Virginia Auto Insurance & Crash Law

VictimsGuide’s Virginia library organizes the rules that matter after a serious motor-vehicle crash: required liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, add-on UIM, pre-suit policy-limit disclosure, statutory claims remedies, employer and commercial coverage, government claims, contributory negligence, damages, liens, reimbursement, settlement and controlling case authority.

Virginia rules to identify early

• Minimum liability: Virginia requires at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage.
• UM/UIM: Virginia’s current underinsured-motorist framework generally provides add-on coverage unless a permitted reduction election applies, making policy dates and election forms important.
• Contributory negligence: Virginia retains contributory negligence, so claimant negligence can completely bar recovery in an ordinary negligence claim.
• Disclosure/remedies: Virginia has specific pre-suit policy-limit disclosure provisions and statutory remedies affecting motor-vehicle insurance claims.
• Government claims: state and local defendants require separate VTCA, notice and sovereign-immunity analysis.

Preserve the complete policy, declarations, UM/UIM forms, crash report, photographs, video and electronic vehicle data, and investigate household, employer, commercial, umbrella and excess coverage before signing a release.

Current-law review: September 17, 2026. Verify current Virginia statutes, appellate decisions, policy effective dates and the policy actually issued before relying on this educational guide.