Guides
Liability limits explained: what 25/50/25 pays
Three caps, applied in order. Enter a limit and an injury cost to see what stays with you.
One injured person: what the per-person limit leaves unpaid
Left unpaid
$35,000
| Policy pays | $25,000 |
Written as 25/50/25, a minimum means $25,000 for one person, $50,000 for two or more people and $25,000 for property of others. State statutes use nearly the same words: Virginia, Montana and South Carolina all set the second figure "subject to the limit for one person". So the caps work in order. With three injured people each owed $30,000, the per-person cap first brings each claim to $25,000, giving $75,000, and the per-accident cap then brings the total to $50,000. Damages of $90,000 therefore leave $40,000 above the policy. Texas's insurance department says of these dollar limits that they are the most the company will pay, even if the cost is higher. What happens to that remainder depends on the case, and this site does not predict it. The worked examples are arithmetic, not statistics: we publish no average crash cost, so try figures that match your situation.
Official pages read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Two worked cases
Case one: one person hurt, $60,000 in costs, a 25/50 policy. The insurer pays $25,000 and $35,000 remains. Raising only the second number would change nothing here, since a single claim never reaches it.
Case two: four people hurt at $20,000 each. No one passes the per-person cap, yet the total of $80,000 passes the accident cap of $50,000, and $30,000 remains.
Combined single limits
Kentucky is the state we read that writes one into its minimum: split limits of 25/50/25, or a single limit of $60,000 for all damages in one accident. Within that single figure, the split between injury and property is not fixed by the three-number form. We do not compare single limits automatically, because a state's wording decides whether one is accepted.
Property damage: what the limit leaves unpaid
Left unpaid
$15,000
| Policy pays | $25,000 |
The property line across states
Minimum property limits run from $5,000 in Pennsylvania to $50,000 in North Carolina among the states we read. A several-car collision still shares the one figure, since the texts set it per accident. Try the mini-tool above with the replacement value of a car you see every day.
What minimums leave out
The Texas guide says liability pays other people's injuries and damage when you are at fault, and that a lender will require collision and comprehensive if you still owe money on the car. Wisconsin's guide says the same about a car used as collateral. Other required cover varies: see each state page for what we read.
Using your own numbers
Copy the bodily injury and property damage figures from your policy into the tool. Compare them with your state's page on this site. Nothing here replaces the wording of the contract you signed, and when something looks different, your insurer can explain it.