Some Basic Information On Liability Auto Insurance
June 4th, 08Most states require anyone who owns and drives a vehicle to have liability auto insurance. Perhaps this is why liability insurance is the foundation of insurance policies in most states in the USA. What does liability insurance do?
If you have an accident and it is determined that you are at fault, it will pay for any sort of physical injury and medical expenses and for any damage to the property of the other people in the accident. This includes repairing or replacing the items you may have damaged or destroyed in the accident. Liability insurance does not pay for your own car’s damage, your injuries and/or your property damage. It will pay for the legal fees for you and also for anyone else who is included on your policy. It will also pay to bail you out of jail if things get a bit testy at the accident scene!
Liability insurance will also pay for any sort of emergency help at the place of the accident, such as an ambulance. It will compensate the other people involved for any loss of their income, and – heaven forbid – will pay any funeral expenses. There are also other miscellaneous expenses that liability insurance can pay, such as when one of the other people in the accident decides they should sue you for “pain and suffering”.
If you already have an insurance policy, you can look on it to see how much liability insurance you have. It’s easy to figure out, as it is normally shown as three numbers written like this – 25/50/25. This means it will pay $25,000 in physical injury/medical expenses per person, $50,000 in physical injury/medical expenses per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage for each accident you may have.
Note that all states do not require you to carry liability insurance. 45 states out of 50 do require it, so it’s a good idea to speak to your insurance agent to see what is required by your state.
You should realize that if you should cause a serious and life-threatening automobile accident, the minimum liability coverage more than likely would not cover all the expenses. Once you find out the amount that your state requires, it’s a good idea to buy more so that you can be sure to have adequate coverage in case of a major accident, which usually means major bills!
Especially if you own your own home or have stock, real estate, or even a large savings account, it’s a good idea to purchase a good deal more than the minimum. The victims in the accident are allowed to sue you because you are the one who caused the accident that injured them. If they should sue, you want to be sure to have enough liability insurance in order to keep the courts from digging into your personal financial business. Your insurance agent can help you decide exactly how much of a liability policy you need in order to be safe.
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