A car accident can be expensive, and it can be more expensive depending on the accident you’re involved with. So, having enough coverage in order to protect you and your family is a good idea. This article is all about car liability coverage, 1 of the 4 major types of auto insurance coverage.
Car liability coverage is a part of auto insurance policy. This type of coverage helps you pay for the other driver’s expenses in an accident that you caused. In other words, it provides you with the coverage you need in an event that you’re at fault. So, if you did some damage to others and they want you to pay them for their medical fees. Worst they file a lawsuit against you. That’s when liability coverage will come in to help you.
For example, if you accidentally bump into another car and the other driver got injured. Your coverage will pay for both the damages you’ve done to their car and to the driver’s medical expenses. Take note that this type of coverage doesn’t cover your own vehicle.
Two Types of Liability Coverage
Liability offers two types of coverage and or protection. Coverage for the injuries you caused. And coverage for the damages you’ve done to someone else’s property or car to be exact. To further understand these two coverages and protection, here’s a simple analysis:
1. Bodily Injury Liability
This type of liability coverage refrain you from using your out-of-pocket when you cause injuries (serious or not) to other people in an auto accident. Bodily injury liability also helps you in terms of paying the other driver’s medical expenses, emergency aid and lost income (if the injuries they got are preventing them from work) due to auto accident you caused. Take note that this type of liability coverage doesn’t cover your medical costs nor your passenger.
Bodily injury liability coverage include the following:
- Cost of Ambulance
- Emergency room fee
- MRI’s and X-Ray
- Doctor’s bills and Hospital bills
- Home health aides and
- Funeral expenses
2. Property damage liability
It’s also known as the damage liability insurance. Wherein it covers the cost of repairing the damages to a property that you caused. In addition, it can also cover the cost of replacing someone’s car that you damaged. The other driver can file a lawsuit, if that case happens. Property damage liability will cover and will help you pay for a legal defense.
Take note that this type of coverage does not cover any damages to your own car. If this is the case, you need to look into car comprehensive insurance for more details. In addition, you can also check car collision coverage for a better understanding.
If you are driving, property damage liability is a must. In most states it’s a requirement. You need to carry a certain amount of property liability before hitting the road. Lastly, damage liability insurance can help not only you but also everyone on the road.
Car Liability Coverage as a Requirement
We all knew that at some point we can’t avoid accidents, even safe drivers out there experienced accidents. But of course, it’s not fair at all for other people when they get stuck with bills that come from an accident that you caused. That’s why we need drivers in all states or countries to carry car liability insurance. In order to cover the cost of other people’s injuries or damage to property.
Most states are now requiring people who own a car to have liability insurance. It’s required by law, and is subject to limits. Take note that there are limits on the expenses your policy will cover. For a better understanding, coverage limit is the amount of money the insurance company will pay in a claim.
Limits are usually expressed in three numbers. For example, 100/200/100. The first number is the limit per person, the second number or the one that is in the middle is the limit for bodily injury coverage per accident. And the last number is the limit for property damage.
Take note that you are the one who will choose these limits when you buy an auto insurance, and sometimes people always choose really low limits. It’s because they want to save some money. But if you think about it carefully, it can cost them more money. Because if they’re in a liability claim and they don’t have enough coverage on their policy. Then they’re gonna pay the rest of the cost of those medical bills coming from their own out-of-pocket.
What Kind of Car Liability Coverage Limits You Should Have
We will give you some insight and tips regarding limits. First things first, auto insurance coverages are often referred to as split coverage. If you want to more information about split limit, you can go to Simple Explanation On Split Limit that has tons of information that can help you understand it clearly.
We at Insured Goals, we suggest you to have at least 100K/300K/100K split limit coverage. This means $100,000 of coverage per person in an auto accident, $300,000 of coverage for injuries per accident and another $100,000 of coverage for damages to property. This split limit is actually the lowest we would let anyone have.
But if you are going to ask me what I personally suggest? I suggest you get a 250K per person /500K per accident /100K for property damage split. Additionally, you can also put an optional personal umbrella on top of that.
You need to make sure that you get complete coverage when you set your limits. Accidents happen unexpectedly, and without a warning. So, of course you want to make sure that you’re able to pay for all the damages you cause. In addition, liability insurance doesn’t just simply protect other people. It also protects you because if you didn’t have this type of insurance, you’d have to use your personal money which can lead to jeopardizing your assets.
To the drivers out there, and to vehicle owners. We strongly suggest, if you can afford high limits. Then you should purchase a policy that its limit is higher than the state minimum limit.