Bodily Injury / Property Damage

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Bodily injury and property damage coverage are the two forms of liability insurance required by law for all motorists in almost every state.  In plain English, these coverages will protect your financial assets when an automobile accident is your fault.

Bodily Injury Coverage
If you are determined to be legally responsible for another person’s injury or death in an auto accident, then bodily injury insurance coverage will pay for the financial obligations you incur.  These obligations include medical bills, pain and suffering compensation, and loss of income replacement expenses up to the limit of your coverage.
Property Damage Coverage
If you’re determined legally responsible for an accident, property damage coverage will pay for expenses related to the damage you have cause to the property of others.  Common property damage expenses include auto repair, street repair, and building damage.

Buying Coverage

Initially, you must find out what your state’s minimum legal liability insurance level is.  California drivers must carry bodily injury and property damage liability insurance at the following minimum levels:

  • $15,000 for injury/death to one person.
  • $30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
  • $5,000 for damage to property.

Of course, these levels are merely state minimums.  If you’ve just bought a new car, chances are you may have additional assets you want to protect in the event of an accident.  Insurance industry authorities suggest purchasing enough liability to comfortably cover your most important assets.  As an example, if you purchase merely the minimum $30,000 in bodily injury insurance but have $200,000 in assets, injury attorneys will be anxious to target $170,000 of your assets if their clients medical bill should exceed $30,000—not an uncommon scenario in this era of inflated medical costs.

Generally speaking, a prudent level for liability limits is $50,000 bodily injury liability for one person injured in an accident, $100,000 for all people injured in an accident and $25,000 in property damage liability (in industry shorthand: 50/100/25).  This rule tends to make even more sense when you take into account that about 50 percent of the automobiles in service in the U.S. are worth more than $20,000. Bodily injury insurance is a good idea so bodily injury and property damage insurance plans are even better. Obtain bodily injury insurance policy today.