My Car Insurance

If I only have liability insurance and I cause an accident when I have passengers in my car, will my insurance cover their medical expenses?

The term “liability insurance” covers three parts of a typical auto insurance policy that covers the damage caused to another vehicle, the injuries caused to the passengers and the driver of that vehicle, or the damage caused to property (other than the vehicle) such as buildings or state property, (guardrails, street signs, etc.).

Bodily injury liability insurance is an required part of insurance in most states in order to legally drive a car and what it does primarily is to provide protection to cover the medical expenses for the driver and passengers in another car that you are involved in an accident with if you are deemed to be at fault. The bodily injury liability will also provide protection for you in case of a lawsuit up to the limits that you have on the insurance.

What bodily injury liability does not cover are injuries to you as a result of an accident, nor does it cover any of the passengers in your vehicle, whether they be family members or not. The injuries to those in your vehicle would be covered by the “medical coverage” portion of a complete and comprehensive insurance policy, but this is optional and is not required by many states. Alternatively (or additionally), uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will cover the injuries to yourself and your passengers if you are at fault in an auto accident. Finally, Personal Injury Protection insurance, required by some states by the driver of the auto will also cover medical expenses, but only for the person who is insured (like the driver), though it is not uncommon for people to carry this insurance in the course of normal life, which would mean that they would be protected on their own if they were the passengers in a vehicle whose driver caused an accident.

One other option that is growing in popularity with insurance is that of “passenger bodily injury liability insurance” which is designed specifically for this situation. Slightly different from medical coverage insurance which provides coverage for the driver and their passenger(s), passenger bodily injury liability insurance will only cover the passengers and not the drivers themselves and only in those situations where the driver was at fault, therefore coverage will not be provided by the other driver’s liability insurance. For these restrictive reasons, passenger bodily injury liability insurance will generally be less expensive than a medical coverage policy added to your regular liability insurance policy.

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