The amount of insurance you will need will always be determined too late, once you have an accident.
To try to understand how to protect yourself, you first need to know what your liability insurance will cover.
It is always broken up in two parts, bodily injury and property damage liability.
Bodily injury liability covers injuries do to a car accident.
1.
Initial aid 2.
Medical bills due to injuries 3.
Restitution for lost salary 4.
Funeral expenses 5.
Legal counsel costs Property damage liability covers the damages to objects that are caused from an automobile accident.
1.
Structural damage to homes, storefronts, etc.
2.
Repair or replacement costs for other stationary objects 3.
Vehicle repair or replacement costs So, what coverage limit are right for you? Every state compiles there minimum guidelines individually.
15,000/30,000/15,000 is the minimal norm but that may vary from state to state so check your state guidelines.
You might have noticed that there are three coverage figures and not two.
This is because bodily injury liability usually comes in a split limit unless you request a single limit of coverage.
Single vs split limit: In example above of 15,000/30,000/15,000 in coverage, this first 15,000 would cover individual injuries to others obtained from the accident you caused up to 15,000 per person.
The 30,000 represents the maximum pay out for injuries caused to the whole accident.
If you had a single limit of bodily injury coverage it would be equal to 30,000 for the entire accident broken up as needed.
The last number in your liability coverage is always your property damage limit in the above cast is was also $15,000.
You have probably realized the disadvantage of carrying state minimum limits 15,000/30,000/15,000.
With the price of cars rising and the already high costs of property around the country it makes sense to have more than the 15,000 for property damage.
With medical expenses at there highest ever it only makes sense to raise your bodily injury limits as well.
The most common amount of coverage around the country is split limit of 100,000/300,000/50,000 but you might want to consider even higher limits.
The cost to raise liability from 15,000/30,000/15,000 to 100,000/300,000/100,000 or even higher shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundreds of dollars per year.
I'll personally spend a little more now to save thousands later just in case I was sued for expenses costing more than my coverage limits.