Liability car insurance helps pay for property damage and bodily injury for the other drivers involved in accidents that you cause.
Liability car insurance is required in every state except New Hampshire.
Each state has a bare minimum level of liability coverage—but you can (and usually should) buy more.
A liability car insurance policy only covers other drivers, not you or your property.
What is liability car insurance?
Liability car insurance is an auto insurance policy that provides protection to other drivers on the road when you’re at fault in an accident. It’s made up of two basic components:
If you hit another person’s vehicle or property, your liability coverage will help cover the cost of any medical bills and/or property damage up to the limits stated in your policy.
Liability car insurance cost
Getting liability insurance on its own is relatively cheap, and the price varies according to where you live, your age, and other important factors.
Here are the average annual rates for liability car insurance coverage in every state, plus the District of Columbia.
. Depending on the claim, your bodily injury liability or property damage liability will then pay to cover any costs up to your policy limits.
Bodily injury liability coverage: The BIL portion of your liability insurance policy covers you as the at-fault driver, paying the bodily injury costs stemming from an accident you cause. These costs include:
Ongoing medical expenses
Funeral costs
Lost income
Legal fees arising from a lawsuit
Property damage liability coverage: The other component of liability insurance, PDL helps cover damage like repairing vehicles and property defaced in an accident that you cause up to your property damage limit. Covered property can include:
Vehicles
Buildings
Signs
Other roadside objects
If your insurance doesn’t cover all of the costs, the other party can take you to court to cover any remaining expenses above and beyond the maximum coverage amount.
Liability insurance does not cover you or your property
While liability car insurance is great at protecting you in the event that you’re found to be at fault for a car accident, it won’t do anything to protect you or your property, including your own vehicle.
required by your state, the amount of liability insurance you should get varies for every driver.
Designed to protect your assets, liability insurance will only cover those assets up to your policy maximums. For anything over that, the other driver and their passengers can sue you for damages in court.
If you have a high net worth: Consider getting additional liability insurance coverage to protect your assets.
If you have a lower net worth: Additional coverage might not be necessary, but it's still a good investment if you can afford it.
Every driver is different, but many drivers can double their bodily injury liability coverage for as little as $5 a month!
Liability coverage limits have a dollar amount
In most cases, there is a financial limit for how much your liability car insurance will cover for bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage per accident. Each state has a minimum level of liability coverage.
Example: The state minimum coverage for auto liability insurance in Washington is 25/50/10:
$25,000 for bodily injury coverage per person
$50,000 for bodily injury cover per accident
$10,000 for property damage coverage per accident
Fortunately, you can purchase additional liability insurance coverage beyond the state minimum liability limits for added protection. Of course, any additional coverage you buy will cause your insurance rates to go up.
Do you need auto liability coverage?
Unlike collision and comprehensive types of coverage, liability car insurance is required in almost every state in the U.S. This means that just about every driver in the nation should have liability insurance.
If you do not adhere to the insurance requirements, you could face severe penalties and fines, up to and including jail time. In many cases, the penalties and fines for violations increase with repeated offenses.
Additionally, each state in the U.S.—except for Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania—requires that those caught driving without insurance file an
While the certificate is relatively cheap to file, an SR-22 puts you into a higher-risk category, which means that you will pay more for insurance. And since drivers with an SR-22 have to keep it on file for at least three years in most states, those higher insurance premiums can really add up over time.
$50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident
Delaware
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$10,000 property damage liability per accident
$15,000 personal injury protection per person
$30,000 personal injury protection per accident
District of Columbia
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$10,000 property damage liability per accident
$25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person
$50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident
$5,000 uninsured motorist property damage coverage per accident
Florida
$10,000 property damage liability per accident
$10,000 personal injury protection
Georgia
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
Hawaii
$20,000 bodily injury liability per person
$40,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$10,000 property damage liability per accident
$10,000 personal injury protection
Idaho
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$15,000 property damage liability per accident
Illinois
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$20,000 property damage liability per accident
$25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person
$50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident
Indiana
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
Iowa
$20,000 bodily injury liability per person
$40,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$15,000 property damage liability per accident
Kansas
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
$25,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person
$50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident
Also required: personal injury protection, including $4,500 in medical expenses, up to $900 per month for a year for disability or loss of income; $25 per day for in-home services; $2,000 for funeral burial or cremation costs; and $4,500 for rehabilitation survivors benefits, including up to $900 per month for a year for disability or loss of income and $25 per day for in-home services.
Kentucky
$25,000 bodily injury liability per person
$50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
Louisiana
$15,000 bodily injury liability per person
$30,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
Maine
$50,000 bodily injury liability per person
$100,000 bodily injury liability per accident
$25,000 property damage liability per accident
$50,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per person
$100,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage per accident
In addition to liability car insurance, you might also have comprehensive coverage. Unlike liability car insurance, comprehensive car insurance covers damage to your vehicle caused by the perils listed on your policy.
has a deductible you must meet before your coverage will kick in.
Collision vs. liability coverage
Collision insurance is designed to cover any damage suffered by your vehicle in a collision, even in accidents you’re at fault for.
Collision insurance covers the following:
A crash you cause
A collision with an object (including a tree, fence, or mailbox)
Your car rolling over
Another driver hitting your car if they don’t have any or enough insurance (if you don’t have uninsured/underinsured motorist property damage coverage)
on your collision coverage before it will pay out anything following an accident.
Did you know? When you combine collision and comprehensive coverage on an insurance policy, this is known as “full coverage.”
How to get liability insurance
By shopping around, you can easily find the cheapest liability car insurance available. If you really want to speed up the insurance-shopping process, use a
app to compare car insurance quotes from some of the nation’s top insurance companies in minutes.
"Within minutes I had quotes, made adjustments, and initiated a request for a final price. Within the half hour, they handled canceling my last policy and had me set up with my new policy. Saving almost $1,000 a year now with a better policy than before." - Satisfied Jerry User
Compare insurance quotes from 50+ carriers with Jerry in under 45 seconds
