As of January 1, 2025, South Carolina's minimum auto liability limits increased to $30,000/$60,000/$25,000. That change did not create any rule that a crash claim requires a traffic ticket. In South Carolina, no citation does not bar payment.

Here is how that plays out in different Charleston-area situations.

1) Another driver hit you near a school zone or bus stop. The insurer is wrong if it says "no ticket, no claim." A ticket is only one piece of evidence. Fault can be proven with the South Carolina Traffic Collision Report (TR-310), photos, dashcam, witness statements, vehicle damage, and medical records from places like MUSC. South Carolina uses modified comparative negligence under S.C. Code § 15-38-15. You can still recover damages if you were 50% or less at fault. The real fight is about evidence and percentages, not whether Charleston Police or Highway Patrol wrote a citation.

2) A police car or other government vehicle hit you. The same myth is still false. You do not need the officer-driver to be ticketed. But the rules are different because the claim usually falls under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act. The deadline is generally 2 years, or 3 years if a verified claim is filed within 1 year under S.C. Code § 15-78-110. The damages cap is generally $300,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence under § 15-78-120.

3) Your wreck came from a pothole or a railroad crossing problem. Again, no ticket is required. For a pothole on a city, county, or SCDOT road, the issue is whether the agency had notice and a reasonable chance to fix it. For a railroad crossing in Charleston, the issue is control of the crossing, warning devices, sightlines, and maintenance records. Those are negligence cases, not citation cases.

If an adjuster keeps repeating "no ticket, no payout," treat that as a pressure tactic, not a South Carolina rule.