Making a Bodily Injury Liability Claim Against Your Own Auto Insurance

Getting into any car accident is stressful, but it’s especially tough when you cause injury to yourself or others. Many drivers don’t realize you can actually file a bodily injury liability claim with your own insurance company – even if you were at fault.

Below we’ll cover key questions about making a first-party bodily injury claim after an accident you caused:

• What is first-party bodily injury coverage?
• When can you claim against your own policy?
• What will your insurance cover?
• How much can you receive?
• Does it raise your premiums?
• How does the claims process work?
• What if the other driver was at fault?

Understanding how to leverage your own policy to cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more can be a lifesaver if you’re injured in an at-fault accident.

What is First-Party Bodily Injury Coverage?

Also called self-insurance, first-party bodily injury coverage is part of the liability portion of your auto policy It covers injuries to yourself and any passengers in your car if you cause an accident

Liability insurance reimburses others for damage and injury you cause. But in a first-party claim, you make a liability claim against your own policy for harm you suffer. This coverage helps pay your accident-related expenses.

When Can You Claim Against Your Own Policy?

You can file a bodily injury claim with your own insurer any time you’re injured in an accident you caused, regardless of who else was involved. Common scenarios include:

• You crash your car into a tree, pole, or guardrail

• You rear-end another vehicle

• You hit a pedestrian

• You collide with a cyclist or motorcyclist

• You lose control of your car and roll it over

The key is that you must have been majority or fully at-fault based on the police report and evidence. Otherwise, you’d claim against the other driver’s insurance.

What Will Your Auto Insurance Cover?

With first-party bodily injury coverage, your auto policy helps pay for your economic and non-economic losses from the accident. This includes:

• Ambulance transportation

• Emergency room treatment

• Hospital/doctor bills

• Diagnostic tests like x-rays or MRIs

• Prescription medications

• Physical therapy

• Lost wages from missing work

• Cost of hiring help for daily tasks you can’t perform

• Travel expenses to receive medical care

• Pain and suffering

• Emotional distress

So this coverage can offset a huge portion of accident costs that would otherwise come out of your own pocket.

How Much Can You Receive from Your Insurer?

The amount your insurance company will pay out for a first-party injury claim depends on your policy limits. Most states require minimum 25/50/15 liability coverage:

• $25,000 per injured person

• $50,000 per accident total

• $15,000 for property damage

But you hopefully carry higher 100/300/100 or 250/500/250 limits. The per-person limit caps how much each injured claimant can receive. So for 250/500/250, the most you could get is $250,000.

Your final payout also accounts for comparative negligence if you were partially at fault. And your insurer will negotiate down costs like pain and suffering.

Does a Claim Raise Your Insurance Premiums?

Filing a first-party bodily injury claim is unlikely to increase your auto insurance premiums. Since you have liability coverage for this purpose, using it as intended generally won’t impact your rates.

However, if your payout is exceptionally large, you cause severe injuries, or you file this type of claim frequently, your insurer may non-renew your policy or raise your rates at renewal time.

How Does the Claims Process Work?

To receive a payout from your auto policy for your injuries in an at-fault accident:

1. Get medical treatment and document all expenses incurred.

2. Notify your insurance company of the accident and injuries.

3. The insurer will investigate fault and confirm coverage.

4. Provide all evidence like medical records and bills to your claims adjuster.

5. Accept or negotiate any settlement offer for pain/suffering and other non-economic damages.

6. Sign a release of liability accepting the final claim payment.

7. Use the settlement funds to cover accident-related costs as they arise.

8. Pay any remaining bills not covered in full by the settlement.

Having a helpful claims adjuster makes the process smoother and helps maximize your payout.

What If the Other Driver Was At Fault?

If the other driver caused the accident, it’s best to file a third-party injury claim against their liability insurance. This protects your first-party coverage limits in case you need them for a future at-fault accident.

But in a hit-and-run or if the at-fault driver has minimal insurance, you may need to claim against your own policy after first exhausting the other limits. This ensures you still get medical costs covered and compensation for your injuries.

Is First-Party Coverage Worth It?

No one expects to cause an accident resulting in their own bodily harm. But self-inflicted injuries do happen, and this coverage provides critical support. Without it, you’d have to rely on health insurance and pay many bills out of pocket.

Before an accident occurs, review your liability limits and consider upping them to ensure you have robust first-party coverage. And if you are at fault for injuring yourself or others, don’t hesitate to lean on this coverage so your auto insurer can take care of accident-related expenses.