What is a car accident claim worth in South Carolina?
Every rule below is quoted from South Carolina law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
The short answer
Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in South Carolina, and the South Carolina rules that raise or lower what you collect. $17,626 was the average injury claim paid in South Carolina in 2022.
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Averages come from NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report. State rules are quoted from South Carolina law on this site, each with a link.
What claims paid in South Carolina
Injury claims in South Carolina averaged $17,626 each in 2022.
Car and property damage claims averaged $6,620.
| Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance | $17,626 |
|---|---|
| Car and property damage | $6,620 |
| Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy | $2,807 |
| Collision coverage, paid by your own policy | $6,656 |
These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.
What changes the number in South Carolina
If you were partly at fault
South Carolina uses modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. You can recover money only if you were less at fault than the other driver, and your payout is reduced by your own share of fault. If you were 51 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.
“a plaintiff in a negligence action may recover damages if his or her negligence is not greater than that of the defendant”
The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling
South Carolina drivers must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage.
“twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to one person in any one accident”
If the other driver has no insurance
Every South Carolina auto policy must include uninsured motorist coverage at least equal to the state's minimum liability limits. Underinsured motorist coverage is not automatic, but insurers must offer it to you.
“undertaking to pay the insured all sums which he is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, within limits which may be no less than the requirements of Section 38-77-140”
The deadline that ends the claim
You have 3 years from the crash to sue over your injuries.
“an action for assault, battery, or any injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract”
What a lawyer takes if you hire one
South Carolina does not cap contingency fee percentages for ordinary injury cases by law. A contingency fee agreement must be in writing, signed by the client, and the fee must be reasonable.
“A contingent fee agreement shall be in a writing signed by the client”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.