If you’re a driver, you need to have the proper insurance. It’s really important that you have the right insurance to legally hit the roads in Georgia, and one of the coverages that you’ll need is property damage liability coverage. What’s that, you ask? Property damage liability is the coverage that can help you if you’re responsible for, well, damaging someone’s property. We’ll explain more about this coverage, including what it does, what it doesn’t do, and how much of it you need to have.
What is property damage liability?
Property damage liability is the coverage that can help repair the other driver’s car if you’re at fault in an accident. (For example, if you rear-end someone and cause $1,500 of damage to their car.) In that way, it helps you cover your legal obligation to the other driver. It can also help you out if you accidentally take out a fence or mailbox or something. Oh, and it can help you cover legal expenses if you get sued. Pretty cool, huh?
Am I required to have property damage liability?
Yes. Most states require drivers to carry property damage liability insurance, and Georgia is no exception. In Georgia, drivers have to carry $25,000 of property damage liability at least. It’s really important that you carry the limits of insurance required by the state. Not doing so can be a big problem.
(Now, while we’re on the topic of Georgia car insurance requirements, we’ll touch briefly on another coverage that the state mandates that drivers carry: bodily injury liability. This is the coverage that can help cover the costs of the other driver’s medical bills and lost wages. Georgia says that drivers have to carry $25,000 of bodily injury liability per person and $50,000 of bodily injury liability per occurrence.)
Anyway, that means that the minimum limits of insurance in Georgia are $25,000/$50,000/$25,000. (The first number is the per person bodily injury liability limit, the second number is the per occurrence bodily injury liability limit, and the last number is the property damage liability limit.) Keep in mind that you might want to have higher limits of coverage – the state limits might not be high enough to cover the fallout from a serious accident.
What about my car?
When it comes to insurance coverages, things can get complicated.
You might wonder how your own car would get repaired in the event of an accident in which you’re at fault. Property damage liability can help repair the other driver’s car, but what about your own vehicle? You need your car to get yourself where you need to go.
The thing is that your property damage liability doesn’t cover your car – it’ll only take care of the other driver’s car. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. There’s a different coverage that can help – collision coverage.
Collision coverage can help you repair your car following an accident – or if you run into something like a fence. That’s how you can get your car back on the road after an accident, even if you’re technically at fault. So, if you’ve got collision coverage, you can hopefully get your car insurance take care of the repair bill (minus your deductible).
Okay, so you might now wonder this – are you required to have collision coverage? It’s a good question. If you have a lender and a car payment, they may require you to carry collision coverage and its buddy, comprehensive coverage. Anyways, it’s really important that you carry the necessary coverage, both as mandated by the state and by your lender. And, as we always say, it’s important to read your car insurance policy.
So, that’s the scoop on how property damage liability works. Like we said, it’s important to have the right car insurance. If you’re looking for Atlanta car insurance quotes, we can help. Get started with your quotes by filling out our online form, giving us a call, or messaging us on LiveChat. Our team would be happy to get your some quotes for the auto insurance you need.