STATE LAW – RHODE ISLAND LIBRARY – GUIDE 02
Required Auto Insurance, 25/50/25 Liability & UM/UIM in Rhode Island
Rhode Island requires automobile liability insurance with minimum limits of 25/50/25 and regulates the offering, election, and rejection of uninsured/underinsured-motorist coverage. This guide addresses compulsory liability limits, UM/UIM availability, proof-of-insurance requirements, and the practical consequences of minimum limits after a serious crash.
Rhode Island requires financial security for registered vehicles
Rhode Island’s Motor Vehicle Reparations Act requires registration and renewal applications to include a signed commitment not to operate, or permit operation of, covered vehicles without financial security. R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-47-2 recognizes an owner’s liability policy, financial-security bond or deposit, or qualifying self-insurance. Determine the actual form of security in force on the crash date rather than relying only on an insurance card or a registration record.
The owner’s policy definition uses 25 / 50 / 25 or a $75,000 combined limit
Section 31-47-2(13)(i)(A) specifies $25,000 for bodily injury or death to one person, $50,000 for two or more persons in one accident, subject to the per-person limit, and $25,000 for property damage, or a $75,000 combined single limit. Insurers may provide broader coverage. These are minimum policy amounts, not a maximum on the negligent person’s liability or proof that those limits remain available after payments to other claimants.
UM/UIM matching and rejection rules depend on the purchased liability coverage
Section 27-7-2.1 generally requires uninsured-motorist coverage matching bodily-injury liability limits. A named insured may select lower limits in writing, ordinarily no lower than the statutory minimum. A person purchasing only the compulsory minimum may reduce UM coverage to zero after signing the approved advisory notice. The statute separately addresses property-damage UM rejection and collision coverage. Obtain the signed selections, rejection or advisory forms, renewals, and endorsements before assuming that coverage was validly reduced.
Underinsured coverage and settlement require a separate review
Section 27-7-2.1(g) includes underinsured motorists within the statutory UM framework. Subsection (h) addresses recovery without first suing the tortfeasor and provides that a release given with the UIM insurer’s consent does not extinguish the insured’s UIM claim. Other policy conditions and claim-specific issues still require review. Build a coverage ledger identifying the liability insurer, available limits, UM/UIM policies, other claimants, and any proposed release. Do not equate a minimum-limit offer with the complete amount of coverage or damages.
Source review: October 15, 2026. This overview addresses the cited coverage provisions. Apply the law and policy version relevant to the crash and policy dates.
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Official Rhode Island sources
Citizen crossroads