South Carolina Mandated Auto Insurance Coverage
What does it mean if you purchase “liability only”? Well, that’s a bit of a misnomer due to South Carolina’s insurance law. There are actually two required auto insurance coverage parts in South Carolina: Liability and uninsured motorist. Typically someone asks for “liability only” when they do not wish to purchase any optional coverage.
What does “liability” cover?
First off, what does it NOT cover? Well, purchasing only state required coverage means there’s no coverage for damage to your car unless someone else is liable for it. If you are at fault for an accident, you are liable to pay damages to the injured party, which your insurance would pay on your behalf. You as the policyholder are not eligible to be reimbursed by the liability coverage section. This is known as “third-party” coverage. Liability is split into bodily injury and property damage.
1. Bodily Injury
Bodily injury is just as it sounds – any harm done to another person due to an event you are responsible for – in this case, an automobile accident. Since the injured party may require medical attention, they will incur charges for those services, which liability bodily injury would pay. That may mean hospital or ambulance bills, x-rays or other scans, doctor visits, physical therapy, and prescription medications. Bodily injury liability applies to occupants of the other vehicle, but ALSO applies to passengers in the at-fault party’s vehicle as well.
2. Property Damage
Property damage is just as it sounds: If you are liable for damage to another person’s property, your auto insurance policy will pay the appropriate amount, up to the policy limit, for the damage done. The easiest conclusion to come to is that property damage pays for damage to another vehicle. But ANY type of property would be covered – including another person’s dwelling, fences or mailboxes, or even personal belongings. Property damage liability pays the affected party for the market value, or Actual Cash Value of their property. This means auto insurance doesn’t pay what the car or other property would cost new, but what its current value would be given its age and condition, if it were sold on the open market.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
South Carolina also requires every auto insurance policy to include Uninsured Motorist Coverage, also known as UM. This is a first-party coverage, meaning it indemnifies the policyholder. In the event the other party is at fault for an accident, or is found liable for damages to you, but they do not have liability coverage in effect, Uninsured Motorist would pay you in the same way the at-fault party’s insurance otherwise would. It also has separate limits for bodily injury and property damage, much the same as liability coverage. The only difference is it covers the policyholder instead of a third party.
There are a couple of scenarios that might trigger UM coverage. First, if the at-fault party is known but does not have insurance at all, uninsured motorist would pay for your bodily injury or property damage up to the policy limit. But in the event of a hit-and-run scenario, since the person responsible is not known, we cannot establish coverage – even if they might have had auto insurance otherwise. In this case, since no other known coverage exists, UM would pay the policyholder’s bodily injury and property damage. It’s important to note that in South Carolina, Uninsured Motorist Property Damage (aka UMPD) has a standard deductible of $200.
Other considerations
South Carolina currently requires minimum auto insurance limits of 25/50/25. We will cover the meaning of these limits in a future article.
Are you unsure of what your policy covers or have further questions? Here at Palmetto Choice Insurance Agency, we are here to help! We have spent the past decade helping the residents of Upstate South Carolina understand their insurance policy and determine what coverages are most appropriate for them. We are located in Spartanburg, SC but service all of South Carolina AND North Carolina as well. Give us a call at (864) 707-1234 or send us a message to get the conversation started. You can also request a quote at https://www.palmettochoice.com/quotes/