Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and Medical Coverage that Your Car Insurance Policy will Pay For

Medical payments coverage in your auto insurance policy pays for injuries incurred to people while they are in your car. It covers people riding in your car, you and your family if you are hit by a car while you are walking, or you if you are injured while riding in someone else’s car (after the limits of the driver’s insurance are reached).

KEEP IN MIND: This is not a medical insurance policy. This is very basic coverage that only covers injuries related to vehicle accidents, and typically only up to a certain dollar limit that you can increase by paying more money in your premium payments.

Not all states require you to have auto insurance medical coverage, so make sure you know your state’s minimum requirements before getting an insurance quote. Click here to see your whether or not your state requires PIP coverage

Protecting Yourself with Auto Insurance Medical Coverage

Even if your state does not require medical coverage in your auto insurance policy, consider having this coverage if you are going to be transporting others frequently. Whether your passengers are family or friends, you will want to make sure they are protected in case of an accident. Auto accidents can happen to even the most careful drivers, and if you frequently use your vehicle to drive others around then you will want to be sure that you are protected by auto insurance medical coverage in your policy. Medical coverage in your auto insurance policy could provide the necessary payments to cover any medical costs after an accident.

No Fault States and PIP

Some states do not take who was at fault for the accident into account. In these no-fault states there is a form of medical expense coverage called Personal Injury Protection or PIP. In addition to medical bills, PIP covers lost wages, certain services (such as child care) that the covered individual is unable to perform, and some funeral expenses. Some no-fault states also allow you to make your health insurance your primary medical coverage, reducing your premiums for PIP significantly.

Your Medical Bills

Whether you are filing a medical payment claim with your own car insurance company or settling with someone else’s insurance carrier, you should be aware that none of your medical providers can submit the medical bills on your behalf. Any bill you want paid by a specific insurance company, must be sent directly to that company. Even if claims representatives from two companies are communicating, they can not exchange medical bills. From the beginning of treatment for your injury, be certain to ask every facility that is treating you to provide you with a copy of the bill, and keep a copy or the original of each one in case one is misplaced at the insurance company or lost in the mail.

It is important to be aware that there may be a reimbursement clause or duplicate payment clause or both. These clauses apply if you collect an Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Settlement, or Auto Bodily Injury Settlement for the same bills as those submitted for your medical payment claim. The clause, also known as subrogation, will require you to repay your insurance company for any bills they paid that you later received payment for. You can’t recover twice for the same bill.

TIP: When settling an injury claim, be aware of the possibility that you will need to repay your insurance company if the settlement money you are receiving pays for a bill that has already been taken care of by other types of coverage in your auto insurance policy.

As with any type of auto insurance coverage, you will need to compare car insurance quotes and determine what level of medical coverage fits your budget. To receive a quote on your auto insurance with medical payments coverage include, click here to visit the Free Advice quote center where you can get several reputable agents in your area give you a free no obligation quote.

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