When you compare quotes, the liability limit is the first number to check and the most common place a cheaper quote hides a weaker policy.
What liability coverage does
Auto liability pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people, up to your limits, and it pays to defend you if you are sued. It does not pay for your own car or your own injuries. It is the coverage the law requires because it protects everyone else on the road.
Bodily injury vs property damage
Liability has two parts. Bodily injury liability covers the medical costs, lost wages, and legal claims of people you injure. Property damage liability covers the other vehicle and other property you damage. They carry separate limits, which is why you see three numbers.
What 100/300/100 means
Split limits are written as three numbers. 100/300/100 means 100,000 dollars per injured person, 300,000 dollars total per accident for all injuries, and 100,000 dollars for property damage. If a crash injures three people seriously, the per-person and per-accident limits both matter.
Why state minimums are rarely enough
In Oregon, the minimum is 25/50/20. One serious injury, a totaled late-model vehicle, or an ambulance and a hospital stay can blow past those numbers quickly. When the limit runs out, the injured party can pursue your assets and future wages. Minimums keep you legal; they do not keep you protected.
Buying at the minimum after a violation
If a violation has pushed you into the non-standard market, the state minimum can look like the only affordable option. Understand what you are choosing.
The minimum is the floor the law accepts, not a limit scaled to what a crash costs. A certificate evidences that a qualifying policy is in force; it says nothing about whether the limits are adequate, and it does not stop you carrying more.
Nor does every filing sit at the ordinary floor. In Oregon, ORS 806.075 requires a person convicted of DUII under ORS 813.010 to hold a certificate showing bodily injury liability of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident, maintained in the statutory amounts for three years from the date the first filing is required (ORS 806.075) — double the ordinary bodily injury minimums. The property damage figure in that statute reads $10,000, which is below Oregon’s ordinary $20,000, and the point is unsettled: the section opens “Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter” and has not been amended since 1991. In a November 2021 industry-meeting presentation — slides, not a rule or bulletin — Oregon’s Division of Financial Regulation described the $10,000 as an error left behind when other statutes were updated in 2009 and ORS 806.075 was not updated with them, and said it applies $20,000 through product review, with the Oregon Department of Justice having agreed that was within its authority (Oregon DFR, Property and Casualty Insurance Industry Meeting, November 10, 2021, page 25). Do not plan around carrying less than the ordinary $20,000, and confirm the limits on your own filing rather than reading them off the statute. Check what your own trigger requires rather than assuming the minimum covers it — car insurance after a DUI has the Oregon detail, and which filing form applies covers the forms.
Some insurers ask about the limits you previously carried. Whether and how that is used is a question for the insurer quoting you.
The question is not what the state will accept. It is what you could absorb if you caused a crash tomorrow, and whether the gap between those two numbers is one you can carry yourself.
How limits connect to an umbrella
A personal umbrella adds liability above your auto and home limits, but it requires you to carry stated minimum underlying limits first, often 250/500 or higher on auto. If protecting assets matters to you, the auto liability limit and the umbrella are sized together, which we cover in why most families need a personal umbrella.
Red flags when comparing quotes
A much cheaper quote often drops the liability limit. Check whether the new quote matches your current limits or quietly steps them down toward state minimums. A lower limit is not savings. It is exposure you took on without noticing.
Questions to ask your advisor
- What liability limits am I carrying now, and are they enough for my assets and income?
- How would a claim above my limit reach my savings, wages, or home equity?
- Should I move from split limits toward higher limits or a combined single limit?
- Do my limits meet the underlying requirement to support a personal umbrella?
- Did a cheaper quote step my liability down toward the state minimum?
Want guidance first? Compare your coverage. Already know what you need? Get a quote.
Continue the series
You are reading part 2 of How to Compare Auto Insurance Quotes Without Getting Burned.
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