeanor with a fine of $800 to $2,500.
- Kansas launched its online insurance verification system on July 1, 2026, but the state was still working out how it will be enforced. Lapse notices under existing law can already lead to suspended registration and driving privileges.
Kansas Minimum Car Insurance at a Glance
| Coverage | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 per accident |
| Personal injury protection | Required. Medical at least $4,500, plus disability, rehabilitation, substitution, funeral and survivor benefits |
| Uninsured and underinsured motorist | Required. Equal to your bodily injury limits; you can reject only the part above $25,000/$50,000 |
| Collision and comprehensive | Not required by state law, but a lender or lessor may require them |
The limits come from K.S.A. 40-3107, and the Kansas Department of Insurance (KDOI) lists them in its auto insurance shopper’s guide. Under K.S.A. 40-3104, every owner has to carry liability coverage, and no one may knowingly drive an uninsured vehicle on a highway or public property unless an exemption applies.
Some websites still list 25/50/10. That was the old property damage minimum, which rose to $25,000 for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2017. RateFrog’s guide to liability limits explains how these split numbers work.
Personal Injury Protection in Kansas
PIP covers the named insured, resident relatives, people driving the car, passengers and pedestrians hit by the car. The owner of a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle who is the named insured can reject PIP in writing. For everyone else, K.S.A. 40-3103 sets these minimum benefits:
| PIP benefit | Kansas minimum |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses | At least $4,500 per person |
| Disability (lost earnings) | At least $900 per month, for up to one year |
| Rehabilitation | At least $4,500 |
| Substitution (help with tasks you can’t do) | Up to $25 per day, for up to 365 days |
| Funeral | Up to $2,000 per person |
| Survivors (spouse or child under 18) | At least $900 per month, plus substitution benefits |
The medical, disability, rehabilitation and survivor amounts are floors, so you can buy more. The funeral and substitution amounts are caps. RateFrog’s guide to personal injury protection covers how PIP claims usually work.
The $2,000 Lawsuit Threshold
Kansas limits lawsuits for pain, suffering, mental anguish and similar non-economic losses. Under K.S.A. 40-3117, you can recover those damages only if your medical treatment has a reasonable value of $2,000 or more, or the injury involves one of these:
- Permanent disfigurement
- A fracture to a weight-bearing bone, or a compound, comminuted, displaced or compressed fracture
- Loss of a body member
- Permanent injury within reasonable medical probability, or permanent loss of a bodily function
- Death
The statute says billed charges aren’t conclusive proof of reasonable value. If you’re unsure whether a claim qualifies, a Kansas attorney can review it.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Kansas
Under K.S.A. 40-284, a policy on a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Kansas has to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage with limits equal to your bodily injury liability limits, and it has to include an underinsured motorist (UIM) provision. If you buy 100/300 liability, your UM/UIM is also 100/300 unless you reject the part above the minimum.
The named insured can reject, in writing, only the part above the state minimum of 25/50. A rejection applies to everyone on the policy, and later renewal or replacement policies from the same insurer don’t have to include the higher limits unless you ask in writing. The statute covers bodily injury only, not property damage.
UIM is measured against the at-fault driver’s coverage. It pays to the extent your UIM limits exceed the other driver’s bodily injury limits. Hypothetical example: if the other driver carries $25,000 and you carry $100,000 of UIM, the most UIM would add for one person is $75,000. These numbers are an illustration, and your policy controls. A bill from the 2025-26 session that would have changed this rule, SB 147, died in the Legislature.
Kansas also bars stacking. When more than one policy applies, the total can’t exceed the highest limits of any single policy. If you reach a tentative settlement with an underinsured driver for their full limits, you have to notify your UIM insurer by certified mail, and it has 60 days to decide whether to pay that amount itself. RateFrog’s guide to uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage explains these coverages in more detail.
Proof of Insurance in Kansas
You have to show proof of insurance when you register a vehicle, and K.S.A. 8-173 lets the state verify it online or electronically. Under K.S.A. 40-3104, a driver has to show proof to an officer on request, and the officer must issue a citation if you can’t. You can show it on a phone or other device, and the officer is prohibited from looking at anything else stored on it. RateFrog’s guide to getting proof of insurance fast can help if you need a card right away.
