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What is liability car insurance?
Liability coverage is the part of your car policy that pays for expenses when you cause an accident. It has two main components :
Bodily injury liability coverage
This coverage pays out if you hurt other people in a car accident that ’ s your defect. Bodily wound liability coverage, or BI, typically covers things like checkup expenses, recovery treatments and lost wages if person can ’ t work while they ’ ra recover. It could besides cover funeral costs after a fatal accident.
Property damage liability coverage
This coverage, sometimes abridge PD, pays for damage you cause to vehicles or other place when you ’ re at defect for an accident. For example, it could pay to repair the other driver ’ second car or to replace a argue you crashed into. property wrong liability coverage can besides include the things in a person ’ sulfur vehicle. Say you get in a little buffer bender, but the other driver had $ 4,000 worth of crystal in the luggage compartment that is now aglitter debris. Your property damage liability indemnity will cover the refilling — and the newly bumper. beyond injuries and place damage, liability car policy can besides cover lawyers ’ bills or woo fees if you ’ re sued after an accident.
Liability car insurance limits
Liability coverage will pay only up to the maximum amounts specified in your policy, or limits. If damage from an accident exceeds those limits, you ’ ll have to pay the rest yourself.
Split liability limits
Most car policies have three main liability limits, which are much summarized by three numbers. For example, you may see something like “ 30/60/15 ” as your state ’ randomness required minimal coverage. here ’ s how to interpret that. Bodily injury liability limit per person. The first number is the maximum your indemnity will pay for injuries to a individual person after an accident ( “ 30 ” in the exercise above, standing for $ 30,000 ). Bodily injury liability limit per accident. The second number is the maximal for injuries to everyone you hurt in the accident — not including your own injuries. The per-accident maximum comes into bid if there are multiple people injured in an accident. ( This is the “ 60 ” above, meaning $ 60,000. ) property wrong liability limit per accident. The final number represents the maximal amount your insurance company will pay for property damage you cause. That includes damage to cars, buildings or anything else that international relations and security network ’ t a person ( “ 15 ” above, $ 15,000 ). One distinction to remember : While bodily limits have a per-person limit, place damage liability has only a per-accident limit. If you hit three cars, the full your insurance will pay will be represented by that final act ( $ 15,000 in this case ), and you ’ ll be responsible for the rest.
Combined single limit liability
An alternative to split limit liability coverage is one larger indebtedness terminus ad quem to cover both bodily injury and property damage. The flexibility of combined unmarried specify liability means more fiscal protection than rip limit coverage in many cases. For model, let ’ s compare the schism indebtedness specify above ( 30/60/15 ) with a combined individual limit of $ 60,000. Say you injured two people in an accident, and one required $ 10,000 worth of treatment while the early required $ 50,000. Under the burst liability limit, you ’ d have to pay $ 20,000 for the second person ’ second injuries because their treatment exceeded your policy ’ s per-person maximal. But with a combine $ 60,000 liability restrict, all treatment would be covered. Combined one specify liability may cost more than split limits.
What liability auto insurance doesn’t cover
Liability car insurance won ’ triiodothyronine pay for your own checkup bills or repairs to your cable car — it ’ s entirely designed to pay others for the damage you cause behind the wheel. To cover your own bills, you ’ ll need to rely on other types of indemnity, such as health policy for your aesculapian expenses and collision policy for repairs to your vehicle. If you want more auspices, consider buying full coverage car insurance. Full coverage is n’t a specific type of policy, but refers to a combination of coverage types including liability insurance and comprehensive examination and collision coverage.
Do you need liability car insurance?
In a news, yes : about all car insurance policies must include some liability coverage. Every express except Alaska, New Hampshire and Virginia requires all drivers to have liability insurance. ( Virginia waives the liability prerequisite if you pay the state of matter $ 500, and Alaska exempts some residents from its compulsory minimums. ) Each express sets its own minimal coverage levels, and many require extra types of policy ( see mesa below ). These requirements are in invest to protect drivers who are n’t at fault in a bust up. If you ’ re in an accident and another driver is at fault, you should be able to get back astir and running cursorily. Liability indemnity makes this potential.
