Bodily Injury Liability Insurance: Coverage Options

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Key Takeaways

Bodily injury liability coverage helps pay for medical expenses or legal fees if you hurt another driver in a car crash.
This important car insurance coverage is required in most states, although the minimum amount will vary depending on where you live. Regardless, it can be a smart choice to increase your protection.
It’s important to understand the differences between bodily injury liability coverage and other car insurance offerings, all of which work together to help protect you from a wide range of situations.

What Is Bodily Injury Liability Coverage?

Bodily injury liability insurance is an essential car insurance coverage that helps pay expenses, up to your policy limits, if you’re found legally responsible for a car accident that caused injury or death to any passengers in the other vehicle or pedestrians.

Bodily injury liability coverage is required by law in most states at differing minimum amounts. You can always choose to increase your level of protection beyond what’s mandated where you live. That way, you can avoid more out-of-pocket expenses if you get into an accident.

Unsure of your state’s requirements? Debating how much coverage you need? Use The Hartford’s car insurance calculator to find out what's required where you live and how much additional coverage you may want.

What Is an Example of Bodily Injury?

Bodily injury is when a person sustains any harm to their body, no matter how temporary. This includes injuries such as:

A bruise, burn, broken bones, cut or disfigurement
Internal injuries, like organ or brain damage
Other injuries that cause physical pain or illness

When it comes to car insurance, liability for bodily injury means that you’re found responsible for causing any of the above damage to a passenger or pedestrian after an accident. Without proper car insurance coverage, you’ll have to pay any medical or legal expenses out of pocket.

Bodily Injury Liability

Learn more about bodily injury and other auto insurance definitions in this video.

What Does Bodily Injury Liability Insurance Cover?

If you’re at fault for a car accident that injures passengers in another car, your bodily injury liability coverage helps pay for their:

Medical Expenses

This coverage helps pay for emergency services and hospital care. It’ll also help cover costs for:

Doctor visits
Medication
Crutches
Recovery wheelchairs
Physical therapy

Lost Income

If you injure another person in an accident and they need time off from work for ongoing care, this coverage can help pay their lost wages.

Legal Fees

Bodily injury liability coverage can help pay your legal defense fees if you cause an accident and the other driver files a claim against you.

Pain and Suffering

This coverage can help compensate injured passengers from the other car if you cause an accident.

Funeral Costs

If you cause an accident and a passenger in the other car dies, this coverage can help pay their funeral expenses.

It’s important to remember that medical payments coverage can help pay for bodily injuries for you, your passengers and your family members in a car accident.

What Is Not Covered Under Bodily Injury Insurance?

Bodily injury liability coverage does not help cover:
Emotional distress caused by the accident
Property damage, including both vehicles or any other objects
Lost wages if you have to miss work from injuries you’ve sustained

Thankfully, a comprehensive car insurance policy includes a range of coverage options to help protect you from these scenarios.

male driver protected by knowing what is bodily injury liability insurance

What Is the Difference Between Bodily Injury and Personal Injury Insurance?

The key difference is that bodily injury liability coverage helps pay for the other driver’s medical expenses after an accident you’ve caused, while personal injury protection (PIP) applies no matter who is at fault for you and your passengers only. Usually, states require bodily injury liability coverage at a minimum amount, while PIP requirements vary depending on where you live.

Personal injury protection (PIP), also known as no-fault insurance, helps cover medical expenses for you and your injured passengers, even if you’re hurt as a pedestrian crossing the street. If you pass away in an auto accident, your PIP insurance can help replace your lost income for your surviving dependents. It also helps pay for your:

Lost wages if you cannot work
Essential services like childcare or housecleaning
Funeral expenses

PIP requirements vary by state. It’s unavailable in some states, required in others and optional in the rest. Taking advantage of this coverage when you can helps extend your protection.

To better understand how these protections compare to other coverage types, you may also want to review what general liability insurance covers. It’s a small business insurance coverage that is often mistaken for car insurance.

Bodily Injury Insurance Claims

When you injure passengers in another car in an accident and have the right insurance coverage, your bodily injury helps pay their medical costs so you don’t have to. Typically, the injured person files bodily injury claims. Each claim usually includes information on:

Soft tissue wounds, such as damaged tendons, ligaments or skin
Hard injuries such as broken bones and joint or head injuries
Whiplash trauma
Permanent or residual injuries caused by the accident
The date of the injury
How the injury occurred
The diagnosis
The length of treatment and recovery

Often, bodily injury claims demand compensation for the injured person for past and future medical expenses. These payments come from the at-fault driver’s insurer.

