A majority of Americans don’t understand their auto insurance. How much do you know about your insurance policy? Do you know anything about the bodily injury liability cover?
The bodily injury liability insurance cover is mandatory in almost every state in the US. It’s designated to cater and pay for other people’s injuries sustained from an accident you cause. This liability cover is one of two vital liability insurance covers, with the other being the property damage liability coverage.
As the name suggests, property damage liability pays for any damages your car accident causes to other people’s properties. The property could be anything from houses to other vehicles.
What You Need To Know About Bodily Injury Liability
The most important thing you have to know about bodily injury liability insurance is that it covers all injury expenses for people injured after you cause an accident. If the injured party decides to sue you after the car accidents, the bodily injury liability cover will also cater for your legal fees. The cover comes with a limit on the amount of money each person gets for their injuries per accident.
If the injuries are so expensive that they reach that limit, you will be responsible for paying all other expenses. Different states have different amounts of liability coverage that every driver must have, and the cost of the insurance cover depends on the driver and how much cover they get. In a nutshell, every driver needs to have as much injury coverage as they can afford.
Everything Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Covers
Apart from the medical expenses for the injured parties, the injury insurance covers a variety of expenses related to the injuries for the injured party. Injured parties, in this case, can be anyone from pedestrians to passengers and bystanders involved in the accident. Here are some of the expenses the insurance covers.
Medical Expenses
The most significant reason for having the bodily injury liability insurance coverage is to pay for the medical expenses for the accident-related injuries. In most cases, the policy also covers all the follow-up visits and any equipment necessary, such as crutches.
Legal Fees
After an auto accident, there’s always a chance that the other party may sue you. In this case, the injury insurance policy will pay all your legal fees for your defense and help you cater to some of the major court expenses.
Lost Wages
If the injured party suffers severe injuries to the point where it hinders their ability to work, the insurance policy will also cover their lost income. This is more so if they work in physically demanding environments or are severely injured and need several months of rehabilitation before they can resume their regular life. The insurance will composite their income during this period of time.
Pain and Suffering and Funeral Costs
In some lawsuits, injured parties are able to sue for pain and suffering. In most cases, pain and suffering are tough to quantify because you can’t really measure the amount of pain and suffering a person goes through.
However, the courts could award them payments for emotional distress and lingering pain they go through as a result of the injuries. The insurance policy will also cover this expense. If the injuries were fatal and resulted in death, the insurance policy will also cater to all funeral expenses.
How Does the Insurance Policy Work?
An auto liability insurance policy comes in two different varieties. The first is the combined single limit policy, and the second is the split limit policy. The combined single limit policy covers a given amount of coverage, and it’s up to you to decide how much you allocate to bodily injury and how much you allocate to property damage.
On the other hand, the split limit policy offers two different options. The first option you get designates the limits per person, which is the amount of money the insurance company will pay for the injury expenses for one person. The second option designates a limit per accident, which is the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for everyone involved in the accident.
How Limits Work
Bodily injury liability insurance, also known as BI limits, vary with state. The slip limit could be something like $100,000/$300,000, with the former being the limit person and the latter being the limit per accident. States stipulate the minimum amount, but there is no cap on the maximum, which means you can increase it as much as you want.
This can give you maximum coverage in case of an accident, especially one that involves several people. To put this into perspective, in North Carolina, the split limit is $30,000/$60,000. You get into an accident deemed your fault, and two people are injured as a result.
The first person gets medical expenses worth $40,000 while the second gets $10,000. The split limit coverage will pay $30,000 for the first person because they have exceeded the per-person limit. This means you’ll have to pay $10,000 out of pocket.
The cover will pay the full $10,000 for the second person. If this was a combined coverage that caters to everyone injured as a result of the accident, the cover would pay for both since the total amount does not exceed $60,000.
How Much BI Coverage Do You Need?
Given the fact that there’s no way of knowing how many people you could injure in an accident, you should get a BI limit that matches the value of your assets. This is because if you’re unable to pay for what the policy doesn’t cover, the insured party may sue you. Wealthier people are usually bigger targets for lawsuits, so you need to have a higher coverage that will protect you from an expensive lawsuit.
The Basics of Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
There you have it! These are the basics of bodily injury liability insurance that every driver needs to understand. It’s important for you to understand your state requirements and how much your insurance policy allows so you can be fully covered in case of an accident.
If you have more questions or would like to get the BI insurance cover, please contact us today.
