What does a car insurance policy in Texas cover? That can vary from person to person. There is, however, one type of coverage every car insurance policy within Texas must have, and that is liability coverage. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at the different types of coverage available on car policies in Texas, as well as, some discounts you should be aware of. We’ll first start with liability coverage.
Liability coverage pays the other party when you are liable for an accident and found to be at fault. There are two sections contained within liability coverage, bodily injury and property damage. On a quote or the declarations pages of your policy, it may be listed as bodily injury property damage, or it may be shown in its abbreviated form as BIPD.
The bodily injury portion pays for the medical care of anyone you injure with your vehicle. This includes pedestrians and occupants of the vehicle you hit. The property damage portion applies to the car or truck you hit, or a stationary object such as a building, your neighbor’s fence, a traffic sign, etc. If the other vehicle ends up a total loss, then it will pay up to your policy’s limits for the actual cash value of that vehicle.
Liability coverage can be purchased either as split limits or combined single limits. Split limits are usually represented with 3 numbers such as 30/60/25. The most common split limits found on Texas car insurance policies are:
- 30/60/25
- 50/100/50
- 100/300/100
- 250/500/100
- 500/500/100
The above numbers represent coverage amounts in thousands of dollars; 30 equals $30,000, 60 equals $60,000, etc. The first two numbers represent medical coverage available for anyone injured by your vehicle.
- The first number is the maximum amount of medical coverage available for an individual’s medical care.
- The second number is the total medical coverage available for any one accident if more than one person is injured.
The third number represents the maximum amount of property damage that can be paid, however, it is subject to the actual cash value of the vehicle you hit.
Combined single limit coverage is shown with one number, not three. The most common limits are $100,000, $300,000, and $500,000. This number represents the total available coverage for both medical care and property damage. The benefit of combined single limit, or CSL, coverage is it can be allocated where needed without worrying about per person limits.
How much coverage you need is up to you. I recommend different levels based on such factors as household income, assets, and what you do for a living. I’ll write more on the amount of coverage I recommend and why in a later post. If you have any questions about your coverage, thoughts, or comments, please share them with me on my Facebook, Google +, or LinkedIn pages. I’d love to hear from you!