“Will bodily injury liability cover a hit-and-run driver?” If you’re hit by a driver who doesn’t have any or enough car insurance, you’ll need underinsured/uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage. Then, you can file a claim to receive reimbursement, up to your coverage limits.

How Bodily Injury Liability Limits Work

Bodily injury liability coverage generally has two coverage limits:

Bodily injury liability per-person limit: This applies to each person injured in an accident.
Bodily injury liability per-accident limit: This applies to each accident in which multiple people have injuries.

The bodily injury liability insurance coverage amount is a "split limit," such as $100,000/$300,000, depending on your auto policy. The first figure is the maximum limit of coverage for one injured person. The second figure is the coverage limit for two or more people in any one accident or occurrence.

To determine how much car insurance you need, consider assessing the value of your assets and how much you can afford to pay out of pocket after an accident.

How Much Bodily Injury Insurance Coverage Do I Need?

State car insurance laws vary, so you’ll need to check your area's minimum limits to determine how much bodily injury liability coverage you need. These laws do not have maximum amounts, which means you can increase your limit as you see fit. In most cases, you’ll want to raise your coverage amount. Choosing higher limits can help ensure you’re fully protected if the injured person’s medical bills exceed your state minimums.

Minimum Liability Coverage Limits (Per Person/Per Accident) by State

Alabama: $25,000/$50,000
Alaska: $50,000/$100,000
Arizona: $25,000/$50,000
Arkansas: $25,000/$50,000
California: $30,000/$60,000
Colorado: $25,000/$50,000
Connecticut: $25,000/$50,000
Delaware: $25,000/$50,000
District of Columbia: $25,000/$50,000
Florida: $10,000/$20,000
Georgia: $25,000/$50,000
Hawaii: $20,000/$40,000
Idaho: $25,000/$50,000
Illinois: $25,000/$50,000
Indiana: $25,000/$50,000
Iowa: $20,000/$40,000
Kansas: $25,000/$50,000
Kentucky: $25,000/$50,000
Louisiana: $15,000/$30,000
Maine: $50,000/$100,000
Maryland: $30,000/$60,000
Massachusetts: $20,000/$40,000
Michigan: $100,000/$50,000
Minnesota: $30,000/$60,000
Mississippi: $25,000/$50,000
Missouri: $25,000/$50,000

New Mexico: $25,000/$50,000
New York: $25,000/$50,000
North Carolina: $30,000/$60,000
North Dakota: $25,000/$50,000
Ohio: $25,000/$50,000
Oklahoma:$25,000/$50,000
Oregon: $25,000/$50,000
Pennsylvania: $15,000/$30,000
Rhode Island: $25,000/$50,000
South Carolina: $25,000/$50,000
South Dakota: $25,000/$50,000
Tennessee: $25,000/$50,000
Texas: $30,000/$60,000
Utah: $25,000/$65,000
Vermont: $25,000/$50,000
Virginia: $25,000/$50,000
Washington: $25,000/$50,000
West Virginia: $25,000/$50,000
Wisconsin: $25,000/$50,000
Wyoming: $25,000/$50,000

customer protected from lawsuits by bodily injury liability coverage from The Hartford

Why Do You Need Adequate Bodily Injury Liability Coverage?

Bodily injury liability coverage is required at a minimum in most states. If you don’t have enough coverage, you risk facing fines or other legal consequences. If you have coverage but at a low limit, you’ll have to pay out of pocket for any expenses that insurance won’t cover fully. That’s why you need adequate coverage - to have financial protection when you may need it most.

Get the Right Car Insurance Bodily Injury Coverage

Get a car insurance quote today and learn how The Hartford can help protect you and your loved ones with bodily liability coverage. We’re here to help you understand the customizable coverage options available to you, so you can purchase a policy with added protection.

You can also learn more about other essential types of car insurance coverage, like property damage liability coverage or collision coverage, by calling The Hartford’s representatives at 888-546-9099.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bodily Injury Liability Insurance

What Does Bodily Injury Liability Mean in Insurance?

In insurance, bodily injury liability refers to a coverage that helps pay for injuries to others after an accident you’re found responsible for. It’s required by most states at varying coverage amounts.

What Does $25,000 Bodily Injury Liability Per Person Mean?

A $25,000 bodily injury liability per person limit means that is how much your insurance will pay per person for medical expenses after an accident you’re responsible for. So, if you crash into a car and injure two people in the other car, your insurance will help pay up to $50,000 toward their medical bills in total (or up to $25,000 per person).

What Is a Bodily Injury Payout?

A bodily injury payout is the dollar amount insurance will cover after an accident. It helps pay for things like the other driver’s medical expenses or lost income, as well as legal fees if you’re sued as a result of the accident.