Ryan Zavodnick | October 18, 2026 | Car Accidents \ Pennsylvania Law
Can you switch from limited tort to full tort in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Changing your tort election is a phone call and a signed form with your insurer, and the change applies to accidents that happen after it takes effect. It does not reach back to a crash that already happened. Anyone who has been hurt in a crash under a limited tort policy should have the claim reviewed before assuming the election settles it.
Pennsylvania drivers pick a tort option when they buy auto insurance, and most of them pick the cheaper one without a clear picture of what it trades away. A limited tort election saves a modest amount per year and gives up the right to claim pain and suffering in most crashes. Buying that right back is one of the few insurance decisions that can be made in a single afternoon.
What limited tort actually costs you
Limited tort does not limit your medical coverage or your lost wages. It limits noneconomic damages, the part of a claim that compensates for the pain, the lost sleep, the year of physical therapy and the things you cannot do anymore.
Which parts of a claim survive under limited tort?
Medical bills, wage loss and property damage are unaffected. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department notes that medical benefits coverage carries a $5,000 minimum, and that is the first money that pays treatment regardless of fault or tort election.
Which part disappears?
The pain and suffering claim, unless an exception applies. In a crash with real injuries and modest medical bills, that is most of the claim’s value, which is why the savings on the premium tend to be small next to what the election can cost once.
How the buyback works
Switching is administrative rather than legal. Call your agent or carrier, ask to change your tort election to full tort, and sign the election form they send. The change takes effect when the carrier says it does, generally at issuance or renewal, and the premium goes up by a percentage of the liability portion of your policy.
Does the switch apply to an accident that already happened?
No. The election in force on the date of the crash is the one that governs that claim. This is the single most common misunderstanding about the buyback, and it is why the change is worth making before anything happens rather than after.
Does your election cover everyone in the household?
Generally yes. A tort election applies to the named insured and to household family members who are not separately insured, which means one person’s choice at the kitchen table can affect a spouse or a child’s claim years later.
What does it cost?
It varies by carrier, coverage limits and driving record, so the honest answer is to ask for both quotes and compare them. Many drivers find the difference smaller than they expected once they see the two numbers side by side.
When limited tort does not block a claim
The exceptions are written into 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, and several of them come up regularly in Philadelphia crashes.
Serious injury
An injury involving death, serious impairment of a body function, or permanent serious disfigurement takes the claim outside the limitation. Whether an injury qualifies is decided on the medical evidence, which is a matter for a doctor and a judge rather than for the adjuster’s first letter.
The other driver’s conduct or insurance
The statute lists four circumstances that restore full tort rights based on the person at fault:
- The at-fault driver is convicted of, or accepts ARD for, driving under the influence in that crash
- The at-fault driver is operating a vehicle registered in another state
- The at-fault driver intended to cause the injury
- The at-fault driver had not maintained the financial responsibility the law requires
The vehicle you were in
This is the one people mix up. A person otherwise bound by limited tort keeps full tort rights when injured while an occupant of a motor vehicle other than a private passenger motor vehicle. The exception turns on the vehicle you were riding in, not on what the other driver was driving. Riding in a work truck, a box truck or a bus when the crash happens can take your claim outside the limitation; being hit by one does not, by itself.
There is also a separate exception for claims against a business that designed, manufactured, repaired or serviced a vehicle, where the injury traces to a defect that business caused or failed to correct.
Our Philadelphia limited tort page goes through the exceptions in more detail, and our comparison of limited and full tort covers the election itself.
Common questions about changing your tort election
How do I find out which one I have?
It is printed on your declarations page, usually near the liability limits, and your agent can confirm it in a minute. Check it rather than assuming, because drivers are often wrong about which box was checked.
If I switch to full tort, does my old crash become a full tort claim?
No. The claim is governed by the election in effect on the day of the crash, and nothing you do afterward changes that.
I have limited tort and I was hurt badly, is it worth calling a lawyer?
Yes. The exceptions are the whole question in those cases, and whether an injury meets the serious injury standard is exactly the kind of dispute that gets resolved with medical evidence rather than by an insurer’s opinion.
Does limited tort apply if I was hit while walking?
No. Pennsylvania’s appellate courts have held that the limited tort restrictions do not reach pedestrians injured by motor vehicles, so the election on your own policy does not limit that claim. The analysis changes if you were getting into or out of a vehicle when it happened.
Does the election cover my spouse and children?
Generally yes. A tort election applies to the named insured and to household family members who are not separately insured, which means one signature at the kitchen table can shape a claim your spouse or child brings years later.
If you are already in a claim under limited tort
The election is not the end of the analysis, and insurers sometimes treat it as though it is. If you were riding in something other than a private passenger car, the other driver was impaired, uninsured or driving a vehicle registered in another state, or you are still treating months later, the question of what you can recover is open.
Zavodnick & Lasky Personal Injury Lawyers handle Pennsylvania car accident claims from Philadelphia on a contingency basis, with the fee coming out of the recovery. Call (215) 875-7030, or start with our Philadelphia car accident insurance claims page.
