What Kind of Car Insurance Coverage Should I Get in Pennsylvania?
Reader’s Question:
If there’s a third party liability, then what’s the coverage for first and second party liability? I don’t think I’ve heard of those here in Erie, PA. I just got my first car and I don’t know what kind of insurance to get.
Chuck
Erie, PA
You are one confused kid, I tell ya. Okay, let us get all the terms clear here, all right? The term first party refers to you, the policy owner who entered in to contract with the second party, which is the car insurance company. So, yes you were correct about not having heard of the first party and the second party liabilities before because in Erie, Pennsylvania and in any other state for that matter, the most common and most sought-after kind of insurance coverage is the third party liability. Well, of course, you got the idea of second party all wrong. Seriously now, the third party refers to the other person or other persons who are involved in the accident, and they are the people to whom the damage is done, whether in terms of body injuries or damage to property. So in a nutshell, the coverage of the first party liability includes the policy owner, his or her passengers. The third party liability, on the other hand, covers property damage and bodily injures on other people as a result of the accident, so you won’t have to worry about paying for repair bills and medical expenses. And there’s no such thing as second party liability, which is like saying that it’s the vehicle insurance company that caused the accident.
