What Is Bodily Injury Liability Coverage?

Bodily injury liability is the auto coverage that pays other people when you are at fault in a crash — their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, up to your limits. It does not pay your own injuries. Colorado's required minimum is $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident.^{[1]C.R.S. § 10-4-620. Required coverage — $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $15,000 for property damage. https://law.justia}

Key Takeaways

• BI liability is third-party coverage: it responds when you cause someone else's bodily injury.^[1]
• Colorado's complying-policy minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, plus $15,000 for property damage (25/50/15).^{[1][2]C.R.S. § 42-7-103. Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act definitions — the same 25/50/15 liability minimums. https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-42}
• BI is not MedPay, not health insurance, and not collision. Those are different coverages.^{[3]C.R.S. § 10-4-635. Medical payments coverage — a separate, rejectable first-party medical benefit, not bodily-injury liability. https://law.justia.com/codes/col}
• If the at-fault driver's BI limits run out, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is the statutory gap-filler.^{[4]C.R.S. § 10-4-609. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, including the required offer up to your bodily-injury liability limits. https://law.justia.com/}
• Colorado is an at-fault state, so the at-fault driver's BI is the primary target, not your own PIP — Colorado does not require PIP.

How bodily injury liability works

When you cause a crash, the people you injure look to your liability policy. The insurer's payment is capped by the per-person and per-accident limits you bought.^[1] Whatever those limits do not cover does not disappear. It can be pursued against you personally, and the injured person may also turn to their own UIM coverage.^[4]

The trigger is narrow: you are at fault, and someone other than you is injured. A passenger in your car counts as someone other than you. A pedestrian or cyclist does too. Your own broken arm does not. Your own medical bills are MedPay, health insurance, or — if the other driver caused the crash — their BI.^[3]

Colorado requires owners who drive on public highways to carry a complying auto policy.^[1] The required coverage is legal liability, not no-fault PIP. Details on the full stack of required and optional coverages are in auto insurance requirements in Colorado.

Covered vs. not covered

How the 25/50 limits work

Limits are written as two numbers. The first is the most the insurer will pay for any one person. The second is the most it will pay for everyone hurt in that crash.^[1][2] Injure one person for $200,000 in losses on a 25/50 policy and the BI check for that person is still $25,000. Injure three people and the $50,000 per-accident cap has to stretch across all three.

Insurers must offer UM/UIM in an amount equal to your BI liability limits (you can reject UM/UIM in writing).^[4] That offer exists because 25/50 is a legal floor, not a serious-injury budget. Raising BI limits also raises the UM/UIM amount you can buy to match.

Worked example

Hypothetical. The at-fault driver carries Colorado-minimum 25/50/15. Two people in the other car are hurt:

• The other driver has $40,000 in medical bills and lost wages. The per-person cap pays $25,000. $15,000 is unpaid by that BI policy.
• Their passenger has $30,000 in bills. The per-person cap would allow $25,000, but only $25,000 of the $50,000 per-accident limit is left, so the passenger collects $25,000 and is still short $5,000.

The BI policy has paid its full $50,000. The two injured people are still $20,000 short on those bills alone, before any non-economic damages. That remainder is what underinsured motorist coverage is built to address, up to the UIM limits purchased.^[4] Treatment often is not complete at this stage; many demands wait until maximum medical improvement so the medical picture is stable.

What people get wrong

The myth: “My bodily injury coverage will pay my hospital bills.” It will not, if you caused the crash. BI is for people you hurt.^[1] Your own first-party medical coverage on an auto policy is MedPay, which Colorado requires insurers to offer (with a written-rejection option) and which is not a return to no-fault PIP.^[3] The other myth is that 25/50 means $25,000 and $50,000 for you. Those numbers are the other person's ceiling when you are at fault — and they run out on one surgery faster than they read on the ID card.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my own bodily injury liability cover my injuries?

No. BI pays others when you are at fault.^[1] Your own bills go to MedPay, health insurance, or — if someone else caused the crash — their BI and your UM/UIM.^[3][4]

What are Colorado's minimum BI limits?

$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, plus $15,000 for property damage.^[1][2] Those are the legal minimums, not a recommendation for a serious crash.

Is MedPay the same as bodily injury liability?

No. MedPay is first-party medical payments coverage on your policy. BI is third-party liability for people you injure.^[3][1] Colorado requires a MedPay offer; it does not make MedPay a no-fault PIP system.

What if the at-fault driver's 25/50 is not enough?

Their BI pays first, up to those limits. Your UIM covers the difference between their liability limits and your damages, up to your UIM limits.^[4] You may also have a claim against the at-fault driver personally for the gap.

Does BI cover a passenger in my car?

Yes, if you are at fault and the passenger is injured. They are a third party on your BI. Your own injuries still are not.

Bottom Line

Bodily injury liability is how an at-fault Colorado driver pays the people they hurt, up to 25/50 at the legal floor — and often not enough.^[1] It is not MedPay and it is not UIM. If you were hurt by someone else, their BI is the first bucket; your UIM is the backup.^[4] How that claim is built is in the claim process. For a free consult, call (720) 432-7032.

Article Sources

1. C.R.S. § 10-4-620. Required coverage — $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $15,000 for property damage. https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-10/property-and-casualty-insurance/article-4/part-6/section-10-4-620/. Accessed September 8, 2026. ↩
2. C.R.S. § 42-7-103. Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act definitions — the same 25/50/15 liability minimums. https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-42/motor-vehicle-financial-responsibility-law/article-7/part-1/section-42-7-103/. Accessed September 8, 2026. ↩
3. C.R.S. § 10-4-635. Medical payments coverage — a separate, rejectable first-party medical benefit, not bodily-injury liability. https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-10/property-and-casualty-insurance/article-4/part-6/section-10-4-635/. Accessed September 8, 2026. ↩
4. C.R.S. § 10-4-609. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, including the required offer up to your bodily-injury liability limits. https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-10/property-and-casualty-insurance/article-4/part-6/section-10-4-609/. Accessed September 8, 2026. ↩

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Policy language and limits vary — consult a qualified Colorado attorney and read your declarations page.