Bodily injury liability is the part of your auto insurance that pays for other people's injuries when you cause an accident — including their medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and your legal defense if they sue. It is usually written with two limits: a per-person limit and a per-accident limit, such as $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. It never pays for your own injuries.
How it works
After an at-fault accident, injured occupants of the other vehicle (and injured pedestrians or cyclists) file claims against your bodily injury liability coverage. Your insurer handles the claims and pays covered damages up to your limits — the per-person limit caps what any one injured person can receive, and the per-accident limit caps the total for everyone injured in that crash.
Example: you carry limits of $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident, and you cause a crash injuring three people, with claims of $60,000, $30,000, and $25,000. The first person's claim is capped at your $50,000 per-person limit even though their damages were higher, leaving you personally exposed for the $10,000 difference. The other two claims — $55,000 combined — fit within what remains of the $100,000 per-accident limit. All numbers are illustrative.
You'll see these limits written shorthand on quotes as numbers like 50/100 or 100/300 — the per-person and per-accident bodily injury limits in thousands of dollars, often followed by a third number for property damage liability.
Why it matters for your policy
Medical costs are the reason bodily injury limits deserve real attention. A hospitalization after a serious crash can exceed a state-minimum limit quickly, and everything above your limit is your personal responsibility — courts can reach your savings and future wages to satisfy a judgment.
The good news is that raising bodily injury limits is one of the cheapest upgrades in insurance: going from minimum limits to 100/300 typically costs far less than people expect, because serious injury claims are rare — the higher limits mostly buy protection against the catastrophic case. The common mistake is treating liability limits as a place to trim the premium; trim your deductible strategy or shop carriers instead, and keep the limits strong.
Related terms
- Property damage liability — The companion coverage that pays for damage to other people's vehicles and property.
- Liability coverage — The umbrella concept covering both bodily injury and property damage liability.
- Uninsured motorist coverage — Protects you when the at-fault driver has no bodily injury coverage at all.
- Underinsured motorist coverage — Protects you when the at-fault driver's bodily injury limits are too low.
- Umbrella insurance — Extends your liability protection above your auto policy's limits.
Want a second set of eyes on your policy? Better Choice Insurance Group is an independent agency in St. Charles, Illinois, licensed in 14 states. We'll explain your coverage in plain English and compare quotes across our carriers — free, no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
What do the numbers like 100/300 mean?
They're your bodily injury liability limits in thousands of dollars: $100,000 is the most your policy pays for any one injured person, and $300,000 is the most it pays in total for all injuries in a single accident. A third number, like 100/300/100, adds the property damage limit.
Does bodily injury liability cover my passengers?
It can cover passengers in your car who are injured when you're at fault, since they can make a liability claim against you as the driver. Your own injuries, however, are never covered by your own bodily injury liability — that's what medical payments coverage, personal injury protection, or health insurance are for.
What happens if damages exceed my bodily injury limits?
The injured party can pursue you personally for the difference, which can put your savings, home equity, and future wages at risk. This is exactly the gap that higher limits and umbrella insurance exist to close.
Last reviewed: August 2026 · Reviewed by Evan Larson, Licensed Insurance Agent