South Carolina Driver & Car Insurance Guide
Plain-English answers for drivers, parents and the insurance agents who help them: tickets and points, wrecks, coverage, teen drivers, storms, deer season and real ways to lower your premium. Sources are listed at the bottom.
How a ticket becomes points
Points go on a South Carolina driving record only after a conviction is reported to the SCDMV. Paying the ticket counts as a conviction. These are the violations agents see most often:
| Violation | Points |
|---|---|
| Speeding, 10 mph or less over the limit | 2 |
| Speeding, more than 10 but under 25 mph over | 4 |
| Speeding, 25 mph or more over | 6 |
| Reckless driving | 6 |
| Passing a stopped school bus | 6 |
| Hit-and-run, property damage only | 6 |
| Failure to yield right-of-way | 4 |
| Disobeying a traffic control device (stop sign, red light) | 4 |
| Following too closely | 4 |
| Unlawful passing or turning | 4 |
| Driving in an improper lane | 2 |
| Improper backing | 2 |
| Hands-free law, 2nd offense within 3 years | 2 |
Insurance companies rate driving records with their own rules, separate from DMV points. A ticket can raise a premium even when it is nowhere near a suspension.
Points calculator
Add each conviction and when it happened. The calculator applies the half-value rule and shows where the total lands.
Estimate only. The official count is on the driver’s record at scdmvonline.com.
What a ticket really costs
The fine is usually the smallest part. A conviction can raise your insurance for several years. Enter your own numbers, or start from the South Carolina averages already filled in.
Sample fines come from one SC municipal court’s published schedule; your court’s amount may differ. The 27% default reflects Insurance.com’s South Carolina average for drivers with a speeding ticket ($2,553 a year vs. $2,009 with a clean record). Your carrier’s surcharge and how long it lasts can differ, so ask your agent.
Got a ticket? What to do next
- Know the points before you pay. Paying the fine is a conviction, and the points follow. Check the table above for what the charge carries.
- Pull your driving record. Look up your current points at scdmvonline.com so you know how close you are to 12.
- Consider a point reduction course. An approved 8-hour defensive driving course removes up to 4 points from an SC license. It works once every 3 years, and only for violations dated before you finish the course.
- Don’t use it too early. If you have fewer than 4 points, you get credit only for the points you have, and the 3-year clock still starts.
- Act fast on a suspension notice. At 12 or more points you have 30 days from the notice to finish the course. Once the suspension starts, the course will not cancel it.
- Call your insurance agent. Ask how the conviction affects your rate and whether your carrier offers a discount for a safety course. Policies differ.
Just got a ticket in South Carolina?
- Points: 2 for speeding 10 mph or less over, 4 for 11–24 over, 6 for 25+ over or reckless driving.
- Paying = convicted. Points land on your record when you pay.
- 12 points means a 3- to 6-month license suspension.
- Points fade: half value after 12 months, gone after 24.
- Take 4 points off with an approved 8-hour course, once every 3 years. Finish it before any suspension begins.
- Check your record at scdmvonline.com.
Point reduction course: 4 Points Back offers the 8-hour SC 4 Point Reduction course live online at 4pointsback.com.
Agency: ______________________ Phone: ______________
What to do after a wreck in South Carolina
Keep this list in your glove box or on your phone. Steps 1–3 come first; everything else can wait until everyone is safe.
- Stop. SC law requires every driver in a crash to stop. Leaving the scene is a crime, even when damage is minor.
- Check for injuries and call 911. Report any injury, and request an officer so a crash report is made.
- Get to safety. If no one is hurt and the cars can move, pull out of traffic lanes, turn on hazard lights and stay off the roadway.
- Trade information. Get each driver’s name, phone, address, license number, plate, insurance company and policy number. Help anyone who is injured.
- Document everything. Photograph all vehicles, the plates, the road, signs, skid marks and any injuries. Get names and numbers of witnesses.
- Don’t argue fault. Be polite and stick to facts. Let the officer and the insurance companies sort out who caused it.
- Call your insurance agent the same day. Report the claim promptly, even if you think the other driver is at fault.
