An older woman in a pink cardigan and cream turtleneck stands beside an open car door of a grey SUV on a tree-lined street with yellowing foliage.

Liability Insurance: What It Covers After an Accident

Liability insurance pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others in an at-fault accident—it's legally required in most states but doesn't cover your own vehicle or medical bills.

Compare my rates

Free to compare

What Is Liability Insurance Insurance?

Liability insurance is split into two parts: bodily injury liability pays medical bills, lost wages, and legal fees when you injure someone in an accident, while property damage liability covers repairs to their vehicle or other property. If your liability costs exceed your policy limits, you pay the difference out of pocket, which can put retirement savings and home equity at risk for senior drivers.

An older man in a light blue shirt and khaki trousers shakes hands with a younger man in a navy sweater and jeans beside a dark SUV in a lot outside a glass-fronted building.

Who Needs Liability Insurance Insurance?

Every senior driver needs liability insurance—it's legally required and protects your home, retirement accounts, and Social Security income from lawsuits after an at-fault accident.

Calculate your total at-risk assets—home equity, retirement accounts, savings—and carry liability limits that match or exceed that figure.

Related Coverage Types

A woman with long white hair in a light button-up shirt sits in a car's driver seat, fastening her seat belt, with green trees visible through the windows.

Full Coverage→

An older woman with long white hair, wearing a green shirt over a white top and jeans, sits in a car's driver seat and fastens her seat belt, with green foliage visible through the window.

Comprehensive Coverage→

An older man with glasses and a blue denim shirt sits at a wooden table in a kitchen, reading a printed document, with more papers and a car key on the table and a window with plants behind him.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage→

An older man and woman sit together on stone front steps of a house, looking at a tablet, with a parked car and shrubs behind them.

Collision Coverage

A woman with light hair in a bun stands on a covered porch beside a dark front door, holding keys and looking toward a driveway where a silver car is parked near shrubs and trees.

Keep Your Coverage Without Overpaying

Compare Senior Auto Insurance Rates