A policy lists 100/300/50 liability limits. One injured person has $140,000 of covered bodily injury damages. Can that person collect $140,000 because the policy has $300,000 available per accident?
Not under the split-limit assumptions used here. The first number caps bodily injury payment for one person at $100,000. The second caps bodily injury payments for all people in one accident at $300,000. The third is a separate $50,000 property damage cap per accident.
To solve a split-limit question, apply the per-person bodily injury limits first, then the accident-wide bodily injury limit, and calculate property damage separately. The numbers below are fictional policy choices, not legal minimums, coverage recommendations, or official exam questions.
What does 100/300/50 mean in an insurance exam question?
The Texas Department of Insurance's auto guide explains this three-part notation through bodily injury per person, bodily injury per accident, and property damage. We use different hypothetical limits to practice the structure, not to reproduce a state's minimum requirements.
| 100/300/50 entry | Meaning in this guide | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | $100,000 bodily injury per injured person | $100,000 for all losses combined |
| 300 | $300,000 bodily injury for the accident | An extra $300,000 added after per-person payments |
| 50 | $50,000 property damage for the accident | $50,000 for each damaged car |
A coverage limit does not establish coverage or legal responsibility. For all exercises, assume the insured is liable, every stated third-party loss is covered, the amounts are accepted, and there are no deductibles, other insurance, derivative claims, or prior payments. Exclude defense expenses and policy terms not described in the problem.
These assumptions let you isolate the limit calculation without pretending that a real liability settlement is determined by a three-number string alone.
Per-person bodily injury limit: a worked example
Given: Limits are 100/300/50. One person has $140,000 in covered bodily injury damages, and covered property damage is $40,000.
Bodily injury payment is the lesser of $140,000 and the $100,000 per-person limit: $100,000. The $300,000 accident cap does not enlarge that individual's limit.
Property payment is the lesser of $40,000 and $50,000: $40,000.
Total payable for the stated losses is $140,000. Of the $180,000 total covered damages stated, $40,000 lies above these policy limits.
The unused $200,000 under the bodily injury accident cap cannot be transferred to that person's claim under the split-limit structure. Nor can unused property damage capacity increase bodily injury coverage.
Example 2: several people, but the accident cap is not reached
Given: The same 100/300/50 limits. Person A has $120,000 bodily injury damages; Person B has $80,000. Property damage is $20,000.
Apply the individual cap separately:
- A: $120,000 reduced to $100,000.
- B: $80,000 remains $80,000.
Their capped sum is $180,000, below the $300,000 bodily injury accident limit. Add the separately covered $20,000 property loss. Total payment is $200,000.
The policy does not automatically pay its entire $300,000 bodily injury limit just because two people are injured. The stated damages, individual limits, and accident cap all matter.
Per-person vs. per-accident limits: a multiple-injury example
Given: Limits are 100/300/50. Four people have the following covered bodily injury amounts in one accident. Property damage is $65,000.
| Person | Stated bodily injury damages | After $100,000 per-person cap |
|---|---|---|
| A | $180,000 | $100,000 |
| B | $110,000 | $100,000 |
| C | $90,000 | $90,000 |
| D | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Total | $420,000 | $330,000 |
The per-person-capped sum is $330,000. The accident limit then caps the aggregate bodily injury payment at $300,000.
Property payment is capped separately at $50,000. The maximum aggregate payment available for these specified losses is therefore $350,000.
Total stated damages are $420,000 + $65,000 = $485,000. The amount above these limits is $485,000 − $350,000 = $135,000: $120,000 bodily injury plus $15,000 property damage.
Why the accident limit does not determine each settlement
The table does not allocate the final $300,000 among all four people. It identifies the individual ceilings and the aggregate ceiling. Without settlement allocation instructions or applicable rules, you cannot claim that A receives $100,000, B receives $100,000, C receives $90,000, and D receives $40,000: that totals $330,000.
Do not invent “first claimant gets paid first” or a proportional distribution. The question must supply an allocation rule before a specific capped claimant-by-claimant distribution can be calculated.
Property-damage liability limit: two damaged vehicles
Given: Limits remain 100/300/50. In one accident, two other vehicles sustain covered property damage of $35,000 and $25,000. No bodily injury is involved.
