How to read a 100/300/50 auto limit

Every auto liability limit in the United States is written as three numbers separated by slashes, and almost nobody is told what they mean at the point of sale. They are not a sequence and they are not interchangeable. They are three separate ceilings, each of which can be hit independently in the same accident.

The three numbers

The first number caps what we pay for injuries to any one person. The second caps what we pay for injuries to everyone in that one accident, no matter how many people are hurt. The third caps what we pay for the other party’s property: their vehicle, the guardrail, the storefront.

A four-person minivan and an at-fault turn produces four separate bodily injury claims. Each is limited to $100,000, and the four together are limited to $300,000. If the total settles at $420,000, the last $120,000 is a judgment against you personally.

Where the state minimum runs out

Ohio requires 25/50/25. That figure was set to make insurance affordable, not to make you whole. The average new vehicle transaction price in the United States now sits well above $48,000, which means the $25,000 property damage limit can be exhausted by a single late-model pickup before anyone has been to a hospital.

What the step up actually costs

Liability is priced on the frequency of a claim, not the size of it, so the marginal cost of a higher ceiling is small. Moving from 100/300/50 to 250/500/100 on a two-vehicle household typically adds a low three-figure sum per year. Adding a $1,000,000 umbrella above that costs less again, because the umbrella only pays once the auto policy is exhausted.

• Match your uninsured motorist limit to your bodily injury limit. One Ohio driver in eight carries nothing.
• Check the property damage number against what your neighbours actually drive.
• If you own a home, the umbrella is usually the cheapest liability you can buy.

If you want the arithmetic run against your own household rather than an example, an agent can quote the step up alongside your current limits so you can see both figures side by side.