Limited Tort or Full Tort Car Insurance: Which is best? (2023)

If you live in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, or New Jersey, this article is for you. Drivers in these three states have the option to purchase full tort coverage or limited tort coverage when they buy an auto insurance policy. But unless you’re an expert, that statement probably means nothing to you.

So let’s unpack it. In short, the full tort option is nice to have but comes at a cost. It’s just one of a huge number of trade-offs you have to weigh when shopping for auto insurance. Need advice? Insurify is a leading car insurance comparison service, providing you personalized insurance quotes from across the industry in just a few minutes. And yes—it’s free.

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What is tort coverage?

Tort determines how most automobile insurance works. In the legal system, tort refers to a harm done by Person A that causes enough damage of one kind or another to Person B that Person B could sue Person A for those damages. In terms of auto insurance, tort refers to a car accident in which one person is at fault and liable for property damage and personal injury.

This is where insurance comes in. After a car accident, instead of suing for medical bills and property damages, Person B can just file a claim with Person A’s insurance company. Then, no one has to go through the hassle and cost of lawsuits and a court case.

But liability coverage doesn’t always get the job done. If Person A doesn’t have insurance, or their liability insurance doesn’t pay out enough to compensate Person B for damages, Person B can sue for more. In tort auto insurance states, this is the case.

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Tort Auto Insurance vs. No-Fault Insurance

Tort car insurance is the primary system in the United States, but some states are no-fault states, meaning they require drivers to purchase personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage. PIP protects drivers from bodily injury no matter who is at fault, hence the “no-fault” terminology.

In no-fault states, the at-fault driver doesn’t pay medical expenses in a car crash—everyone pays their own. The idea behind this was to reduce the number of lawsuits that arose from car accidents with at-fault motorists who were uninsured or underinsured.

So to sum up: In tort states, the at-fault driver pays all the damages. In no-fault states, you pay for medical expenses and bodily injury with your own auto insurance coverage, and because of that, you can’t sue for personal injury damages—with the exception of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Kentucky, which we’ll get to in a minute.

No-Fault States

These are the no-fault states, where you have to purchase personal injury protection (PIP) coverage in addition to your liability coverage and pay for bodily injury damage out of your own insurance policy. If your state is not on this list, you live in a tort state, where you have a right to sue for damages and don’t have to worry about full tort or limited tort insurance.

• Washington

• Utah

• Texas

• Oregon

• North Dakota

• New York

• Minnesota

• Michigan

• Massachusetts

• Maryland

• Kansas

• Hawaii

• Florida

• Delaware

• Arkansas

• Kentucky (tort option)

• Pennsylvania (tort option)

• New Jersey (tort option)

No-Fault States with a Tort Option

All states except for three are either tort states or no-fault states. Those three—Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and New Jersey—effectively allow drivers to choose whether they want to participate in a no-fault system or retain the option to sue an at-fault driver for more bodily injury damages and other expenses in the aftermath of a car accident.

If you choose to keep a tort option on your car insurance policy, you’ll want to know the difference between limited tort coverage and full tort coverage.

Full Tort Insurance vs. Limited Tort Insurance

States allow you to decide whether you want to preserve your right to sue for all the medical costs and other physical pain damages (like stress, trauma, and lost wages) that you might suffer in a car accident. In states with a tort option, keeping all your rights to sue will raise your insurance premiums more than a limited tort insurance policy. Let’s discuss the difference.

Limited Tort Car Insurance

If you’re in an auto accident that isn’t your fault and suffer bodily injury, with a limited tort policy, you’ll have your medical bills covered by your personal injury protection. But you’ll also be able to sue the person at fault for more compensation—however, you’re limited in the damages that you can pursue.

Limited tort policyholders can sue for personal injury damages and medical bills that are directly related to the car crash and the immediate damage it caused. But non-economic damages—like compensation for your pain and suffering—are off-limits unless you have full tort auto insurance. Exceptions do occur for what the court rules serious injuries.

What counts as a serious injury? It varies case by case and state by state. It generally refers to something truly life-changing: serious impairment of a vital body function like hearing or eyesight, permanent disfigurement, brain damage, or loss of a limb.

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If I have the choice, which should I choose?

These insurance decisions are tricky when you can’t anticipate if you will suffer a horrible car crash. It’s hard to even imagine preparing for. Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re deciding between limited tort and full tort coverage:

Full tort coverage is more expensive. Estimates put premiums for full tort coverage about 15 percent higher than limited tort insurance. So if you’re looking to save on car insurance month by month, it will help to choose a limited tort policy.

A bad car accident can leave you with much more than medical bills. If you have dependents to take care of, it might be especially helpful to have full tort to make sure that if you’re impaired in some way and have people to care for, you can maximize the amount of money available to you to keep providing for your family.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage can play a similar role to tort coverage. If you up your coverage limits for no-fault coverage and have adequate uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, you’ll have some decent safety nets that could make going to court and pursuing a tort option unnecessary.

You’ll have to hire a personal injury attorney to pursue a tort case. If you aren’t comfortable with this prospect or would very rarely be in a position to take on the financial risk of engaging a law firm, you might go with limited tort coverage. On the other hand, if your sister-in-law is a personal injury attorney, get a full tort policy!

Can I just stick with my no-fault insurance?

In Pennsylvania, you have to choose between full tort and limited tort. But that doesn’t mean you have to press charges in the event of a bad car accident. Make sure your personal injury protection limits are enough that you can generally avoid suing.

In Kentucky and New Jersey, you have to go out of your way to ditch PIP, but if you’re committed to a tort policy, you can get one.

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More Advice on Buying Car Insurance

Your car insurance policy is confusing, annoying, and important. Finding the best insurance companies to work with is critical for having an insurance agent you trust and premiums you can afford. To make sure you’re getting the very best, take advantage of Insurify’s top-ranked car insurance comparison service. It’s a free and fast way to get the best quotes for you.

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