Combined property damage is $60,000. The property damage limit caps total payment at $50,000, not $60,000 and not $100,000.
The unused bodily injury limits do not cover the extra $10,000. The policy has separate categories, not one freely transferable $450,000 fund.
If asked how the $50,000 is divided between the two owners, identify the missing allocation information. The total-cap answer alone does not decide the distribution.
A compact calculation method
For each person, write the lesser of that person's covered bodily injury amount and the per-person cap. Sum those limited amounts. The bodily injury total is the lesser of that sum and the accident cap.
Then total the stated covered property damage and apply the property damage accident cap. Add the two categories only after applying their respective limits.
In symbols for these simplified cases:
BI total = minimum of [sum of individually capped BI amounts] and [BI accident limit].
PD total = minimum of [total covered PD] and [PD accident limit].
Aggregate payment = BI total + PD total.
These expressions determine the totals for our supplied loss model. They do not settle questions of coverage, fault, policy interpretation, or allocation among competing claimants.
Split-limit auto insurance practice questions
1. Limits are 50/100/25. Three injured people have covered damages of $80,000, $60,000, and $20,000. Property damage is $30,000. What is the aggregate payment?
2. Limits are 100/300/50. One person has covered bodily injury damages of $90,000. Three property owners have covered damage of $10,000 each. What is the aggregate payment?
3. Limits are 100/300/50. One person has $170,000 bodily injury damages, with no other loss. Someone proposes paying $170,000 because it is below $300,000. What is the error?
Answers
1: Individually capped BI amounts are $50,000, $50,000, and $20,000. Their $120,000 sum becomes $100,000 under the accident cap. PD is capped at $25,000. Total: $125,000. The $190,000 stated damages exceed that by $65,000.
2: BI is $90,000. PD totals $30,000, below its $50,000 cap. Aggregate: $120,000.
3: The proposal ignores the per-person limit. The covered BI payment is capped at $100,000 under the given structure, even though accident-wide capacity remains.
Split-limit questions beyond reading the three numbers
Can unused bodily injury coverage pay extra property damage?
Not in the split-limit policy assumed here. Each category has its own boundary. A large unused bodily injury limit does not increase a $50,000 property-damage limit. The TDI auto-insurance guide distinguishes the person, accident, and property limits; the exercise limits here are hypothetical, not a statement of a state's minimum required coverage.
Is the property limit for each damaged car?
No. The third number is the property-damage cap for the accident in these problems. Combine the covered third-party property claims before applying that cap. Do not multiply it by the number of damaged vehicles.
Can I use the accident cap before the person caps?
That can overstate available bodily injury payment. First cap each person's covered damages at the per-person maximum, add those capped figures, and compare the sum with the accident maximum. When the aggregate is insufficient, this identifies the maximum total, not the legal allocation among claimants.
Is a combined single limit solved with this formula?
No. A combined single limit uses a different stated structure. Do not turn one combined limit into three invented split limits. This article covers split-limit questions; a problem about a different contract needs its own supplied terms.
Keep liability limits separate from other insurance math
These examples concern third-party liability, not the cost to replace the insured's own vehicle. Actual cash value and replacement cost address a different loss-settlement question. Health cost-sharing calculations use deductibles and a member's out-of-pocket maximum instead of these liability caps.
Return to Property and Casualty Insurance, then try the general insurance practice test. Write the three limits in full words before using them. The distinction between “one person,” “one accident,” and “one property category” is the skill to carry into the next question.
Sources and verification notes
TDI's automobile-insurance guide was checked on September 18, 2026 for split-limit notation. All coverage, liability, amounts, and exclusions from the simplified model are supplied assumptions. The limits are not state minimums or recommendations. Aggregate computations were checked programmatically; no unstated allocation among competing claimants is invented.
Official source pages were revisited on September 18, 2026. No external expert review is claimed.
- Texas Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance GuideThe article uses fictional 100/300/50 and 50/100/25 limits, not state minimums or recommendations. It calculates aggregate limits only and does not invent allocation among competing claimants.Checked September 18, 2026
Written by the ExamsLib editorial team. Practice examples in this guide are original and are not official exam questions. Exam rules change; the candidate bulletin from your licensing authority is the final word. Found an error? Contact us.