If you were insured but couldn’t show it, you can’t be convicted if you bring valid proof of coverage to court within 10 days of the citation. Electronic proof counts there too.
How Kansas Checks Your Coverage
Under a 2025 law, SB 42, KDOI built a web-based system to verify insurance in real time. KDOI announced on July 1, 2026 that the Kansas Insurance Verification System (KSIVS) was live. It compares Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) vehicle records with insurer data during traffic stops and registration renewals. The law says a KSIVS check can’t be the main reason for a traffic stop.
As of that announcement, enforcement wasn’t set up yet. KDOI said it was still working with KDOR and its vendor, MV Solutions, on how enforcement will work, and its announcement didn’t give a start date or describe what notices drivers will get.
The existing lapse process still applies. Under K.S.A. 40-3118, owners certify coverage at registration and must keep it for the whole registration period. When the state mails an owner a lapse notice, the registration and the owner’s driving privileges are suspended at the end of 30 days after mailing, unless within 10 days of mailing the owner shows proof of continuous coverage or requests a hearing. Getting reinstated takes proof of insurance and a $100 fee, or $300 if you were revoked within one year of a prior revocation. RateFrog’s guide to what happens when insurance lapses covers the broader risks.
Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Kansas
Court Penalties
Under K.S.A. 40-3104, a first violation is a class B misdemeanor with a fine of $300 to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. A conviction within three years of a prior one is a class A misdemeanor with a fine of $800 to $2,500. Some websites list a separate third-offense tier with mandatory jail. The current statute’s text doesn’t include one.
Falsely certifying that you have insurance, or knowingly giving the state false information about someone else’s coverage, is a separate class A misdemeanor under K.S.A. 40-3118.
Habitual Violator Revocation
Driving uninsured is one of the offenses on the habitual violator list in K.S.A. 8-285, along with DUI and driving while suspended. Three or more convictions for listed offenses within five years make you a habitual violator, and under K.S.A. 8-286 the state revokes your driving privileges for three years, with limited exceptions.
A Crash Without Insurance
After a reportable crash involving an uninsured vehicle, 40-3104 lets the state suspend the license of each driver involved and requires it to revoke the registration of all vehicles the uninsured owner owns, after notice and a hearing. Drivers and owners who had a required policy in effect are exempt. The suspension lasts until you file proof of financial security, pay the reinstatement fee and either are released from liability, win a judgment of nonliability or sign an agreement to pay the damages. Under K.S.A. 40-3116, an owner who failed to keep the required coverage also can’t get PIP benefits through the state’s assigned claims plan, which normally steps in when no PIP coverage applies.
SR-22 Filings in Kansas
The KDOI and KDOR pages reviewed for this guide don’t use the term SR-22. The state’s version is in K.S.A. 40-3118: after a conviction in Kansas or another state for an offense on the 8-285 list, which includes DUI and driving uninsured, the state requires you to buy insurance and requires your insurer to keep evidence of that insurance on file for one year. Drivers whose privileges were suspended under 40-3118 also have to keep a filing. If the policy ends, the insurer has to notify the state right away.
Other suspensions can come with their own conditions, so ask KDOR’s Division of Vehicles what your case requires. RateFrog’s SR-22 guide explains how these filings work in general.
If You Can’t Find Coverage
The Kansas Automobile Insurance Plan (KAIP) covers eligible drivers who can’t get insurance in the regular market. According to the same KDOI guide, drivers turned down by at least three companies can buy required liability coverage through the plan, with optional physical damage coverage. The plan’s page on AIPSO lists its phone number as (888) 706-6100. When an insurer cancels or nonrenews for a reason other than nonpayment, K.S.A. 40-278 requires it to tell you that you may be eligible for the plan.
How Kansas Insurers Set Rates
Kansas allows credit-based insurance scores in auto insurance, with limits set by its credit act. Under K.S.A. 40-5104, an insurer can’t:
- Use race, religion, color, sex, disability, income, address, ZIP code, national origin, ancestry or marital status in an insurance score
- Refuse to quote, deny, cancel or nonrenew solely based on credit information without other independent factors
- Take adverse action solely because you don’t have a credit card account
If you have no credit file, the insurer has to treat it as neutral or leave credit out.
