What Does Liability Mean on Your Car Insurance?

Liability insurance

is very important and most state auto insurance laws require that an individual maintain at least liability insurance on their automobile. What it does is protect you against costs that are associated with the damage and injury of another in an automobile accident in which you may be deemed at fault.

There are two parts to the policy. There is property damage liability and bodily injury liability. It is pretty easy to guess that property damage liability is going to protect you against any cost and damage that is associated with damaging another person's physical property and that bodily injury liability is going to protect you against the personal injury inflicted on someone else as a result of the accident.

Usually, there are some numbers that a person may see on their policy. These numbers usually look like this: 50/100/25. Now what this means is that the policy is split up into three different amounts each policy can be different depending on what the individual chose when they opened the policy. In this case, 50/100/25 means that the insurance will pay for the bodily injury of an individual in an amount up to $50,000, will pay for the bodily injury costs on everyone in a vehicle in an amount up to $100,000, and will pay property damage costs up to $25,000.

Every vehicle requires its own level of liability insurance depending on what state you are located in. It is important to know what your state's auto insurance requirements are so that you have an idea of what you would have to pay in your insurance premium.

The cost

Liability insurance is cheaper than full coverage insurance that also includes damages from theft, natural disaster, and vandalism. Liability only covers costs associated with an accident so that you do not lose your hard earned assets in a lawsuit. There are have been cases in which a person has been sued for more that what they have in coverage, but the liability insurance does lessen the blow. However, a person can pay for different levels of liability insurance to ensure that they will not be "taken for everything they've got." Not having enough insurance can still have a heavy impact on a persons life when an accident occurs.

No one intends on hurting another and they usually do not purposely engage in an auto accident because there is so much trouble involved, including the possible loss of the vehicle. That is why it is important to carefully assess how much insurance you think you will need. Liability is rather affordable. Some states have a minimum requirement of 20/40/10, but you could carry something such as a 50/100/50 if you think you need it. The cost is still not going to be much.

Just remember

Don't forget that if you set your limits too low you could be setting yourself up for financial disaster even though you have car insurance. This is to be considered carefully. It is easy to make the decision to save money by paying the lowest premium possible, but paying the lowest premium possible could later result in the loss of your assets. It is also important to remember that liability just covers bodily injury and property damage. If a tree falls on your home during a wind storm, it is then time to assess your options.

However, liability insurance will protect you from those nasty lawsuits that may come your way as a result of an accident. That in itself makes it more than worth the money because you have the peace of mind that most or all your assets are protected.