Minimum liability insurance requirements in Nevada may double by 2030 according to legislation passed by the state Senate on Tuesday. 

Senate Bill 180 would increase minimum liability insurance requirements from $750,000 to $1.5M by 2030. The increase applies to all carriers over 26,000 pounds. The Nevada Senate passed the bill 11-10 on Tuesday, April 22nd. It now moves to the Assembly for consideration, reported the Las Vegas Sun.

The rise in Minimum liability insurance requirements would begin in January 2026 with a $1 million minimum, and gradually increase to $1.5 million by 2030. 

Supporters of the bill say the increase is essential for modern day road safety in the state, which has not passed legislation regarding minimum coverage since 1980. Those in opposition say that the increase will raise operations costs for businesses. 

“I don’t think anybody would agree that the last time we should have touched anything involving coverage should have been 1980 in a state that’s changed and evolved so much, that has so many more people,” said Senator Edgar Flores.

“Owner-operators are going to be the folks, especially the local guys, that are going to be hit the hardest by this, the ones that typically have the smallest margins,” said Nevada Trucking Association CEO Paul Enos. “And those are my folks that, when their insurance rates go up to a point where it doesn’t pencil out, they close their doors.”

“If we increase this to $1.5 million, that is simply dramatically expanding the size of the deep pocket that’s available for a lawsuit,” said Senator Ira Hansen. “And that’s the real goal, in my opinion, it’s not public safety and saving everybody’s lives.”

If made into law, the bill would make Nevada the second state to pass its own legislation regarding minimum liability insurance requirements. New Jersey has also set its own standard, but all other states follow the federal minimums.