Understanding the Liability Portion of Your Auto Insurance Ploicy

Automobile insurance is probably the most controversial of all the differing types of insurance policies we need. However, the issue of liability coverage within a underlying automobile policy is probably the most controversial. Not only is it the most expensive portion of the policy but is mandated as a requirement by most state legislatures. In a nutshell, liability coverage at it’s most basic form is designed to keep you or another insured driver from being sued if damages or injury results from an automobile accident.

Negligent driving is defined by driving outside the prevailing standard of care required by anyone operating a motor vehicle, or in this case, a car or truck. Each state determines what this standard of care entails so there are varying forms of what can be called standard of care. An example of a general standard of care within all the fifty states would be running through a red light.

Although this can be defined as an individual act of negligent driving, running through a red light does not always cause damages. In many cases, running a read light may result on only a traffic citation issued by local law enforcement. For liability to be a factor, an accident must occur and damages must be sustained by one or more parties as a result of the negligent driving. In this case, the person who ran the red light can be held liable for the damages which occurred as result of running the red light.

There are three different aspects of liability coverage which include: bodily injury, property damage and the most controversial, the cost the insurance companies and individual parties involved to defend a law suit. The bodily injury portion is paid when negligent driving result in injuries or death to compensate these parties or the deceased’s survivors. Money paid out from the liability portion of the insurance policy is used to compensate parties for such things as medical bills incurred, lost wages, funeral expenses and in some cases for monetary support to replace income that would normally been available had someone not been killed in the accident.

Property damages occur as a result of the accident to another’s property due to negligent driving. Liability coverage is used to pay for damages that occurred during the accident. Damages most likely were sustain to the other parties car or in some cased property such as fences or even houses located next the road were the accident took place. Many time automobile accident cases end up in court litigation and the cost associated with defended a court case is in the liability section of a car insurance policy.

It is very important that you know what coverage you have and the limits of that coverage. The court system across the nation is congested with court cases associated with auto accidents and it is best to know what coverage you have in place should you ever find yourself in an auto accident.

Learn more about the various coverage available in individual insurance policies by visiting Memphis car insurance.