South Carolina doesn't require PIP. Say that to a driver moving in from Florida or Michigan and they usually assume it's a gap in the law. It isn't. It's a specific choice, and the state fills that gap a different way.
Instead of personal injury protection, South Carolina makes uninsured motorist coverage mandatory. Not a default setting you can sign away — a requirement, baked into every policy at the same limits as your liability coverage.
The Situation: A Tort State With No PIP
South Carolina Code § 38-77-144 is titled, almost bluntly, "Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage not mandated." That's the whole rule. This is a tort state — the at-fault driver pays, and the injured party can sue them directly for damages beyond what insurance covers.
Most insurers operating in South Carolina don't even sell PIP as a product. If you're used to a no-fault state where your own policy pays your medical bills first regardless of blame, that safety net simply isn't part of the system here.
The Complication: Someone Still Has to Pay
Picture a driver hit by someone with no insurance at all. In a state without a PIP backstop, that driver would be stuck negotiating with, or suing, a person who has nothing to collect. South Carolina's uninsured driver rate sits around 10-12% — lower than the roughly 15% national average, but still real.
That's not a small number of people driving around with nothing to pay a claim with.
The Resolution: Mandatory, Not Optional, UM
South Carolina closes the gap by requiring uninsured motorist coverage matching your 25/50 bodily injury limits on every single policy. Compare that to states where UM comes bundled in by default but drivers can sign a form and walk away from it — South Carolina doesn't offer that exit for the base UM requirement. It's built into the compulsory coverage itself.
Underinsured motorist coverage is where you actually get a choice. Insurers have to offer it, but you can decline it if you want. That distinction trips people up constantly: uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory, underinsured motorist coverage is optional.
What It Costs, and What Fault Costs You
Minimum coverage in South Carolina averages around $728 a year; full coverage runs closer to $1,890. Rates fell noticeably statewide in 2025 after regulatory changes, one of the larger premium drops recorded nationally that year.
There's a second wrinkle worth knowing before you ever need it: South Carolina uses modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar. Say you're rear-ended but partly distracted yourself, and a court finds you 30% at fault — you still recover 70% of your damages. Get found 51% at fault or more, on the other hand, and you recover nothing at all, no matter how much the other driver owes.
The Takeaway for New South Carolina Drivers
Don't go looking for PIP here — it doesn't exist as a requirement, and most carriers won't sell it to you anyway. What you actually need to check is your uninsured motorist line, because that's the coverage doing the job PIP does elsewhere: making sure you're not left holding the bill when the other driver can't pay.