In the State of Ohio you are required to have a minimum of 25/50/25 in liability insurance coverages to operate a motor vehicle. Do you understand what these numbers represent?
- 25: $25,000 in bodily injury liability coverage to cover the medical costs of one person in a single accident.
- 50: $50,000 in bodily injury liability coverage to cover the medical costs of more than one person in a single accident.
- 25: $25,000 in property damage liability to cover the repair costs of another driver when you are at fault for an accident.
So you have a small at fault accident and you injure 3 people in the other auto. The driver of the other auto settles for $5,000 in injuries, The front seat passenger settles for $8,000 and the person in the backseat settles for $2,000. So all is good! No injuries exceeded the $25,000 per person and the accident did not exceed the $50,000 per occurrence maximum.
This could have gone totally different. Lets say the driver had to be life flighted at a cost of $15,000 and is in intensive care for several weeks before needing months of rehabilitation before returning back to work. The passenger in the front seat was transported to the hospital and has a broken wrist that will prevent them from working and the person in the back seat was treated and released at the scene of the accident. Now will you still have enough coverages? You see when your insurance policy limit has been met, you are responsible for the difference. That could result in the need to liquidate assets.
Bodily injury liability coverage can help pay several types of expenses, including:
- Funeral expenses:If another driver or their passenger dies in a road accident that you cause, your bodily injury liability coverage can help pay funeral and burial costs.
- Legal expenses:When an accident victim sues you for causing bodily injuries, this type of coverage can help pay your attorney’s fees and a court award.
- Lost wages:If injuries render an accident victim unable to work, your bodily injury liability coverage can help replace lost income.
- Medical bills:Bodily injury liability coverage can help pay various medical expenses, including, emergency room fees, hospital costs, medical equipment and surgery bills. The coverage can also pay for doctor’s visits and rehabilitation costs.
- Pain and suffering:Besides paying your legal expenses, your bodily injury liability coverage can also pay the accident victim for the pain and suffering caused by injuries.
I blame direct insurance carriers for the fact people only focus on the premium dollars they spend. These companies are convincing people to “Pay for only whay you need” or “Use our pricing toll to set your rate”. What you dont realize is these carriers are also limiting there exposure by using low price to sell you lower limits of liability. The lower exposure limits what they would need to pay out in losses and maximize profits. They you could be left on the hook to pay the balance.
Auto insurance liability can be purchased at several levels. 25/50/25, 100/300/100, 250/500/250, 500/500/500. You can even purchase a excess liability policy (umbrella policy) to purchase one million dollar increments of liability. How much do you need? Now is the time to have that conversation with us. Call us today for a policy review.
