Does Auto Insurance Cover Civil Suits? 
The short answer : it can cover civil liability if it arises out of negligence due to the driver . Your third party coverage , which is usually denoted as bodily/physical injury are your limits for injuries to other drivers . For example , many people have $ 100,000 / $ 300,000 split limits for bodily injury . This means that your insurance company will cover $ 100,000 per person and $ 300,000 total per accident . Depending upon your policy , attorney 's fees are either included in this limit or have a separate limit . If included in the limit , legal defense expires once the insurance company has paid out the total amount of the policy -LRB- i.e. $ 100,000 per person or $ 300,000 for the accident -RRB- . A good way to avoid being left with huge attorney fees is to either purchase much higher physical injury limits or get an umbrella policy . The umbrella will kick in after you have used up your physical injury limits and cover you up to the stated amount of the umbrella policy . Again , keep in mind that you will only be covered if your negligence is covered within the policy . 