How to Find Auto Insurance Policy Limits Before Your Demand Letter

Every personal injury attorney has been there: you've got a strong case, clear liability, solid medical records — but you don't know what the at-fault driver's policy limits actually are. You send a demand letter, the carrier responds with a low offer, and you're left wondering whether you just left money on the table.

Knowing the policy limits before you draft your demand changes everything. It tells you whether the case is a policy-limits case (demand the full limits and move on) or a case with room to negotiate. It tells you whether to push for a bad faith setup. It tells you whether to invest in litigation or settle fast.

Why Policy Limits Matter So Much

The bodily injury (BI) limits on an auto insurance policy set the ceiling on what the carrier will pay your client — regardless of how bad the injuries are or how clear the liability is. A policy might show:

• $25,000 / $50,000 BI — $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 total per accident
• $100,000 / $300,000 BI — common for drivers with slightly better coverage
• $250,000 / $500,000 or higher — drivers who carry more protection

If your client has $80,000 in medical bills and the at-fault driver carries a $25,000 BI limit, no amount of negotiation will make the carrier pay more than $25,000 out of that policy. But if the limit is $100,000 and the carrier is offering $25,000, you know there's $75,000 of headroom you're not tapping into.

The Traditional Way: Discovery (Slow and Visible)

Historically, attorneys have three ways to find policy limits:

1. Ask the carrier directly. Some carriers will share limits if you provide a signed authorization or a representation letter. But they're not required to, and many won't until you file suit.

2. Serve interrogatories in litigation. Once you've filed suit, you can serve written discovery asking the defendant to disclose their insurance coverage. This works, but it takes weeks and signals to the defense that you're already in litigation mode.

3. Subpoena the carrier. After filing suit, you can subpoena the insurance company for the declarations page. This is the most reliable method, but it's also the slowest and most adversarial.

All three methods share a problem: they're slow, and they tip your hand. The carrier knows you're looking, and they can adjust their negotiation strategy accordingly.

The Faster Way: Verified Policy Limit Lookups

This is where a service like LimitSight comes in. Instead of waiting for discovery or hoping the carrier cooperates, you submit the case details — defendant name, carrier, policy number if you have it, accident info — and receive verified policy limits, often the same day.

The key word is verified. You're not getting an estimate or an AI-generated guess based on "typical" coverage. You're getting the actual limits confirmed through the carrier's own systems.

What You Get

A verified lookup typically returns:

• Bodily injury limit per person — the max payable to any single injured party
• Bodily injury limit per accident — the total max for all injured parties in one accident
• Property damage limit — the max for vehicle/property damage
• Additional coverages — MedPay, PIP, umbrella policies if applicable
• Verification method — how the limits were confirmed

When It Makes Sense

• Before sending a demand letter — so you know whether you're in a limits case or a negotiation case
• When evaluating a new intake — to decide whether a case is worth taking on
• Before filing suit — to confirm that litigation is worth the cost
• In high-volume firms — batch lookups for your entire caseload so every demand is backed by real numbers

What to Do With the Limits Once You Have Them

Once you know the real limits, your strategy gets clearer:

• If the limits are low and your client's damages exceed them, demand the limits. If the carrier refuses, you've set up a potential bad faith claim.

• If the limits are high and the carrier is lowballing, you know exactly how much room you have to push.

• If there's an umbrella or excess policy, you can structure your demand to trigger that coverage.

• If the limits are state minimums and your client is seriously injured, you may need to pivot to UIM/underinsured motorist coverage through your client's own policy.

Don't Settle Blind

Sending a demand letter without knowing the policy limits is like bidding at an auction without knowing the item's value. You might get lucky, but more often, you'll either over-demand (and get ignored) or under-demand (and leave money behind).

Verified policy limit lookups remove the guesswork. You know the ceiling before you start negotiating, and that knowledge shapes every decision you make — from the demand amount to whether to file suit to whether to settle quickly.

LimitSight delivers verified auto insurance policy limits for State Farm, Progressive, Nationwide, and other top carriers — often the same day. Run your first lookup and see exactly what you're working with.