State minimum liability insurance requirements
Click to see your state’s required minimum coverage
| express | Requirements |
|---|---|
| alabama | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| alaska | $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 100,000 bodily wound indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 property wrong indebtedness per accident |
| arizona | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 15,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| Arkansas | $ 25,000 bodily wound indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| California | $ 15,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 30,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 5,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| colorado | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 15,000 property damage liability per accident |
| connecticut | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 place damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident |
| delaware | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 property damage liability per accident $ 15,000 personal injury protection per person $ 30,000 personal injury protection per accident |
| Florida | $ 10,000 place wrong liability per accident $ 10,000 personal wound protection |
| georgia | $ 25,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| hawaii | $ 20,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 40,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 10,000 place damage indebtedness per accident $ 10,000 personal injury security |
| Idaho | $ 25,000 bodily wound indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 15,000 property damage liability per accident |
| Illinois | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 20,000 property damage indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident |
| Indiana | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| Iowa | $ 20,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 40,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 15,000 place damage indebtedness per accident |
| Kansas | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 place wrong indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident Personal injury protection including $ 4,500 in checkup expenses, improving to $ 900 per calendar month for a year for disability or loss of income, $ 25 per day for in-home services, $ 2,000 for funeral burial or cremation costs, and $ 4,500 for reclamation Survivors benefits including up to $ 900 per month for a class for disability or personnel casualty of income and $ 25 per day for in-home services |
| Kentucky | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| Louisiana | $ 15,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 30,000 bodily wound indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| maine | $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 100,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage indebtedness per accident $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 100,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 2,000 aesculapian payments coverage |
| maryland | $ 30,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 60,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 15,000 property damage indebtedness per accident $ 30,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 60,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 15,000 uninsured/underinsured property wrong coverage per accident |
| Mass . | $ 20,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 40,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 5,000 property damage liability per accident $ 20,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 40,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 8,000 personal injury protection |
| Michigan | $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 100,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 10,000 property price liability per accident outside Michigan $ 1 million property protection within Michigan $ 250,000* personal wound protection *Lower PIP limits available for certain Medicare and Medicaid recipients |
| minnesota | $ 30,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 60,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 40,000 personal wound protection |
| Mississippi | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property wrong liability per accident |
| missouri | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident |
| Montana | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 20,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| nebraska | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident |
| nevada | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 20,000 property wrong liability per accident |
| New Hampshire | ( Minimum limits if driver purchases car insurance, which is optional. ) $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 25,000 property price liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage coverage $ 1,000 aesculapian payments coverage |
| New Jersey | ( basic policy ) $ 5,000 property wrong indebtedness per accident $ 15,000 personal injury protection |
| New Mexico | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| New York | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 50,000 liability for death per person $ 100,000 indebtedness for death per accident $ 10,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per accident $ 50,000 personal injury protection |
| North Carolina | $ 30,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 60,000 bodily wound indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident $ 30,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 60,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist property damage coverage per accident |
| North Dakota | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 30,000 personal injury protection |
| ohio | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| oklahoma | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property damage liability per accident |
| oregon | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 20,000 property damage indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 15,000 personal injury security |
| university of pennsylvania | $ 15,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 30,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 5,000 place price liability per accident $ 5,000 medical benefits |
| Rhode Island | $ 25,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 property damage indebtedness per accident |
| South Carolina | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily injury indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 place damage indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist property wrong coverage |
| South Dakota | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 25,000 property price liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident |
| tennessee | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 15,000 property damage liability per accident |
| Texas | $ 30,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 60,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 25,000 property price liability per accident |
| utah | $ 25,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 65,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 15,000 property damage liability per accident $ 3,000 personal injury protection |
| vermont | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily wound liability per accident $ 10,000 property wrong liability per accident $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 100,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 10,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist place damage coverage per accident |
| Virginia | ( Minimum limits if a driver purchases car policy, which is optional. Drivers who don ’ metric ton purchase indemnity pay a $ 500 fee. ) $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 20,000 property damage indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident $ 20,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist property wrong coverage per accident |
| Washington | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 property damage liability per accident |
| Washington, D.C . | $ 25,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 property damage liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 5,000 uninsured motorist property damage coverage per accident |
| West Virginia | $ 25,000 bodily injury indebtedness per person $ 50,000 bodily wound indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 place wrong liability per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist property damage coverage |
| wisconsin | $ 25,000 bodily injury liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 10,000 place damage indebtedness per accident $ 25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person $ 50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident |
| Wyoming | $ 25,000 bodily wound liability per person $ 50,000 bodily injury liability per accident $ 20,000 property price liability per accident |
How much liability insurance do you need?
