What are Split Limits?
Split limits are a type of liability coverage in auto or property insurance policies where separate maximum amounts are defined for bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. This coverage structure is common in auto insurance policies and determines how much the insurer will pay for various types of claims arising from a single incident.
Typically, split limits are expressed in a format such as 100/300/50. In this case, the numbers represent:
- $100,000 for bodily injury per person
- $300,000 for total bodily injury per accident
- $50,000 for property damage per accident
This means the insurance policy will pay up to these amounts for each type of claim. If a claim exceeds any of these limits, the policyholder may be responsible for covering the difference.
In practical terms, split limits offer more clarity on coverage for individual scenarios but may leave policyholders exposed if the damages exceed these predefined amounts, especially in serious accidents. For example, in a multi-car accident with several injuries, the per-person and per-accident limits could quickly be surpassed.