Kansas also requires a course discount. Under K.S.A. 40-1112a, insurers must give an appropriate premium reduction on liability, PIP and collision to a principal operator who completes a qualifying accident avoidance course of at least four hours. The discount lasts three years, and you retake the course to keep it. The current statute sets no age requirement and no percentage. A course ordered by a court or the state after a moving violation doesn’t count. RateFrog’s guide to the factors that affect car insurance rates covers the rest.
Cancellation and Nonrenewal Rules
These rules cover private passenger policies, with exceptions such as plan policies and policies covering more than four cars (K.S.A. 40-276). Once a policy has been in effect for 60 days, or right away on a renewal, K.S.A. 40-277 allows cancellation only for listed reasons. They include nonpayment, fraudulent misrepresentation, violating policy terms, a license suspension or revocation for a named insured or regular household driver, and certain recent convictions such as DUI. An insurer can’t cancel solely because of age.
Under K.S.A. 40-3118, an insurer has to mail a termination notice at least 30 days ahead by certified or registered mail, or an approved tracking method. Nonpayment and cancellations you request are exceptions. KDOI’s guide says there’s no grace period for nonpayment and that any refund has to come with the notice or be mailed within 10 days. RateFrog’s guide to car insurance grace periods explains how late payments are usually handled.
Nonrenewal is limited too. Under K.S.A. 40-276a, an insurer needs at least 30 days’ written notice and one of the listed reasons. They include any 40-277 cancellation reason, the insurer leaving Kansas, and the end of a five-year period of continuous coverage.
Is Kansas’s Minimum Coverage Enough?
A 25/50/25 policy can run out quickly in a serious crash, and $25,000 of property damage coverage may not replace a newer car. If a claim is more than your limits, you could owe the rest. PIP’s $4,500 medical minimum may not go far after a hospital stay. Higher liability limits also raise your UM/UIM limits unless you reject the extra. They cost more, so weigh that against what you could lose in a lawsuit.
RateFrog’s guide to how much car insurance you need can help you choose, and you can compare car insurance quotes at several coverage levels.
Where to Get Help
For insurer problems, cancellations and claims, call the KDOI Consumer Hotline at 800-432-2484 or the main line at 785-296-3071, or use its complaint page. For license and registration suspensions, contact KDOR’s Division of Vehicles through its Driver Solutions contact page or at 785-296-3671. Its administrative hearings page covers hearings for no-insurance stops, crashes and lapses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kansas a No-Fault State?
Yes. Every policy has to include PIP, which pays your medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault. You can sue for pain and suffering only if medical treatment reaches $2,000 or the injury is on the state’s serious-injury list.
Can I Reject Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Kansas?
Only the part above 25/50, and only in writing. The minimum $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident layer stays on every policy.
What Is the Fine for Driving Without Insurance in Kansas?
$300 to $1,000 for a first offense, which can also bring up to six months in jail. A conviction within three years of a prior one carries a fine of $800 to $2,500.
Can I Show Proof of Insurance on My Phone in Kansas?
Yes. Kansas law lets you show proof on a phone or other device, and the officer can’t look at anything else stored on it.
Sources
- Kansas Department of Insurance: Auto Insurance
- Kansas Department of Insurance: Auto Insurance Shopper’s Guide
- Kansas Department of Insurance: KSIVS Launch Announcement
- Kansas Legislature: SB 42 (2025), Enrolled
- Kansas Legislature: SB 147
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Administrative Hearings
- Kansas Department of Revenue: Driver Solutions Contact
- K.S.A. 40-3103
- K.S.A. 40-3104
- K.S.A. 40-3107
- K.S.A. 40-3116
- K.S.A. 40-3117
- K.S.A. 40-3118
- K.S.A. 40-284
- K.S.A. 40-276
- K.S.A. 40-276a
- K.S.A. 40-277
- K.S.A. 40-278
- K.S.A. 40-1112a
- K.S.A. 40-5104
- K.S.A. 8-173
- K.S.A. 8-285
- K.S.A. 8-286
- AIPSO: Kansas Automobile Insurance Plan
- Kansas Department of Insurance: File a Complaint