With all of the car insurance terms that get thrown around in the world of car insurance, it can be hard to understand what differentiates one type of coverage from another. You might have heard the phrase “bodily injury liability coverage,” but what is bodily injury liability coverage?
This article is designed to demystify this often-misunderstood type of coverage, and to help you find cheap car insurance that includes bodily injury liability coverage. We’ll cover what it is, how it works, what it covers, how much coverage you need/want, and how much it will cost you. In the end, the question of ‘what is bodily injury coverage?’ won’t seem so confusing.
So, what is bodily injury liability coverage?
In basic terms, bodily injury liability coverage will pay for the injuries that happen to someone besides you in a car accident in which you are at fault. For example, let’s say that you change lanes without signaling or checking to see if there’s another car in the lane next to you. This causes a collision, which results in personal injury to the driver of the other vehicle and their passenger. Because you’re at fault, you would be legally liable for the costs of their injuries—medical bills, surgery costs, etc.
So what is bodily injury liability coverage? It helps prevent you from having to pay those costs out of pocket. It ensures that your insurance company will pay for those medical costs up to your policy limit rather than them having to come out of your pocket, a potentially disastrous prospect considering just how expensive healthcare costs can be.
How does bodily injury liability coverage work?
There are generally two types of bodily injury liability limits, and they’re distinct in how their limits are structured. The first type, a combined single limit, is fairly simple. The policy provides a set amount of total coverage for bodily injury and property damage for each accident. How exactly how that coverage will be split between property damage costs and bodily injury costs is up to the claims adjuster to decide at claim time.
The second, and more common, type of bodily injury liability limits is a split limit. Rather than just one total coverage figure, a split limit policy features two specific numbers. They will commonly be written similar to "25/50" or "25000/50000." The first number in the limit refers to the policy’s limit per person. This is the maximum amount your insurance company will cover when it comes to the injuries of each individual person involved in the incident. The second number refers to the total limit per accident. This is the total amount your insurance company will pay to cover the injuries of all of the eligible people in the incident.
To demonstrate how this works, let’s look at an example: Let’s say you cause an accident that causes injuries to two other drivers. Your split limit policy has an individual per person limit of $25,000 and a per accident limit of $50,000. One person requires $15,000 in medical care and the other requires $30,000 in medical care. Despite the fact that the total costs are under your $50,000 total per accident limit, because one person’s injuries exceed the per person limit of $25,000, you’ll be required to pay the extra $5,000 out of pocket.
What can a third-party claim as bodily injury?
When it comes to what falls under the category of bodily injury liability coverage, the parameters may be broader than you think. Bodily injury can obviously apply to medical expenses in order to treat or recover from injuries, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Here’s what bodily injury liability coverage can cover, and conversely, what you’ll have to pay for if you don’t have sufficient coverage. It's important to note that the different coverage categories shown below are all paid for out of the same bodily injury liability limits - it's not a new limit for each category. So in the 25/50 example that we looked at above, it's 25/50 for the whole accident, not 25/50 for medical costs, 25/50 for pain and suffering, etc.
Medical Costs
From hospital bills and emergency room costs to ongoing follow-ups and physical therapy, medical-related costs resulting from the incident where you were at fault will be covered by your bodily injury liability coverage up to your limit.
Pain and Suffering
Other parties in the incident may try to obtain payment for the physical, mental, or emotional distress they experienced (or continue to experience) as a result of the incident. Your coverage will protect you from these costs up to your limit.
Loss of Income
If injuries to third parties in the incident result in them being unable to work, their lost income can be covered by your bodily injury liability coverage.
Funeral Costs
If the incident in which you’re at fault results in a death, bodily injury liability coverage can help cover funeral costs and other costs associated with this death.
It’s important to remember that bodily injury liability coverage is for other people involved in the incident, not you. It applies to other drivers and bystanders who are injured in an accident where you’re at fault. Depending on your state's laws, it may or may not apply to passengers in your vehicle.