- File the FR-10 within 15 days. If anyone was hurt or killed, or property damage is $1,000 or more, each driver must file an FR-10 through their insurance company. Missing it can suspend your license and registration.
- See a doctor. Some injuries show up a day or two later. Keep every medical record and receipt.
SC minimum coverage and uninsured motorist explained
South Carolina requires every insured vehicle to carry liability and uninsured motorist coverage of at least 25/50/25.
| Coverage | What it pays for | SC rule |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | Injuries you cause to others | Required: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | Cars and property you damage | Required: $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured motorist (UM) | Your injuries and damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance | Required: 25/50/25 |
| Underinsured motorist (UIM) | Your losses above what the at-fault driver’s policy pays | Optional; you must sign to add it |
| Collision | Damage to your car from a crash | Optional; lenders usually require it |
| Comprehensive | Theft, flood, falling trees, fire, hitting a deer | Optional; lenders usually require it |
The minimum protects other people from you only up to those limits. If damages go higher, you can be personally responsible for the rest. The average new vehicle now sells for about $50,000 (Kelley Blue Book, August 2026), double the $25,000 property damage minimum.
This is a conversation starter, not advice. Your agent can quote the actual cost of each change.
How to lower your car insurance in South Carolina
None of these cut corners on protection. Discounts and amounts vary by company, so take this list to your agent and ask which ones apply to you.
Teen drivers: the SC licensing path
South Carolina uses a graduated system. Every new teen driver starts with a permit and moves up only after meeting time, training and clean-record requirements.
- Pass the vision and knowledge tests.
- Drive 6 a.m. to midnight with a licensed driver 21+ who has a year of experience.
- After midnight, only with a parent or guardian listed on the consent form.
- Hold it at least 180 days.
- Requires driver’s ed, 40 practice hours (10 at night) and school attendance.
- Alone 6 a.m.–6 p.m. (8 p.m. during daylight saving time).
- Until midnight with a licensed adult 21+.
- No more than 2 passengers under 21, except family or students going to or from school.
- Same requirements and limits as the conditional license.
- Time limits can be waived for work, school, church or sports with documentation.
- After one year on a conditional or restricted license with no violations and no at-fault crashes.
- A ticket or at-fault crash delays full privileges 12 months, or until 17.
Based on SC Department of Insurance figures: adding a teen raises the average household’s bill 152% (176% for a son, 129% for a daughter). Good student saves about 7% and away-at-school about 5–10% (this uses 5%). Your actual quote depends on the car, the carrier and your location.
Call your agent before the teen gets a permit. Many policies require listing every licensed household driver.
Hurricane and flood prep for your car
- Check for comprehensive coverage now. Flood water, falling trees and wind damage to your car are covered only by comprehensive. Liability-only policies don’t pay for your car.
- Don’t wait for a named storm. Insurers commonly stop accepting new policies and coverage changes once a storm threatens the coast.
- Photograph your car before the storm. Get all sides, the interior and the odometer. Save your policy and agent’s number on your phone.
- Move it to high ground. Park away from trees and low spots, or in a parking garage above the ground floor.
- Evacuate early with a full tank. Pack chargers, cash, water and copies of your insurance card and registration.
- Never start a flooded car. Cranking a car with water in the engine can destroy it. Photograph the water line and call your insurer first.
- Watch for flood cars when buying used. South Carolina brands flood-totaled titles “Salvage Flood.” Get a vehicle history report before you buy after a storm.
Deer season: October to December
- Don’t swerve. Brake firmly and stay in your lane. Hitting a deer is safer than hitting a tree or oncoming car.
- One deer means more. If one crosses, slow down and expect others to follow.
- Watch edges. Creek bottoms and places where fields meet woods are common crossings.
- Use high beams on dark roads when no one is coming, and slow down at night.
- Know your coverage. Hitting a deer is usually a comprehensive claim. Swerving and hitting something else is usually collision, which can count differently. No state agency pays for deer damage.
Share this guide with your clients
Agents are welcome to link to this guide from their resources page or blog, and to print the client handout for their office. You can link to a single section by adding #wreck, #coverage, #save, #teens, #hurricane or #deer to the address.