Property & Casualty Insurance Exam (National Portion)Casualty InsuranceMedium

A client has a Personal Auto Policy (PAP) with bodily injury liability limits of $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident. The insured driver causes an accident where three people are injured. One person sustains $60,000 in injuries, another sustains $30,000, and the third sustains $20,000. How much will the policy pay for the total bodily injury claims?

  1. A$110,000
  2. B$100,000
  3. C$50,000
  4. D$100,000, but only $50,000 to the most severely injured person
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B. $100,000

The per-person limit of $50,000 applies to each individual. The per-accident limit of $100,000 is the maximum paid for all injuries in a single accident, regardless of the sum of individual claims. The total payable is the sum of the individual claims, capped by the per-person limit for each, and then capped by the per-accident limit overall.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A. This is the sum of all injuries without applying the per-person or per-accident limits.
  • C. This is the per-person limit, not the total paid for all claims.
  • D. While the $50,000 per-person limit applies, the total payable is $100,000, as calculated from the individual payments ($50k + $30k + $20k). The phrasing is misleading regarding the total payment.

Per-Accident Limit

The maximum amount an insurance policy will pay for all covered losses arising from a single accident or occurrence, regardless of the number of injured persons.

  • Applies after per-person limits are applied.
  • Caps the total payout for a single event.
  • Common in auto and general liability policies.

Memory trick: Per-Person first, then Per-Accident second, like a two-stage rocket for payouts.

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