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Does Inexpensive Car Insurance Equal Low Liability limits?

You will never know how much insurance coverage you will need until you need it, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. First let’s take a look at what Auto Insurance Liability covers. There are two parts to your liability coverage the first is bodily injury liability and the second is property damage liability.

Bodily injury liability covers just that, injuries that are caused do to an auto accident:

1. Emergency aid at the scene

2. Doctor bills due to the accident

3. Money for lost wages

4. Death benefits

5. Legal defense fees and/or bail bonds for anyone listed on your policy

Property damage liability protects you against damages that you cause to another in a car accident.

1. Property damage to houses as other buildings

2. Repair or replacement costs for other stationary objects

3. Automobile damage or total loss compensation

So now the question is what limits of coverage do I need? Each state has there own minimum guidelines. Usually around $15,000/$30,000 $15,000 but that will vary by state. When you look at the coverage’s I just wrote down you might be thinking there are three numbers there not two I don’t understand. Bodily injury liability coverage comes in two forms either split limit coverage which is shown above or single limit coverage.

Split Limits: Then if you decided to have split limit coverage the 15,000 from the paragraph above misrepresenting individual coverage for injuries incurred during an accident. While the 30,000 is the total for injuries that incurred for the entire accident with a separate 15,000 for property damages. If you had chosen a single limit of coverage there is only one limit to be divided however need up to the maximum chosen for bodily injury.

The last number in your liability coverage is always your property damage limit in the above cast is was also $15,000.

By this point you could probably sue how state limits that are usually 15,000/30,000/15,000 might not be adequate coverage. With medical cost and the price of automobiles and property rising you might want to consider higher limits.

I would suggest never having coverage less than $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 property damage with even higher coverage recommended. The cost to go from $15,000/$30,000 to $100,000/$300,000 or even higher shouldn’t be more than a couple of hundred dollars a year at most. I would rather spend a couple hundred dollars more per year than be stuck owing thousand due to medical bills for a person that I injured in an accident. When talking with your insurance agent always get quotes with higher liability limits so you can compare the different prices between coverage. If you need to off set cost a little and you are getting full coverage consider having a higher collision deductible, but insurance cost savings is another topic to be written about later.