New Minimum Limits for Ohio Automobile Insurance

Effective no later than December 22, 2013, Ohio will require new minimum insurance limits for all automobiles driven on Ohio roads. As of right now, Ohio’s minimum limits for bodily injury are $12,500 per person and $25,000 per accident. What this means is that any one person involved in an auto accident where the at fault party has only minimum limits of insurance can only recover a maximum of $12,500 from the at fault party’s insurer, regardless of whether the damages far exceed that amount. Also, if multiple people are injured, the most the at fault party’s insurer has to pay to everyone collectively is $25,000. These amounts are much too low in this day and age, and are among the lowest in the country.

After years (decades) of pushing for higher minimum limits by advocates for injured people, including the attorneys of Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC, the Ohio General Assembly has finally listened. In recent legislation, Ohio will require that all drivers in Ohio have no less than $25,000/person and $50,000/accident in liability insurance. We commend the Ohio legislature for finally addressing this issue and taking a step in the right direction in protecting Ohio citizens.

Even though we are happy to see the minimum limits finally raised for the first time in nearly 30 years, it still is not enough. In today’s economy, health and medical expenses are forever on the rise, and the cost can be extraordinary. At the same time, we are seeing more and more people with inadequate or no health insurance, meaning they are responsible for paying for all or most of their medical bills. This is especially true of innocent people injured in automobile, motorcycle, and trucking accidents. It is not unusual for an injured person to incur $50,000 to $100,000+ in medical bills from an automobile accident, in addition to lost time from work, pain, discomfort, and suffering. But when these innocent people are injured by a driver with minimum insurance limits, there is often not enough insurance to compensate them for their medical bills, let alone their lost wages, pain, discomfort, and suffering.

Because of this, we encourage all Ohio drivers to protect themselves and their families by making sure that they have adequate automobile insurance, including adequate uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, with minimum limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. And it never hurts to have excess coverage through an umbrella policy that will provide you with additional protection beyond your automobile insurance limits.

The attorneys of Lafferty, Gallagher & Scott, LLC continue to fight for the best interests of Ohio citizens and innocent victims everywhere, and we will keep doing so. If you have been injured in an automobile, motorcycle or trucking accident, call us at any time and we would be more than happy to discuss your case with you.