On the Minnesota Property & Casualty exam, the Personal Automobile Policy appears both as a standard ISO-style contract and as a set of Minnesota auto statutes you must apply. This standalone guide reviews the policy's coverage parts, then drills into the Minnesota overlay: the No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, mandatory personal injury protection (PIP), the tort threshold to step outside no-fault, modified comparative negligence, the 30/60/10 liability minimums, and required uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. The Minnesota-specific material is where most state credit is earned.

Policy structure (the national base)

The Personal Auto Policy (PAP) is a packaged contract organized into lettered parts:

• Part A — Liability: pays bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) the insured is legally liable for; the insurer provides a defense, and defense costs are typically paid in addition to the limit.
• Part B — Medical Payments: pays medical/funeral costs for occupants regardless of fault (in no-fault states this role is largely filled by PIP).
• Part C — Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists: pays the insured's injuries when the at-fault party is uninsured or underinsured.
• Part D — Coverage for Damage to Your Auto: Collision and Other Than Collision (Comprehensive), each with a deductible, settled at Actual Cash Value (ACV).
• Part E — Duties After an Accident or Loss and Part F — General Provisions.

Limits may be written as split limits (e.g., 100/300/50) or as a Combined Single Limit (CSL). Insureds include the named insured, resident spouse, resident relatives, and permissive users. That framework is national; Minnesota governs the fault system, the mandatory coverages, and the limits around it.

Minnesota is a NO-FAULT auto state — the single biggest distinction

This is the most important thing to learn. Minnesota follows the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, which means an injured person's own insurer pays certain economic losses regardless of who caused the crash. Each driver turns first to their own policy for medical bills and wage loss, rather than waiting to prove the other driver was at fault. Do not describe Minnesota as a pure tort state.

The mandatory no-fault coverage is personal injury protection (PIP), also called basic economic loss benefits. PIP pays the insured's medical expenses and non-medical losses such as wage loss, regardless of fault.

• The minimum PIP benefit is commonly cited as about $40,000 per person (verify the current statutory amount).
• That $40,000 is generally described as about $20,000 for medical expenses and about $20,000 for non-medical losses such as wage loss—two separate sub-limits, not one combined pool.

The tort threshold: stepping outside no-fault

Because PIP handles routine economic losses, a no-fault state limits when an injured person can sue the other driver for pain and suffering (general damages). In Minnesota, that suit is generally allowed only when a threshold is crossed, such as:

• a specified amount of medical expense (commonly cited around $4,000—verify), or
• a defined serious injury (for example, permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, or disability beyond a stated number of days).

Memorize the concept: routine losses stay in no-fault/PIP, and only serious or higher-cost cases break out into a liability lawsuit.

Modified comparative negligence

When the case does go to liability, Minnesota applies modified comparative negligence. A claimant's recovery is reduced by their own percentage of fault, and a claimant whose fault is greater than the other party's is generally barred from recovering. Contrast this with a pure comparative system (where even a mostly-at-fault claimant recovers a sliver).

Financial responsibility: 30/60/10

Minnesota drivers must carry liability insurance at or above the minimum split limits, commonly cited as 30/60/10 (verify current minimums):

• $30,000 bodily injury per person
• $60,000 bodily injury per accident
• $10,000 property damage per accident

Shorthand: "30/60/10." These are statutory floors; producers routinely recommend higher limits. High-risk drivers may need to file an SR-22 to certify they carry the required coverage.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage — both required

Minnesota generally requires both on personal auto policies:

• Uninsured Motorist (UM) pays the insured's injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance (and responds to hit-and-run drivers).
• Underinsured Motorist (UIM) pays when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough, filling the gap up to the insured's UIM limit.

So a compliant Minnesota auto policy bundles liability + PIP + UM + UIM as its mandatory core.

Physical-damage and optional coverages

• Collision pays for impact damage to the insured's own vehicle regardless of fault; Comprehensive (Other Than Collision) pays for theft, fire, hail, vandalism, and hitting an animal (e.g., a deer). Both are optional but often lender-required.
• Towing and labor reimburses towing and on-site labor after a disablement.

Required vs. optional coverages

Key Minnesota numbers to memorize

Common exam traps

• Calling Minnesota a tort/at-fault state. It is a no-fault state with mandatory PIP.
• Skipping the tort threshold. You can only sue for pain and suffering after meeting the ~$4,000 medical or serious-injury threshold (verify).
• Forgetting UM and UIM are both required in Minnesota—not just offered.
• Confusing the 30/60/10 figures. The $10k is property damage; don't slide it into a BI slot.
• Splitting PIP wrong. The ~$40k minimum is roughly $20k medical + $20k non-medical/wage loss.
• Hitting an animal is Comprehensive, not Collision (national rule still applies).
• Treating verified-but-changeable figures as gospel. Hedge the PIP, threshold, and limit numbers.

Quick recap

• The PAP's Parts A–F structure is national; Minnesota sets the fault system, mandatory coverages, and limits.
• Minnesota is a no-fault state under the No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, with mandatory PIP (≈ $40k per person, split ≈ $20k medical / ≈ $20k non-medical).
• You can step outside no-fault to sue for pain and suffering only after meeting a tort threshold (~$4,000 medical or a serious injury).
• Liability uses modified comparative negligence; minimum limits are 30/60/10.
• UM and UIM are both required. Verify the specific dollar figures, and the Minnesota auto section is manageable.