Liability (bodily injury and property damage)

Pays others for injuries and damage you cause. The state-required part of a motorcycle or motorhome policy; a towable trailer usually inherits liability from the tow vehicle's auto policy.

1RV and trailer types 3
2Powersports types 4
3Questions to ask 2
4All lines 14

When it matters

It pays when you cause a crash: the other driver's injuries and repairs, and your legal defence. It never pays for your own injuries or your own vehicle.

Liability is the only coverage most states require by law, and it is the one that protects everything else you own. If a crash you cause injures someone badly, the bill can run far past a minimum-limits policy, and whatever the policy does not pay can be pursued against you personally. That is why limits well above the state minimum are usually the first thing an agent suggests, and why many owners add an umbrella policy over the top.

For RVs, liability attaches differently by vehicle. A motorhome carries its own, like any car. A towed trailer normally relies on the tow vehicle's auto policy while hitched, and on vacation or full-timer liability while parked and lived in. Motorcycle liability works as it does on a car, except that injury to your own passenger may need to be confirmed in writing.

The common mistake is buying the state minimum because it is the legal requirement, without comparing the limit with the savings, home equity and income a serious claim could reach.

Ask before you buy

Does the limit exceed the state minimum by enough to protect what you own?
Is passenger liability included or an add-on?

Vehicles it is on

MotorcycleTwo wheels and no crumple zone: injuries, not property damage, drive motorcycle claims, which is why UM/UIM...Class A motorhomeA bus-sized motorhome is a vehicle and a home at once; the policy has to cover both roles, and a breakdown far...Class B camper vanBuilt on a van chassis and driven daily by many owners, a Class B is closest to an auto policy with RV...Class C motorhomeA cutaway truck chassis with a cab-over bunk: rental fleets favour them, so check whether a policy covers...ATV / UTVMostly ridden off-road, where an auto policy does not reach and a homeowners policy often excludes motorised...SnowmobileSeasonal by nature; a lay-up option keeps theft and fire cover through the summer at little cost.Scooter / mopedWhether a small scooter needs registration and insurance depends on engine size and state; when it does, the...

Other lines

Collision · Comprehensive · Uninsured / underinsured motorist · Medical payments / PIP · Custom parts and equipment · Total loss replacement · Agreed value · Full-timer liability · Vacation (campsite) liability · Personal effects · Emergency expense · Roadside assistance and towing · Storage / lay-up option

Written from standard RV and motorcycle policy forms; your policy's wording governs. Checked 2026-10-23. Methodology.