Liability Insurance - A Policy For Responsibility |
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Clint Dixon
29 September 2012
We are all aware that we need car insurance to help protect the property of ourselves and others. But when it comes down to the terms and the bare bones of coverage, the language used in the contract might as well be Latin. Standing at the top of the hill of legal jargon is the word "liability." Just what are we buying when we add liability car insurance? It is generally required in most states so a little clarity will be beneficial for those who are currently looking over what the specifics mean for their car insurance policies.
Liability car insurance is actually concerned with three things. Liability car insurance will cover each of the following occurrences in the event of an accident. Bodily injury for each person that is involved will be compensated. Bodily injury for each accident during your given policy period is covered when you have liability car insurance. This means that you can have an unlimited number of accidents during an annual period and the bodily injury will be covered up to a certain dollar amount (e.g. $50,000). Finally liability car insurance covers all property damage that is a result of the accident.
All of these factors are very important and that is why most states require that all drivers have liability car insurance at the very minimum. This kind of plan always comes as a package deal which means that the coverage cannot be bought separately. A driver cannot purchase a liability car insurance plan that only covers property damage for example. In addition to the potential injuries that you cause to others and the resulting lost wages of the other party will be compensated, but this again has a dollar amount that cannot be exceeded.
Liability car insurance primarily exists to protect you as a driver. Causing an accident without this sort of coverage can leave you holding the bill for expenses such as emergency aid, possible funeral costs, loss of income recovery, or associated legal fees. It is often wise for drivers to get the highest amount of liability insurance coverage that they can afford even though this will comprise the majority of the monthly premium. This kind of precaution is necessary because in the event of a serious accident, the expenses that the driver at fault is responsible for, primarily medical costs, very often far exceeds the price cap that minimum liability coverage extends.