When you purchase or renew an auto insurance policy, one of your most important decisions is which type of legal coverage to choose.

It's known as the tort option. Choosing unwisely could cost you a lot of money, according to Call 4 Action reporter Meghan Jones.

"With limited tort, you're limiting your right to sue for pain and suffering," insurance agent Donna Fleming says. "You can still collect for any physical damage you've incurred, or any bodily injury."

Limited tort is cheaper. It allows you to recover only out-of-pocket expenses, such as medical bills, lost wages and property damage.

Full tort costs more, but it permits you to recover out-of-pocket expenses. It also includes non-monetary damages and pain and suffering.

"If you want to sue just for the inconvenience of having been hit and that sort of thing, you can do that with full tort," Fleming says.

There are some occasions when limited tort policyholders can receive damages for pain and suffering.

Those exceptions include:

If they are hit by a drunken driver.

If the other driver's vehicle is registered in a state other than Pennsylvania.

If the other driver intentionally injured the person.

If the other driver had no insurance on the vehicle.

The law also provides that a limited tort policyholder can recover for pain and suffering if the injury is serious -- but ambiguity is a problem.

"We don't know until we get to the courts," Fleming says.

Those who can afford the full tort option should choose it, Jones says.