Bodily Injury, Uninsured Motorist, Underinsured Motorist, PIP, Medical Payments...
What do all of these terms have in common? They are all auto insurance coverage's and few people know what these coverage's actually mean or what they afford you, as the insured, in terms of protection.
We thought we would tackle one of the most common of these coverage's, Bodily Injury coverage, and explain exactly what it is, how it works and why you need it.
What is Bodily Injury Coverage? Bodily Injury coverage, or BI as it is commonly referred to in the industry, is an auto insurance coverage that will compensate a 3rd party in the event you are in an accident, at fault and cause BI to the person or people in the claimant or other vehicle.
Things you should know:

• This coverage typically has 2 amounts associated with it: per person amount and an aggregate amount.
  If you have BI coverage of 15/30 it means there is a maximum of $15,000 in coverage available to any one person injured and a policy aggregated total of $30,000 available for all injured parties.
  
• Every state requires that all drivers carry a minimum amount of BI coverage & each state is different.
  
• You are able to select the amount of coverage you want beyond your state's minimum requirement.
  If your state requires you carry 15/30 limits, you can elect to purchase 50/100 limits to be sure you are adequately covered.
  

How does BI coverage work? Assuming your policy is in force and current, if you were in an accident and determined to be at fault, completely or partially, and caused an injury to a third party, your BI coverage would cover the injuries pursuant to your % of liability for the accident.
A few details:

• BI coverage is required in all states if you operate a vehicle
• An injured person's loss of wages is included in their injury claim
• It is your insurance companies responsibility to monitor all injury claims filed against your policy and do their best to resolve the claim(s) within the limits afforded by your policy
• An injury claim(s) can be valued higher than your limits and in many states an injured party can seek to recover from you personally if they feel the limits of your policy are not adequate
• There are 2 main aspects of an injury claim: Special Damages (actual Dr.
  bills, lost wages, etc..
  ..
  ) and General Damages or pain & discomfort.
  
• The majority of injuries claimed from auto accidents are soft tissue injuries such as whiplash, sore neck or back.
  

Why you need BI coverage: Beyond the obvious of your state mandating that you carry a minimum amount of BI coverage, there are a few very key reasons why everyone should be sure they purchase adequate BI coverage:

• Injury claims can be very costly.
  If you don't carry adequate BI coverage, you could be responsible for injuries to 3^rd parties
• If you have substantial assets, you want to be sure to protect them and purchase higher BI limits.
  It will only cost you a few extra dollars per month but well worth it when you consider what you have to lose.
  
• Advocate: your insurance company acts as your advocate in some respect as they work on your behalf to settle any legitimate claims filed against you.
  They are experts at this...
  Imagine if you had to deal with an injured persons insurance company.
  Would you know what to do or say?

So, as you can see, having adequate BI coverage has more value than just being compliant with your state's minimum coverage requirements.
BI coverage, as with any insurance coverage, is a way for you to protect yourself and have an advocate working on your behalf should you happen to be in accident, be found at fault and cause injuries.
It is well worth the money and time to research and be sure you are adequately insured.