TL;DR: HAR 6-62-8 sets Hawaii's property-carrier floors at $250,000 per person and $750,000 per accident bodily injury with $250,000 property damage, among the nation's highest, with passenger tiers scaling to $1,000,000 by seating. The $10,000 PIP rides on every vehicle; the market's $1,000,000 standard applies above.
What liability limits does Hawaii require for trucks?
| Category | Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Property carriers, HAR 6-62-8(c) | Bodily injury, per person | $250,000 |
| Bodily injury, per accident | $750,000 | |
| Property damage, per accident | $250,000 | |
| Passenger carriers, 6-62-8(b) | 7 seats or fewer | $100,000 / $200,000; $50,000 PD |
| 8 to 25 seats | $500,000 per accident | |
| Over 25 seats | $1,000,000 per accident | |
| All registered vehicles | No-fault PIP | $10,000 per person |
| Hazmat | By commodity | $1,000,000 / $5,000,000 federal |
Why are Hawaii's floors so high?
Because the commission modernized them: the 2001 amendment that produced the current amounts deliberately raised property-carrier security to levels that parallel the federal $750,000 era, rather than leaving legacy split limits from the 1970s in place as most states did. The result is the rare state where the local floors approach operational adequacy: 250/750 with a quarter-million property damage is real coverage for much island trucking, and the gap to the market's $1,000,000 standard is the smallest in the country.
What do working Hawaii carriers carry?
$1,000,000 combined single limit remains the practical standard, required by the logistics majors, construction primes, and government contracts that anchor island freight, and satisfying the PUC floors with room. Passenger operations carry their seating tier and usually more for tour and shuttle contracts. Hazmat, fuel distribution above all, carries federal tiers. Excess buying scales with the operation: the islands' compact hauls limit some exposures while high medical costs and tourism-adjacent liability raise others, and fleets serving resorts and government carry towers their contracts specify.
How does the no-fault layer figure in?
As Hawaii's first-party base: $10,000 PIP per person on registered vehicles pays medical costs regardless of fault, with tort claims proceeding above the state's threshold, where the PUC-level limits answer. Employee drivers route through workers comp first. The layer's mechanics are standard no-fault; its significance is mostly in claim handling and in the reminder that Hawaii's insurance system was built deliberately, floors, no-fault, and regulation as a package.
What island specifics bear on prudent limits?
Cost basis and concentration. Everything about repair and replacement costs more, parts, equipment, and downtime all ride ocean freight, arguing for physical damage values set to island economics rather than mainland book. Harbor drayage concentrates operations around terminals with their own requirements. Tourism traffic mixes rental cars and pedestrians into every route. And catastrophe exposure, hurricane and tsunami, argues for yard and equipment thinking beyond auto forms. The liability floors handle the third-party side unusually well; the first-party side deserves the extra attention here.
Where are current numbers verified?
HAR 6-62-8 for the floors, the PUC's FAQ for process amounts, HRS 431:10C for the no-fault requirement, and the Insurance Division, (808) 586-2790, for policy questions. The floors have been stable since 2001, and the market layer moves with island commerce.
Real questions Hawaii owner-operators and fleet managers ask
What is the minimum insurance for a truck in Hawaii?
For PUC-certificated property carriers, $250,000 per person and $750,000 per accident bodily injury plus $250,000 property damage, among the nation's highest state floors. The market standard of $1,000,000 applies above, and every registered vehicle adds $10,000 PIP.
Are Hawaii's floors really higher than most states?
Substantially: most states carry legacy floors of $100,000 to $300,000 per accident, while Hawaii's 2001 modernization set property carriers at 250/750 with $250,000 property damage, approaching the federal $750,000 level.
What do Hawaii passenger carriers need?
Seating-scaled amounts: $200,000 per accident at seven seats or fewer, $500,000 at eight to twenty-five, $1,000,000 above, each with the applicable per-person and property damage components. Tour and shuttle contracts commonly require more.
Do Hawaii fuel haulers follow state or federal amounts?
Federal tiers by commodity, $1,000,000 for petroleum products, $5,000,000 for bulk high-hazard classes, layered on the PUC system. Island fuel distribution is the signature hazmat trade and should verify tiers exactly.
Why do physical damage values need island adjustment?
Because repair economics differ: parts and replacement equipment arrive by ocean freight, repair capacity is limited, and downtime runs long. Values and coverage terms set to mainland assumptions leave island carriers short at exactly the wrong moment.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in Hawaii?
Not directly today. Morrow is the brand name of Afthonea Inc, licensed in Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas. If your trucking company is based in Hawaii, we can refer you to a licensed Hawaii agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public Hawaii and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related Hawaii trucking guides
The other Hawaii trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in Hawaii (start here)
- Trucking insurance requirements
- Intrastate authority and filings
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in Hawaii
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- Commercial auto for trucking fleets
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and the Hawaii Insurance Division before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.