Bodily Injury (BI) Liability Insurance 101

Bodily Injury (BI) Insurance

Bodily Injury (BI) Liability is insurance coverage that pays for injury-related medical bills, lost wages, or death to others. Bodily injury doesn't cover the policyholder’s medical costs. Bodily Injury (BI) is known as "third-party" insurance since it covers the other party/parties. The policyholder is known as the "first party.”

All states require BI liability coverage to register a vehicle, except Florida.

Bodily Injury (BI) insurance covers:

Bodily injury insurance pays for injuries you cause to a different driver if you are assigned blame for the accident. It covers costs, including but not limited to:
• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Legal fees
• Funeral costs

 

Please keep the following factors in mind, if you are involved in a car accident

Evidence of Fault

You should report the accident per the 2021 Florida Statutes listed shown below.

Seek medical assistance immediately after the car accident. If you experience any pain or discomfort, ask the 911 operators to send paramedics and the police.

Another driver may be assigned 100 percent of the blame for an accident in a rear-end collision where the victim waited for a red light to turn green. This accident might generate evidence such as a police accident report, traffic, dash-cam, surveillance camera footage of the crash, passengers, eyewitness statements, and photos of the vehicles involved.

The Nature and Extent of Your Injuries

Is your injury permanent? Nearly all strains or sprains involving muscles, tendons, and ligaments will heal in six to eight weeks. These damages are not as compensable as permanent injuries, such as severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, traumatic amputations, burns, and Fractures.

Your Medical Records and Bills

Expect the opposing insurer to look at these in exacting detail. Please do seek medical assistance immediately after the crash. If you experience any pain or discomfort, ask the 911 operators to send paramedics and the police. The paramedics will treat you at the scene and transport you to the emergency room of a local hospital. 

Comparative Negligence

It might be alleged that you are partially to blame for the car accident. Whether or not that's proved, you'll still recover compensation for your injuries, but any settlement or verdict would account for the percentage of fault assigned to you.

The Request for a recorded statement

You’re likely to be contacted by the opposing insurance firm shortly after your car accident “just to determine if you’re feeling any better.” That’s just a pretext for trying to get a recorded statement from you about how your accident happened. Never give an opposing insurer a statement of any kind without an attorney being present on your behalf. The law doesn’t require you to provide one. That opposing insurer's representative already knows how the accident happened. They possess a duplicate of the police report. If that person says your claim is denied and closed for want of a statement, contact a qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer immediately. Upon being retained, they will contact the opposing insurance company.
An opposing insurer will do everything possible to devalue your injury claim. Until you retain a quality and experienced personal injury lawyer, protect your claim or lawsuit by keeping these five factors that could impact your car accident settlement in mind at all times. William John DiPetrillo & Associates, P.A. will advise you further. We have over 24 years of experience in car accident settlements and is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar Association.

Other car accident resources:

Other car accident resources:

Car Accident Settlement Process Explained

We will try to settle your claim, but we will take your case to trial to get what you need to recover fully.

First, we will need to gather the necessary evidence to support your claims, such as medical records, medical bills, witness statements, photos, video, expert witness reports, and testimony. This evidence is then used to create a demand package and lays the foundation for negotiations with the insurance company.

The insurance provider may make an initial settlement offer, which marks the beginning of negotiations. At this point, both parties will negotiate an acceptable resolution. If the company denies your claim or doesn’t make a fair offer, we will file a lawsuit.