Inexpensive Car insurance – At what Liability Limit?

Written By: Joseph Welusz on June 25, 2009 No Comment

by Joseph Welusz

Before you try to decide what the right amount of coverage should be. You first need to understand what Automobile Liability Insurance covers. There are always two factors that make up liability coverage. There is bodily injury and 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. Medical bills due to injuries

3. Compensation for loss of income

4. Funeral expenses

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. Restauration cost for other immobile objects

3. Automobile damage or total loss compensation

So, you are probably thinking to yourself what coverage limits should I have? Minimum liability guidelines are set by each individual state, they are usually 15,000/30,000/15,000 worth of coverage. The reason there is 3 numbers instead of two is because body injury liability is usually set in split limits but you could request a single limit of coverage.

Split Limit coverage: Limits are split into two for bodily injury coverage and then there is a separate coverage for property damage. If you take the example from above $15,000/$30,000 coverage, the $15,000 represents the total amount of bodily injury coverage that will be paid out to any one person during an accident. The $30,000 represents the total amount of bodily injury coverage that will be paid out for the entire accident. If you had a single limit of coverage it would include a maximum to be paid out but no individual maximum and it could be divided however needed.

The number that always ends your liability coverage is your property damage limit in the above example it is represented by $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.

About the Author:

The preceding article was written by licensed insurance agent Joseph Welusz who provides Free Insurance Quotes. He writes intriguing articles on various insurance topics for QuoteMatcher.com. Before you get Insurance Quotes online visit Joe’s website for free money saving insurance tips.