“tort” is a legal term that may sound scary, but it is very simple. a tort is an act that causes injury or harm to another person and has legal consequences. how does that impact you? If you’re a Pennsylvania resident, you have tort coverage on your auto insurance policy.
what is a tort?
The meaning of a tort is quite clear to those in the legal field. Since the middle ages, lawyers have used the word to indicate that one person did something wrong to another. For insurance purposes, it could be someone who ran a red light and hit your car at an intersection.
Connected to the idea of tort is the sense that there are legal consequences for anything that has been done. that would mean that the person who ran the light should compensate for doing something illegal (running a red light) that ended in their suffering and damage to their car.
To connect the dots, civil liability law, then, is when someone is taken to court so that the damages can be assessed and a sanction assigned for the wrong that has been done. In the insurance industry, it often doesn’t go that far because insurers settle claims before they go to court.
what does grievance mean?
As you can probably guess, a tort is important in many areas of the law, including insurance. Your ability to receive a claim settlement when you are involved in an accident that is not your fault is one of the most basic reasons for having auto insurance.
Another reason to have auto insurance is so that if you are the cause of the accident, you don’t go bankrupt paying the other person for damages or medical costs. in this case, your liability coverage must cover that payment. your premiums may increase later, but you’d be better off than if you had to pay for the damages.
Total vs. Limited Tort in Pennsylvania
what is full tort?
Full liability coverage in pa means that if you are injured in an accident, you can sue the other at-fault driver for non-monetary damages, such as pain and suffering.
advantages
If you choose full liability for your auto insurance pa, you retain your right to sue someone who caused you damage or injury in a car accident. Your liability insurance should pay for your medical costs, but full damage coverage would allow you to seek compensation for a change in your quality of life due to the accident.
cons
The main drawback to full liability coverage is that your premium will be higher than if you had chosen limited liability coverage. If you’re on a tight budget, that may be significant to you and may cause you to consider limited tort to save money on insurance premiums.
what is limited tort liability?
With limited tort, you cannot sue the at-fault driver for your pain and suffering or for anything beyond what your insurance policy can pay. If the other driver has adequate insurance, his medical bills will be paid, but he cannot expect to receive a large sum to compensate for the intangible experience of getting hurt.
advantages
You’ll save money with limited damage coverage, and that’s its main benefit. It also makes the insurance claim simpler and faster, since you give up the right to take the other driver to court for pain and suffering.
cons
The downside of the limited tort is that it’s, well, limiting. the insurance company may reject you if you try to seek compensation after an accident. Limited tort means you can recover your actual costs, such as medical payments or lost wages, through liability coverage or personal injury protection (pip), but no additional claims will be considered.
which one is right for me?
If you can afford it, total tort is a better option. Let’s look at our earlier example of the accident involving someone running a red light. With limited damage coverage, she will be paid for the full car and medical costs, such as the ambulance ride and surgery to repair the damage to her back.
but the months or years of loss of quality of life experienced after the accident are not covered by limited liability coverage. You may not seek payment from the insurance company as an acknowledgment or hire an attorney to take the other driver to court.
Deciding whether a full or limited tort is right for you depends on your tolerance for risk and your need to save money. If you never have a serious accident, you will have wasted the extra money you paid for full damage coverage, but are you willing to take that risk?
On the other hand, if your finances are limited, limited tort may be a better option for you now, with the expectation that you can switch to full tort if you find yourself in a better financial position in the future. And if you’re a careful driver or someone who doesn’t drive often, you may feel like the entire tort is a waste of money.
the food to go
full tort allows you to sue for pain and suffering or other purposes; the limited tort takes away that right.
- tort refers to a wrong that has been done by one person to another.
- suggests that there are consequences for wrongdoing.
- full tort gives you the right to sue if you were injured in an accident.
- Limited Tort eliminates the right to sue for pain and suffering.
The ramifications of full liability and limited liability coverage in Pennsylvania are only felt after a serious accident. Auto insurance pays for damages and medical bills, but without full liability coverage, you can’t claim compensation for loss of quality of life from an accident. It’s more expensive to have full liability coverage, but it gives you more rights.
