Written from the desk of an independent, veteran-owned agency in Jacksonville that has been placing coastal and Camp Lejeune coverage since 2017. Richard Kolstad, CLCS, TRA, is licensed in North Carolina (1000568335) and South Carolina (3000599432).
A car that sleeps in a Jacksonville driveway is rated as a Jacksonville car, even when the registration still says Ohio, Texas, or the last duty station. Auto insurance in Jacksonville NC is written from the garaging address, the drivers in the household, and the limits North Carolina now requires. It is not written from a homepage average.
This post settles what the 2025 floor actually is, why Camp Lejeune families get the garaging question wrong, and what underinsured motorist coverage now does when the other driver is short.
Key takeaways
- For policies new or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, North Carolina's minimum liability limits are $50,000 / $100,000 / $50,000. That is the Department of Insurance's figure, not ours.
- Liability pays the other people. It does not fix your car, and the minimum is a legal floor rather than a recommendation.
- Rates follow where the car is garaged. A Camp Lejeune PCS that leaves the car on Western Boulevard or in Richlands still has to be reported.
- Underinsured motorist coverage is now included on new and renewed policies, and it is no longer reduced by what the at-fault driver's liability pays.
What auto insurance in Jacksonville NC has to carry
The North Carolina Department of Insurance says liability coverage is required, along with uninsured motorist coverage. Its July 1, 2025 fact sheet raised the liability floor to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage, and it put underinsured motorist coverage on every new or renewed policy. We described that change when it landed in our 2025 limits post. The short version a year later: if the policy has not been reviewed since mid-2025, pull the declarations page.
Liability pays bodily injury and property damage you are legally responsible for. It does not pay to repair your own vehicle. Collision and comprehensive do that work, with deductibles you choose. A deer on Highway 24 or a tree in a tropical storm is usually comprehensive. A crash, regardless of fault, is usually collision. A lender generally requires both while there is a loan on the car. The state does not.
The 2025 minimum is a floor, not a recommendation
Fifty thousand dollars per person is what lets you keep a plate on the car. Medical bills and a serious injury on Western Boulevard or NC-24 routinely outrun that number. An umbrella sits on top only after auto (and home or renters) liability meet the carrier's underlying schedule, which is commonly higher than the state minimum. We will tell you that in the first conversation rather than quoting a layer you cannot yet buy.
Garaging near Camp Lejeune is how the rate is set
North Carolina rates auto insurance differently from most states. The North Carolina Rate Bureau files rates, and the Safe Driver Incentive Plan assigns points for at-fault accidents and convictions. Where the car sits overnight still does the rest. We see the same miss every PCS cycle: the household goods get a checklist, and the car keeps the old garaging ZIP. Tell us the report date. Our PCS insurance checklist is the rest of that move; the auto half is the address the car actually lives at, even if it is registered somewhere else.
The same DOI fact sheet also lengthened the inexperienced-operator surcharge for drivers first licensed on or after July 1, 2025, from three years to eight. That is the Department's rule, not a carrier promo. A teen added after a Camp Lejeune move is the household change we want before the license, not after the first surcharge.
If you are still in base housing or renting off base, the car and the apartment are two policies. Start with renters insurance near Camp Lejeune for the household goods, then come back to the declarations page on the auto.
UIM is the coverage that pays when the other driver is short
Uninsured motorist coverage responds when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or leaves the scene. Underinsured motorist coverage responds when they have insurance that is not enough. The Department of Insurance is specific about the 2025 change: whether a vehicle is underinsured is now based on the damages, and the UIM limit is not reduced by a setoff against the at-fault driver's liability payment (workers' compensation is the stated exception). That is the Department describing the statute. It is not a promise that every claim pays the full limit.
In a state where a large share of drivers still sit near the minimum, UIM is the layer that actually protects you when the person who hits you cannot cover what they did. Read the UIM limit on the declarations page the same way you read liability. They are not automatically the same number on every form.
Common questions
What is the minimum auto insurance coverage in North Carolina?
The North Carolina Department of Insurance says that for policies new or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, the minimums are $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury liability, and $50,000 for property damage. Underinsured motorist coverage is included on those policies. The prior floor was $30,000 / $60,000 / $25,000. The issued policy is what you actually have.
What car insurance is required in NC?
The Department of Insurance says liability coverage is required, along with uninsured motorist coverage. The 2025 change also puts underinsured motorist coverage on new and renewed policies. Collision and comprehensive are not a state requirement; a lender or lessor generally requires them while there is a loan on the car.
Do you have to have car insurance in NC?
If you own a registered vehicle in North Carolina, it has to carry the required liability and uninsured motorist coverages, and letting that lapse while the plate is active is what triggers DMV penalties. You can hold a license without insurance if you do not own a registered vehicle. The requirement attaches to the registration, not to the plastic license.
How to get car insurance in NC?
Bring the vehicle identification number, the names and license numbers of every driver in the household, and the address where the car actually sits overnight. If you are registering the car in North Carolina, the insurer files the DMV proof of coverage. Call or text 910-378-1378 and we can usually have coverage in force the same day once those facts are in hand.
Why is auto insurance so expensive in NC?
Repair and medical costs have risen, the 2025 minimum limits raised the floor on every policy, and the Safe Driver Incentive Plan surcharges at-fault accidents and convictions for years. Where the car is garaged in Onslow County matters too. We do not publish a Jacksonville average, because an average is not a policy. We shop the same driver across the carriers we represent.
Read the declarations page before the next commute
The useful work is on one page: liability limits, UIM, the garaging address, and whether collision and comprehensive are even on the form. If those four lines match how the car is actually used in Jacksonville, the rest is a conversation.
Call or text 910-378-1378 and we will read that page with you. Kolstad Insurance Services is independent, so we compare more than one company for the address the car actually lives at.
Coverage described here is general information, not a statement of what any specific policy covers. Actual coverage depends on the policy issued, its terms, and the carrier's determination. Kolstad Insurance Services, LLC is licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina.