Bodily injury liability (BI) is the part of a non-owner policy that pays other people after a crash you caused. It is written as two numbers, and both matter: the first caps what one injured person can receive, the second caps the total for the whole accident. Everything above those figures is your personal liability.
Reading the numbers
A 30/60 limit means $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. If you injure one person, the maximum is $30,000. If you injure three, the total across all three is $60,000 — and the per-person cap still applies, so a single serious injury cannot absorb the whole $60,000 if another claimant exists.
This is why the per-person figure is the one to raise first. A hospital stay with surgery routinely exceeds $50,000 in the United States, and a traumatic brain injury can pass $250,000 before rehabilitation.
Why non-owner buyers underinsure
Because there is no vehicle to protect, buyers of non-owner policies often choose the state minimum and stop there. The reasoning is backwards: without a car to repair, liability is the only thing the policy does, so the limit is the entire product.
The cost of upgrading is smaller than most people expect. Moving from 30/60 to 50/100 typically adds 12–20% to a non-owner premium — roughly $60–$140 a year.
| Limit | Per person | Per accident | Typical premium delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| State minimum (TX) | $30,000 | $60,000 | Baseline |
| 50/100 | $50,000 | $100,000 | +$60–140/yr |
| 100/300 | $100,000 | $300,000 | +$200–350/yr |
| 250/500 | $250,000 | $500,000 | +$420–700/yr |
What happens above the limit
The insurer pays up to the limit and no further. The injured party can then pursue you personally, and a judgment can follow you for years: wage garnishment, liens on property, and in some states licence suspension.
An umbrella policy sitting above the auto policy is the standard answer for anyone with assets. Most carriers require 250/500 underlying limits before writing one, which is why the upgrade sequence matters.
Claims where BI is the only money available
A driver without assets and without BI coverage is effectively judgment-proof, which is cold comfort to the injured party. In practice, the injured person’s own uninsured motorist coverage — if they have it — becomes the payer, and their insurer may then subrogate against you.
Choosing a limit
A practical rule: carry enough BI to cover the assets you could lose. For most drivers that means 100/300 at minimum, and 250/500 if the household has savings, a home, or a professional licence. On a non-owner policy the incremental cost of 100/300 over 25/50 is usually $200–$350 a year.
- The first number caps one claimant; the second caps the whole accident.
- A single serious injury can exhaust a state-minimum BI limit.
- Judgments above the limit are enforceable against personal assets.
- Umbrella policies require high underlying BI limits first.
On a non-owner policy there is nothing to add except limits. Roadside assistance and rental reimbursement are irrelevant when you do not own the car; the only meaningful upgrade is more liability coverage.
Key takeaways
- BI is written as per-person / per-accident and both caps apply.
- State minimums are routinely below the cost of a serious injury.
- Upgrading limits is the cheapest meaningful change to a non-owner policy.
- Above-limit damages become personal debt.