What are the minimum bodily injury liability requirements per state?
All states require you to carry a minimum amount of bodily injury (and property damage) liability insurance. Here are the current limits (per person/per accident) for each state:
Alabama—$25,000 / $50,000
Alaska—$50,000 / $100,000
Arizona— $15,000 / $30,000
Arkansas—$25,000 / $50,000
California—$15,000 / $30,000
Colorado—$25,000 / $50,000
Connecticut—$20,000 / $40,000
Delaware—$15,000 / $30,000
Florida—$10,000 / $20,000 - can be waived
Georgia—$25,000 / $50,000
Hawaii—$20,000 / $40,000
Idaho—$20,000 / $50,000
Illinois—$20,000 / $40,000
Indiana—$25,000 / $50,000
Iowa—$20,000 / $40,000
Kansas—$25,000 / $50,000
Kentucky—$25,000 / $50,000
Louisiana—$15,000 / $30,000
Maine—$50,000 / $100,000
Maryland—$30,000 / $60,000
Massachusetts—$20,000 / $40,000
Michigan—$20,000 / $40,000
Minnesota—$30,000 / $60,000
Mississippi—$25,000 / $50,000
Missouri—$25,000 / $50,000
Montana—$25,000 / $50,000
Nebraska—$25,000 / $50,000
Nevada—$15,000 / $30,000
New Hampshire—$25,000 / $50,000
New Jersey—$15,000 / $30,000
New Mexico—$25,000 / $50,000
New York—$25,000 / $50,000
North Carolina—$30,000 / $60,000
North Dakota—$25,000 / $50,000
Ohio—$25,000 / $50,000
Oklahoma—$25,000 / $50,000
Oregon—$25,000 / $50,000
Pennsylvania—$15,000 / $30,000
Rhode Island—$25,000 / $50,000
South Carolina—$25,000 / $50,000
South Dakota—$25,000 / $50,000
Tennessee—$25,000 / $50,000
Texas—$30,000 / $60,000
Utah—$25,000 / $65,000
Vermont—$25,000 / $50,000
Virginia—$25,000 / $50,000
Washington—$25,000 / $50,000
West Virginia—$20,000 / $40,000
Wisconsin—$25,000 / $50,000
Wyoming—$25,000 / $50,000
It’s important to note that just because your state has a specific minimum doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn't request more coverage. It all depends on your individual situation and what you’re looking for in your coverage.
How much bodily injury liability coverage should you have?
On average, bodily injury claims tend to range around the $15,000 range. However, in incidents where you cause injury or death to multiple people, those costs can skyrocket much higher. Remember that you will be personally liable for any amount of bodily injury costs that exceed your policy limits.
As is the case with most insurance coverage, the best advice is to purchase the most coverage that you can reasonably afford. Your insurance policy premium shouldn’t put you in financial distress, but you also don’t want to be left liable for paying major medical bills and other costs because you purchased a policy that doesn’t offer ample coverage. Make sure you’re at least covered at or above your state minimum, and then decide for yourself how much additional coverage you can afford. The last thing you want is for injured parties to take legal action against you in order to secure debts for which you’re legally liable.
How much will bodily injury liability insurance cost you?
What is bodily injury liability coverage’s effect on your premium? The average premium for bodily injury liability coverage can vary based on a wide range of factors. These include not only your location and the surrounding area, but also factors like your vehicle, your driving history, and more.
In general, the bodily injury liability insurance portion of your policy will often cost between $100 and $150 a month on your premium. Again, this is a very rough estimate, and the price will vary greatly based on a number of factors—including how much coverage you select.
Choosing the right bodily injury coverage doesn’t need to be confusing or stressful. In the end, it’s designed to keep you from having to cover other people’s medical costs out-of-pocket. Do your research, make sure you know your state minimum limits, and decide for yourself exactly how much coverage you need to keep yourself financially protected in the event of an accident where you’re at fault.
