What is Bodily injury insurance? Do I need it?
Bodily injury insurance covers you in the event that your car is involved in an accident or the driver of your car causes an accident resulting in injury or damages to someone else. Bodily injury liability insurance covers the medical costs of any injury incurred by any person for which you or the driver of your vehicle is responsible. These insurance policies will cover people who operate your car with your permission or relatives that reside with you. Potential claims covered by bodily injury claims are medical bills, loss of wages or income, and even pain and suffering.
Generally speaking, bodily injury liability coverage is not required in Florida, but we highly recommend that you have it. Bodily injury coverage will protect you financially by assuming the expenses associated with the accident on a per person basis. Nevertheless, there is a maximum as to how much the insurance company will pay per accident. In insurance terms, the coverage is specified by a “split limit”. For example, if you purchase a $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury policy the insurance company will pay up to $100,000 per person injured in the accident and it will pay up to a total of $300,000 for the whole accident. Any costs beyond that would be for you to assume.
We recommend taking your personal assets into consideration before purchasing a bodily injury liability car insurance policy. If you do not have many assets and your income is that high, then in most instances a $50,000/$100,000 split may be adequate. In the event you have many assets at stake, you should consider a higher split value, like $250,000/$500,000 or even $500,000/1,000,000 in coverage. If you can afford more coverage we always recommend more coverage. If you purchase a policy with low dollar limits and your asset values increase over the years, then you may have the possibility in the future of having to bear the extra expense incurred during an auto accident related claim. This may mean having to sacrifice your assets and your hard earned dollars to come up with the cash needed to pay for the other party’s accident related injuries.