You ’ re required to have only the amount of liability indemnity mandated by your country, but you may want a higher limit to protect your savings and early fiscal assets should you cause an accident. Medical bills and car repairs can be incredibly expensive, and a divide second could be the difference between a normal day and the begin of bankruptcy. For exercise, say you hit another car, total it and badly injure four people. If you ’ re at fault, you ’ ll be creditworthy for the prize of the car and the medical bills of all four passengers. now, you ’ rhenium looking at about $ 500,000 in medical bills to pay and another $ 50,000 for the car and damage to the roadway. Can your liability policy pay for them ? If you don ’ t have enough coverage — that is, if your bodily injury and property damage limits aren ’ thymine that high, respectively — you ’ ll be personally responsible for any excess. The people you injured can sue you for that money, and you could end up losing your home or, in some states, having your wages garnished. The more you have to lose, the more they can come after. As a general rule, you ’ ll want adequate indebtedness insurance to cover your net deserving. That ’ sulfur adequate to the measure of all the cash you have and things you own, minus your debt. If you don ’ t have much stuff, there ’ s less incentive to sue you, and you may not need any extra coverage. possibly you ’ ll decide the supernumerary money in your pocket is worth more than the peace of mind from extra coverage .
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Need more liability insurance? Grab an umbrella
Your car policy company might not allow indebtedness limits high adequate to cover all your assets — many car insurers have a soap bodily injury limit of $ 500,000 or lower. If you think you ’ ll need evening more indebtedness coverage than your car insurance company will provide, consider an umbrella policy policy. umbrella policies expand car and home liability indemnity beyond your carrier ’ sulfur convention limits. In general, umbrella policies cover those who have a lot of assets or more opportunities to encounter risk. If you host lots of parties, have an well accessible pool, keep a bunch of dogs or have rental properties, you might have the sort of risk an umbrella policy is meant to cover.
Liability auto insurance if you don’t own a car
If you don ’ t own a vehicle but sometimes drive person else ’ s, you may want to buy liability coverage in the form of non-owner car indemnity. This character of policy pays out if you ’ re found responsible for injuries or place damage while driving person else ’ second car. Non-owner insurance is car liability coverage merely, and is appropriate merely if the cars you typically borrow ( or economic rent ) belong to person outside your family. otherwise, you should be added to your family penis ’ sulfur car policy. ( If an insurance company finds out you live with a customer, they may have already added you. ) frequently asked questions What does indebtedness car insurance cover ? Liability car indemnity pays for damage you cause others when you ’ re at fault for a car accident. This could include injuries to other drivers and their passengers, and price to other vehicles or civic property. liability cable car indemnity doesn ’ metric ton pay for your own expenses, such as aesculapian treatment or vehicle repairs . Does liability insurance cover my cable car if person hits me ? If person else is to blame for an accident that damages your car, their indebtedness insurance would typically pay for your repairs. If they don ’ thymine have policy, your repairs could be covered by your collision coverage or uninsured motorist coverage, if your policy includes these coverage types . How much is indebtedness insurance for a car ? The average national cost of minimum car indemnity, which typically includes indebtedness indemnity and early state-mandated coverage, is $ 565 per year, according to a late NerdWallet pace analysis. This rate goes up to $ 884 per year, on average, if you have an at-fault accident on your record. Learn more about the average car policy costs . How much cable car indemnity do I need ? It depends. At minimal, you ’ ll need to buy at least as a lot insurance as your state mandates — but the higher your web worth, the more liability coverage you may want in order to shield your assets from potential lawsuits. If you ’ re financing or leasing your car, your lender may besides require comprehensive and collision coverage. What does liability cable car policy covering ?
Liability auto insurance
pays for damage you cause others when you ’ re at mistake for a car accident. This could include injuries to early drivers and their passengers, and damage to other vehicles or civil property. liability car policy doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate give for your own expenses, such as medical treatment or vehicle repairs. Does liability policy cover my car if person hits me ? If person else is to blame for an accident that damages your cable car, their liability policy would typically pay for your repairs. If they don ’ t have policy, your repairs could be covered by your collision coverage or uninsured motorist coverage, if your policy includes these coverage types. How much is liability insurance for a cable car ? The average national monetary value of minimum car policy, which typically includes indebtedness insurance and other state-mandated coverage, is $ 565 per year, according to a holocene NerdWallet rate analysis. This rate goes up to $ 884 per year, on median, if you have an at-fault accident on your record. Learn more about the average car policy costs. How much car policy do I need ?
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It depends. At minimum, you ’ ll indigence to buy at least as much indemnity as your department of state mandates — but the higher your net worth, the more liability coverage you may want in order to shield your assets from potential lawsuits. If you ’ ra finance or leasing your car, your lender may besides require comprehensive and collision coverage .