Auto · Updated October 2026
Missouri requires every auto policy to carry liability limits of at least $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000, plus uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. The liability part is what people mean by "25/50/25."
These are ceilings, not targets. The policy pays what you are legally responsible for, up to those amounts, and then stops.
Say you look down at your phone on Range Line or Glenstone and rear-end a newer pickup stopped at a light. The pickup pushes into the car in front of it. Two drivers go to the emergency room.
Property damage. The pickup needs $21,000 in repairs and the car ahead needs $9,000. That is $30,000 against a $25,000 limit. Your insurer pays $25,000. The remaining $5,000 is yours.
Injuries. One driver has a herniated disc and $38,000 in treatment and lost wages. The other has $14,000. The per-person limit caps the first claim at $25,000, so $13,000 of it is uncovered. The second fits. Total paid: $39,000, under the $50,000 accident limit, but the per-person cap has already left a gap.
Nothing about that crash is unusual. No one died, no one was airlifted. And the at-fault driver is personally on the hook for $18,000.
The injured people do not have to accept your policy limit as the end of the story. They, or their own insurers, can pursue you for the rest. That can mean a lawsuit, a judgment, and in some cases wage garnishment or liens. Your insurer also pays for your legal defense, which is a valuable part of the coverage, but once the limit is exhausted the remaining dollars come from you.
People with very little in savings sometimes reason that there is nothing to collect. That is a gamble with your future income, not just your current bank balance.
Twenty-five thousand dollars was a lot of car when minimum limits were set. Today the average new vehicle costs far more than that, and repairs on modern vehicles are expensive because of sensors, cameras and aluminum panels. Hitting one late-model truck can use up the whole property damage limit. Hitting two almost certainly will.
This is the part that surprises people. Moving from 25/50/25 to 50/100/50, or to 100/300/100, usually costs far less than doubling the premium, because the most expensive layer of risk is the first dollar of every claim, and that is already in your price. The extra protection sits on top.
The only way to know the difference for you is to see the quotes side by side. When you call us, we price the minimum and at least one higher option so you can decide with real numbers.
The required uninsured motorist coverage works in the other direction: it pays for your injuries when someone without insurance hits you. Missouri does not require underinsured motorist coverage, which pays when the other driver has insurance but not enough. Given how many drivers carry exactly the minimum, it is worth pricing. See uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.
If you are on a tight budget, the minimum keeps you legal and that matters. Just make it a choice, not a default.
It is the legal minimum, which keeps you legal to drive. In many ordinary accidents the property damage or per-person injury limit is exceeded, and the difference becomes your responsibility.
It is the most your policy pays for injuries to everyone in a single accident, combined, with no more than $25,000 going to any one person.
Yes. Missouri requires uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Underinsured motorist coverage is optional.
Usually much less than people expect, because the higher layers of coverage are used less often. The only way to know is to compare quotes for both, which we do on the same call.
Questions about your own situation? Call 417.206.3733 or send us your current policy. We are licensed in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, and you can buy by phone without coming in.
Or send your details and an agent will call you back. Most auto quotes are finished on one call, and you can buy before you hang up.