You Get What You Pay For: Full tort vs limited tort auto insurance
The purchase of some minimal amount of auto insurance is mandatory in Pennsylvania to ensure that the innocent party has some means of compensation for the injuries he or she suffered due to the negligence of another driver. In legal terms, such an injury caused by the wrongdoing of another is called a “Tort.” The purpose of Tort law is to make the injured party “whole” again by compensating them for their injuries.
When purchasing auto insurance in Pennsylvania, one may choose either Full Tort Insurance coverage or Limited Tort Insurance coverage. Many people choose the Limited Tort option because it is less expensive. It is important to understand that purchasing a cheaper Limited Tort policy does not mean that you are limiting the rights of a person injured by you to recover for those injuries – you are limiting your own right to be made whole if someone else injures you!
Under either Full Tort or Limited Tort, a person may be entitled to recover economic damages such as lost wages and medical bills. However, as to the actual physical injuries suffered, a person who is covered by Limited Tort insurance may only recover if the injury is classified by the law as a “serious injury.”
What you may consider to be a “serious injury” and what the courts consider to be a “serious injury” oftentimes are not the same. For example, soft tissue injuries can be very painful and greatly affect your ability to go about your daily activities, such as caring for your children or even being able to get a decent night’s sleep. With Limited Tort coverage, you would not be entitled to recover anything for this inconvenience and the pain suffered, even though you did absolutely nothing wrong and the other driver was completely at fault. Unless you sustained permanent injury, broken bones, or serious and permanent disfigurement, you will have no right to recover anything except for the amount paid for your medical treatment and the amount of money you lost for missing work.
In short, Limited Tort Insurance limits your ability to be made whole if you are the victim of someone else’s negligence. Giving up your legal rights to be compensated for your injuries is not something you should do without considering the potential risks to you and your family.
