Property Damage Liability Coverage
Property Damage Liability coverage is one element, along with Bodily Injury Liability insurance, that makes up Liability insurance.
If you ever cause an accident, your Property Damage Liability coverage will pay for the damage done to anyone else's property, whether it's another vehicle, a lamppost or even a house, up to the selected amount. As part of your Liability insurance, Property Damage coverage also pays for your legal defense costs if you are sued as a result of these damages.
Who needs Property Damage Liability coverage?
Everyone needs Property Damage Liability coverage. Property Damage Liability coverage protects you in case you cause an accident that results in damage to the property of others. In most situations, this insurance is required by law.
If you have a filing on your commercial auto insurance policy, you are required to have Property Damage Liability insurance.
Property Damage Liability coverage limits and other details
With Property Damage Liability coverage, you must select limits. When you select a split limit, the Property Damage limit is the third number. This number may also be shown separately as a single number.
For example, if you chose a limit of $10,000, your Property Damage coverage would pay up to $10,000 for all of the property damaged in an accident caused by you.
Your Property Damage limit can also be a combined single limit (CSL). In this case, one number is used to describe the limits for both your Bodily Injury Liability insurance and your Property Damage Liability coverage.
For example, if you selected a combined single limit of $1 million, your insurance company would pay up to $1 million for all medical and injury-related bills and all property damage expenses you caused in an accident.
Property Damage Liability coverage example
You swerve to miss a deer and accidentally hit your neighbor's car parked on the side of the street.
If you have selected a split limit for Liability insurance, the Property Damage coverage portion would pay to repair or replace your neighbor's damaged car, up to your selected limit of $10,000. Since the car repairs amount to $500, your insurance would cover the full amount of damage.
If you caused more damage to the car, your Property Damage Liability coverage would pay up to your maximum limit of $10,000 to repair the parked car. If the repair cost amounted to $15,000, you would be responsible for paying the extra $5,000.
If you selected a combined single limit for your Liability insurance, all of the damage would be covered up to the single limit chosen.
Property Damage Liability coverage restrictions
Your Property Damage Liability coverage limits cannot exceed your Bodily Injury Liability insurance per-person limits if you select a split limit for Liability.
Multiple vehicles
- If one vehicle on the policy has Liability insurance, all of the vehicles must have it.
- The selected Property Damage limits must be the same for all vehicles on a policy.
State minimums
- Each state sets laws regarding how much Property Damage Liability coverage its residents are required to have. This is known as your state's minimum limits or minimum limit requirements.
Fortunately, Progressive knows the requirements for each state and will make sure you have at least the minimum amount of Property Damage Liability coverage required to meet your state's laws.
Filings
- Property Damage Liability coverage is required when a filing is on a commercial auto insurance policy.
Trailers
- Extra trailers are charged a flat fee for Property Damage Liability coverage.
Property Damage Liability exceptions
As with all insurance, there are exceptions to what is covered by Property Damage Liability coverage, and these are fairly standard throughout the industry. For instance, no liability policy will protect you against intentional acts.
