My insurance is coming up for renewal and I actually took the time to look it over instead of just paying it. The bodily injury and property damage are both at $50,000. That seems kind of low. Are they about where they should be or should I bump them up? My main consern is the bodily injury.
It depends on your assets and the risk you're willing to take. So you're saying that your auto liability is $50K/$50K/$50K? The first part is how much your insurance company will pay maximum to each person in an accident. The second part is how much your insurance company will pay in total per each accident towards other people's bodily injuries. The third part is how much your insurance company will pay in total towards others' property damage that you cause. I'm thinking your insurance is 25/50/25 or 30/60/25. This means if you hit a car and the accident is your fault, and that car contains 2 people, your insurance will cover up to 25K per person and 50K total for that accident in terms of bodily injury. Meaning if 1 person has 10K in medical bills and the 2nd person has 30K in medical bills as a result of your accident, you still owe him $5K that your insurance will not cover. When I was a poor college student, I bought 25/50/25 (the Texas required minimums at the time...it's now 30/60/25 I believe). If I killed somebody or hurt somebody because of a driving mistake, my insurance company would pay out the max and I wasn't worried about being sued because I didn't have anything. Sue me for what, my couch? If I did something terribly wrong, I'd probably go to jail, but that's a different matter. Nowadays, I carry 100/300/100. I consider myself a pretty safe driver, but I'm not mistake free. It only takes a split second and I could end up rear ending a Mercedes who then hits another car. Both drivers would end up suing me for their car damages and $25K coverage like my college years wouldn't be enough. Now that I have assets, if I do get sued, I could lose out a lot. So, it all depends on what you're willing to risk vs paying extra. To me, it's not much extra to pay. Even though the chance that I need to use my coverage is expected to be low, I like being protected, just in case. As I get older and increase my assets, I will probably increase my insurance coverage to what I deem applicable.
50/100/50 is the minimum I would ever recommend. The minimal limits in Texas are 30/60/25. As Kim pointed out, 1st # is the most they pay per person, 2nd # is the most per accident, no matter how many people are involved, and 3rd # is property damage. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM) is optional and I will highly recommend it. That protects you and your passengers. If someone hits you and runs or they don't have insurance (or enough insurance to cover your injuries/damage) then your UM/UIM will cover you at a $250 deductible. I cringe when people call for a quote and they only want minimal limits. If you have an accident and total someone's vehicle, what are the odds that the vehicle will be worth under 25k? If you total an Escalade or a Benz, you're royally screwed.
