Understanding Your Tort Options on Car Insurance in Philadelphia

Your Auto Insurance Effects Your Right to Sue in Philadelphia

When you buy car insurance, Philadelphia insurance agents will ask you to make a choice between limited and full tort.  Making the right decision is very important, because the costs are high – purchasing full tort coverage can tack $1,000 or more per year onto car insurance in Philadelphia – but surrendering your unrestricted tort rights can also cost you thousands in the case of an accident.  Understand what these two options mean so that you can make the right choice for you and your family.

What is a Tort?

A tort is a violation of a basic civil right that can be used as the grounds for a lawsuit.  Negligence, trespassing, and defamation are examples of tort offenses.  When it comes to car insurance in Philadelphia, tort usually refers to the right to sue the driver responsible for an accident for costs above and beyond the actual costs of medical care and property damage.

Limited Tort Decreases Premiums on Car Insurance in Philadelphia

If you voluntarily agree that you will not sue for any pain and suffering that you experience after an accident, the premiums for your car insurance in Philadelphia will be significantly lower.  Depending on your insurance company and other factors, the difference could be a thousand dollars or more every year.

Note that the choosing the limited tort for your car insurance in Philadelphia does not hinder you from suing if the accident was very severe.  This is usually the case if you lose the function of a body part.  In these extreme cases, you can sue for pain and suffering even if you chose the limited tort car insurance in Philadelphia.

Other incidences in which limited tort car insurance in Philadelphia still allows you to sue for non-economic injuries include:

Full Tort Car Insurance in Pennsylvania

If you purchase full tort car insurance in Pennsylvania, you can expect to pay premiums that are 10% higher or more than limited tort auto insurance carriers.  However, you and your family then have the right to recuperate non-economic losses that were the result of a car accident.  Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and scarring can be grounds for a lawsuit.  If you have a successful lawsuit, you could more than make up the amount you would save by choosing limited tort car insurance in Philadelphia.

Whichever choice you make, remember that costs such as repair of your vehicle, medical costs, loss of salary, and other economic losses are not effected by your choice of limited or full tort car insurance in Philadelphia.