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Property Damage Liability Insurance

Many states require you to carry both Property and Bodily Liability Insurance, these policies help to cover damage and injuries you cause.

If you cause an accident, two types of liability coverage can help protect you:

  • Property Damage Liability Insurance to help pay for repairs if you hit another person’s car
  • Bodily injury liability insurance to help cover medical costs if you hurt someone in an automobile accident

Property Damage Insurance Coverage

Property damage liability insurance can help pay for repairs if you destroy another person’s belongings (e.g., vehicle, house, office, store, trees, signs).

Be aware, this coverage doesn’t pay for damage to your own car. Collision Coverage will cover your vehicle.

Examples of how property damage insurance can help:

  • Hit a mailbox, when turning your vehicleinto acustomer’s parking lot
  • Crash into a storefront after putting your car in “drive” instead of “reverse”
  • Side swipe another car when running a stop sign

To Learn More About Property Damage Insurance or to Find Out Your State’s Minimum Coverage Requirements Contact Us Today.

Property Damage Liability Limits

Property damage liability is required by law in most states. Car insurance minimum limit laws vary by state but do not have maximum amounts, which means you can increase your limit how you see fit. This can help make sure you’re fully protected if the property damage exceeds your state minimums. You will likely see your liability limits represented as $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 Bodily Injury per person/Bodily Injury per accident/Property Damage per accident

Example:

You hit another driver and cause them $20,000 in injuries and $15,000 in property damage. Your insurance should pay both amounts because all injuries and damage fall below your coverage limits.

Pro Tip:

Choosing more liability coverage than you’re legally required to have is generally a good idea, and a popular one. On average, over 50% of customers choose more than their state’s minimum limits for bodily injury, and over 60% of customers choose more property damage coverage than their state requires.

Consider a combined single limit (CSL) if you have a high net worth

If you have a high net worth, it might be worth taking out an auto policy with a CSL for both bodily injury and property damage. CSL amounts usually range between $300,000 and $500,000. Premiums for a CSL policy are higher, but your coverage limit can be divided in whichever way necessary to satisfy a claim against you.

Example:

You have a split-limit policy that covers $100,000/$300,000/$100,000 bodily injury up to $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, $100,000 property damage. However, you cause an accident in which you’re liable for $120,000 in medical expenses for one individual, leaving you on the hook for $20,000 and property damage of $150,000, leaving you on the hook for $50,000. With a combined single limit of $300,000, your insurance would cover the full $120,000in medical expenses and $150,000 in property damages since your maximum limit of$300,000 applies to any type of liability claim.

Increase your protection on the road by adding other types of liability insurance to your policy, like:

  • Uninsured motorist property damage insurance to help cover your repair costs if someone hits your car, and they don’t have an insurance policy.
  • Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, to help pay for medical care for you or your passengers if someone hits you, and they don’t have insurance or enough of it.
  • No-fault insurance, also known as Commercial personal injury protection(PIP), helps cover the costs of medical bills for you or your passengers no matter who is at fault for the car accident. Keep in mind that PIP coverage is not available in all states.
  • Umbrella policy gives you additional coverage to help pay for costs that exceed primary liability policy limits. It protects your business against extremely large losses from covered events.