Liability Coverage in Car Insurance Policies
When you buy car insurance, you have a contract between the insurance company and you. You pay the premiums, and the company agrees to protect you. One of the most important types of car insurance coverage is called liability insurance.
Liability insurance provides coverage to you if you cause a wreck and hurt another person. The liability coverage you have protects the person you injured. The insurance company will defend you (including hiring an attorney for you if you are sued) and will pay the injured person up to the limits of the liability coverage you purchased.
Minimum Coverage in Missouri and Kansas
Both Missouri and Kansas currently require what is known as “$25,000 / $50,000” liability coverage. This is the minimum liability coverage required of drivers in both states. You may wonder what these two numbers mean in terms of coverage.
The first number tells you what coverage is available “per person” – what the limit of coverage is for each person who is injured in an accident. The second number is "per accident" – the maximum coverage available to all persons injured in a single accident.
So, if you have $25,000/$50,000 coverage, each person injured in a single accident would be covered up to $25,000, but the total coverage available for the accident is only $50,000. If four people are hurt in the accident, the most any one person would be paid is $25,000, but all four people would have to share the total of $50,000.
In this situation, if any one person’s damages exceeded $25,000, or if the entire claim of all people in the accident exceeds $50,000, you could be personally responsible for what the policy did not pay.
Contact Our Car Accident Lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri
Still have questions? For more information about car insurance in Missouri and Kansas, please download a free copy of my book, Buying Car Insurance, for drivers in Missouri and Kansas.
You can also contact our firm by calling (816) 203-0143 or by filling out a form on our Contact Us page. We're happy to review your car insurance policy and provide a free, confidential consultation.