Liability covers bodily injury (including death) and property damage to others if you are determined responsible for an accident, even if you are not driving. Owning the vehicle and lending it to someone else constitutes responsibility. Liability coverage also pays for legal fees if you are sued as a result of an accident.
Insurers will often represent liability coverage with three consecutive numbers; for example, 50/100/25. The first number stands for maximum amount payable for an individual bodily injury in an accident, in this case $50,000. The second number represents the available coverage for all injuries in an accident, or $100,000. Finally, the last number denotes maximum property damage liability for one accident, $25,000.
Amounts of required coverage vary among states. Along the spectrum of minimum coverage, a low figure is 15/30/5 (California, New Jersey) while a high set is 50/100/25 (Alaska, Maine).
