What does 50/100 coverage mean?

You should have at least as much bodily injury liability insurance coverage as your state requires, and it’s good to purchase coverage limits that are equal to your assets. Maintaining enough bodily injury liability insurance to cover your net worth is recommended to prevent lawsuits.

Bodily injury liability coverage pays for other drivers’ and passengers’ injuries when the policyholder is at fault in an accident. Bodily injury liability can cover medical bills, funeral expenses, lost wages, legal fees, and other related costs.... read full answer

How Much Bodily Injury Liability You Need

Drivers everywhere except New Hampshire, Virginia, and remote parts of Alaska are required to carry at least their state’s minimum required amount of bodily injury liability coverage. And in every state, you are legally responsible for serious injuries resulting from car accidents that you cause.

In most states, if your bodily injury limits are not high enough to pay for all the medical bills from an accident, the not-at-fault driver and their passengers can sue you for any uncompensated expenses. Drivers with a high net worth are especially vulnerable targets for lawsuits if their bodily injury coverage does not pay for all of the other driver’s expenses.

Consequently, you should have enough bodily injury liability coverage to equal your assets, rather than just carrying your state’s minimum. After all, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that the average bodily injury liability claim in 2016, the latest year with data, was $19,201 – more than some states require in coverage.

If you need more coverage than car insurance companies sell, you can always purchase an umbrella policy to keep your assets from being seized in the event of a lawsuit.

Bodily Injury Liability Requirements by State

Bodily Injury Liability Limits Example

The limits for bodily injury liability will usually be displayed as 15/30 or $15,000/$30,000, which is the minimum required for California. These numbers mean that, for any given accident, a driver's bodily injury liability insurance will cover:

• $15,000 for injuries sustained by any one person
• $30,000 for injuries sustained by all people involved in the accident

The difference between bodily injury (BI) and personal injury (PIP) coverage in car insurance is that PIP pays for the policyholder’s own medical bills, while BI covers others’ medical bills when the policyholder is at-fault. Bodily injury coverage is a form of liability insurance. It is required in almost every state, but only 13 states require personal injury protection. It’s also worth mentioning that bodily injury coverage does not have a ... read full answerdeductible, while PIP generally does.

Bodily Injury vs. Personal Injury Car Insurance

Since PIP applies to the policyholder, their passengers, and their household members regardless of fault, it is often referred to as no-fault insurance. It is required in states with no-fault laws, where drivers must file claims for minor injuries with their own PIP insurance rather than with the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability coverage.

To learn more, check out WalletHub’s guides to bodily injury liability insurance and personal injury protection.

Bodily injury liability insurance covers other drivers’ medical expenses if they are injured in a car accident that you cause. Bodily injury liability insurance can pay for things like another driver’s emergency care, hospital fees, and even lost wages after an accident you’re at fault for.

Although bodily injury liability won’t cover your own injuries or associated costs, it can cover your legal fees if you are sued because of an at-fault accident. However, in ... read full answerno-fault states, there may be limits to when drivers are able to sue after an accident.

What Bodily Injury Liability Covers

• Emergency care, like ambulance costs and emergency room fees
• Hospital fees, such as surgery expenses or doctor visits
• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress
• Loss of income
• Childcare and homecare
• Equipment costs associated with the injuries, like crutches or wheelchairs
• Funeral expenses
• The policyholder’s legal fees

What Bodily Injury Liability Does Not Cover

• The policyholder’s injuries and medical expenses
• Damage to property, such as vehicles or stationary objects
• The policyholder’s lost wages, home aid, or other peripheral costs

Bodily injury liability insurance is required in almost every state. Regardless of how much coverage your state requires, you should always purchase as much as you can comfortably afford in order to protect both your own finances and other drivers on the road.

To learn more, check out WalletHub’s guide to bodily injury liability insurance.