At our office, we normally recommend starting with at least 100/300/300 in auto liability coverage. That means $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $300,000 for all injured people in one accident, and $300,000 for property damage.
Why those amounts? We want to help you find good value in your policy. That means looking at the protection you’re getting alongside what you’re paying for it.
Your household may need more protection, including an umbrella policy. But before we get into that, let’s look at what the numbers mean and why we recommend more than Ohio’s minimum.
What Ohio requires
Ohio requires drivers to maintain financial responsibility. Most people meet that requirement through auto insurance, although the law allows other approved methods. For an auto liability policy, the minimum limits are commonly written as 25/50/25.
| Coverage | Ohio minimum | What the limit applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury per person | $25,000 | Covered injury damages for one person in an accident |
| Bodily injury per accident | $50,000 | Covered injury damages for everyone injured in an accident, subject to the per person limit |
| Property damage per accident | $25,000 | Covered damage to other people’s vehicles and property in an accident |
Those limits meet the minimum insurance requirement. They don’t tell us whether the coverage fits your situation.
What auto liability insurance pays for
Auto liability coverage helps pay for injuries and property damage you’re legally responsible for causing in a covered accident.
Bodily injury claims can include medical expenses, lost income and pain and suffering. Property damage can include another person’s car, a fence or other property you damage.
Your liability coverage generally doesn’t pay to repair your own car or cover your own injuries. Collision, comprehensive, medical payments and other coverages address different needs.
Let’s look at a simple example
Suppose you cause an accident that leaves one person with $80,000 in covered bodily injury damages and causes $40,000 in covered damage to their vehicle. These are hypothetical numbers, not an estimate of a typical claim.
With 25/50/25 limits, the bodily injury coverage would be capped at $25,000 for that person. Property damage coverage would be capped at $25,000.
That leaves $55,000 in injury damages and $15,000 in property damage above those limits. You could be personally responsible for the remaining $70,000. This simplified example assumes you’re fully liable, both claims are covered and no other insurance applies.
The $50,000 bodily injury limit doesn’t give one injured person another $25,000 to use. The per person limit still applies.
Why we recommend at least 100/300/300
Our starting recommendation gives you more room for both injury claims and property damage.
With 100/300/300, bodily injury coverage is limited to $100,000 per person and $300,000 for all injured people in one accident. The separate property damage limit is $300,000 per accident.
We put some thought into that third number. We’ve watched vehicle prices climb, and an accident involving several cars can leave you responsible for a substantial amount of damage.
The property damage limit applies to the covered damage from the whole accident. It isn’t a separate allowance for each vehicle.
In the quotes we review, the additional cost for $300,000 in property damage coverage is often small compared with the additional protection. That’s why we think it’s worth comparing before choosing a lower limit.
We’ll show you the actual price difference. Then you can decide whether the additional protection is worth the cost for your household.
How do we decide whether you need more?
Our recommendation is a starting point. A serious accident can still exceed those limits.
I’d want to understand your situation before recommending where to go from there:
- What savings, home equity or other assets have you built?
- How would a large expense affect your household income and bills?
- Who drives in your household, and how are the vehicles used?
- Do you already have an umbrella policy?
- What can you comfortably afford to spend on coverage?
Your finances help guide the decision. They don’t set a ceiling on the damage an accident can cause. Even if you’re still building your savings, it’s worth understanding the available limits and what they cost.
An older car can still need higher liability limits
Your car might only be worth a few thousand dollars. That doesn’t limit the injuries or property damage you could cause to someone else.
Choosing liability limits is a different decision from deciding whether to keep collision and comprehensive on an older car.
If you’re working through that second question, our guide to when to drop collision and comprehensive coverage in Ohio can help.
When to consider an umbrella policy
If you want liability protection beyond your auto policy’s limits, an umbrella policy is worth discussing.
A personal umbrella can provide additional coverage for certain liability claims above qualifying underlying policies. It has its own limits, exclusions and requirements. You also need to maintain the underlying coverage the umbrella requires.
We should review the auto policy and umbrella together, including the household drivers and vehicles. Our umbrella insurance page explains what to bring to that conversation.
Let’s compare the value before you decide
If you’re trying to lower your insurance bill, I’d want to see what a coverage change actually saves before recommending it.
Compare the same drivers, vehicles, deductibles and policy term, changing the liability limits so you can see the price difference. Available options and pricing vary.
Sometimes additional protection costs less than you expected. Sometimes the price stretches your budget, and we need to talk through the choices. Either way, you should know what you’re getting and what you’re giving up.
That’s what finding value means to us. We want to help you put your insurance dollars toward protection that makes sense for your situation.
Let’s review what you have
Start with your declarations page. It shows the liability limits you currently carry. If the numbers aren’t clear, we can walk through them with you.
Call Bucklew Insurance at (937) 550-9596 to compare your current limits with our starting recommendation and discuss whether higher limits or an umbrella make sense for your household.
You can also visit our auto insurance page to see how to share your current policy with Dan or Tiffani.
We’ll explain the options and show you the numbers so you can make a choice you understand.
Coverage depends on your policy’s terms, limits and exclusions. Available limits and eligibility vary. Requesting a review does not change your coverage. Confirm any changes and their effective date with our team.