If you are involved in a car accident and found to be at fault, bodily injury liability insurance covers medical expenses to others. It also covers other costs, such as the other driver’s loss of income and your legal fees if you are sued because of the accident.
In most states, some level of bodily injury liability insurance is required.
What Is Bodily Injury Liability Insurance?
Bodily liability insurance is a portion of your liability car insurance. It helps with the injury-related costs that other people incur as a result of an accident you are responsible for. In other words, its purpose is not to reimburse the driver (such as you) who causes the accident but to reimburse people in other vehicles involved in the crash who were harmed.
Bodily injury liability insurance usually has two separate coverage limits: a per-person limit and a per-accident limit. These limits are often shown as a series of numbers, such as 15/30/15. The first two numbers are your bodily liability limits and the third number is your property damage liability limit. For example, here’s what 15/35/15 means.
- $15,000 bodily injury limit for one person per accident
- $30,000 bodily injury limit for more than one person per accident
- $15,000 property damage per accident
If you cause an accident and one other person is injured, your per-person liability limit applies. But if multiple people are hurt, then your per-accident limit applies to all of the combined injury costs that stem from the accident.
Do I Need Bodily Injury Liability Insurance?
Every state except New Hampshire and Virginia requires liability car insurance, which includes bodily injury coverage. If your state requires it, you may have to show proof of insurance when you register a vehicle.
Even if bodily injury liability isn’t required by your state, it is still smart to maintain basic coverage.
What Does Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Cover?
Bodily injury liability insurance covers a range of costs associated with car accident injuries you (or someone who was driving your car) cause to others.
Medical costs
Many kinds of medical costs are covered for other people involved in an accident you cause, such as emergency care, ongoing medical care and hospital fees.
Legal fees
If someone who is injured in the accident sues you, this liability insurance will cover your legal defense fees, court costs, judgments and settlements, up to your policy limits.
Loss of income
In cases where a person is injured in an accident you caused and they miss work because of it, bodily injury liability insurance can cover the income they lose as a direct result of the accident.
Funeral expenses
If the accident results in the fatality of another driver or one of their passengers, liability insurance can pay for funeral costs
What Does Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Not Cover?
There are three main costs that bodily injury liability insurance doesn’t cover.
Your medical costs
Bodily injury liability insurance covers the medical costs other people have as a result of the accident, but it doesn’t cover your own medical costs.
If you want coverage for your medical costs, you may be able to buy personal injury protection or medical payments (MedPay) coverage, depending on your state.
Property damage
If you cause a crash, there is likely to be damage to the other driver’s vehicle. Or you might cause damage to someone else’s property, such as a fence or even a house or store. This is covered by the property damage portion of liability car insurance.
Damage to your own vehicle
Bodily injury liability insurance won’t cover damage to your own vehicle. If you want coverage for car repair bills for your vehicle, you’ll need to buy collision insurance
How Much Bodily Injury Insurance Do I Need?
The minimum amount of liability insurance you must have is determined by state laws. But the minimum is usually insufficient and could leave you financially vulnerable if you cause an accident that results in significant expenses to others.
For example, Florida car insurance requires at least $10,000 of bodily injury per person. But that won’t get you very far if you cause a car crash and the other driver has a major injury. You are still responsible for any amount that exceeds your liability policy limits.
A good rule of thumb is to have enough liability coverage to protect what could be taken from you in a lawsuit.
One way to get a superior level of liability insurance is to purchase personal umbrella insurance in addition to your auto insurance. This coverage will kick in if the costs from an accident exceed the limits of your liability insurance.
Full coverage car insurance is worth considering if you want liability insurance and coverage for your own vehicle. While there is no specific policy known as “full coverage,” it typically refers to a policy that includes liability insurance, collision insurance and comprehensive insurance.
Related: How Much Car Insurance Do You Need?
How Much Does Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Cost?
The national average cost for liability insurance is $650.35 a year, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissions. This average includes coverage for both bodily injury and property damage.
Your bodily injury liability insurance costs will depend on factors such as:
- Where you live
- Your driving history
- Your coverage limits
- The type of car you drive
- Your claims history
- The policy limits you choose
Related: Liability Insurance: Cost And Coverage
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