Personal Injury Protection
Not all states require personal injury protection insurance but it is available should you desire to have it. Personal injury protection insurance is also known as PIP coverage. PIP coverage is intended for medical expenses that are caused from an automobile accident. It doesn't matter who is at fault for the accident when you use your PIP coverage.
The money you get from your personal injury protection has a limit on it. The limits vary from state to state and are usually anywhere from $1,500 to $250,000. If your medical bills exceed what your PIP coverage will pay, your health insurance company should pay the rest.
Passengers in your vehicle, who may not be on your policy, are also covered by your personal injury protection insurance. Because PIP insurance works on a no-fault basis, this eliminates the need for many acts of fraud and lawsuits in most cases.
Many policies with PIP coverage will also cover lost wages due to injuries from the accident. Of course the lost wages would have to be documented by a doctor who verifies you were injured and could not work.
Some states, like Florida, will only pay up to 80 percent of the medical cost with PIP funds. However you can purchase additional PIP coverage insurance to cover the other 20 percent. Other states will pay 100 percent up to the personal injury protection limitations.
What happens if you don't use all the funds available? Each accident starts over with the same limitations, so the remaining funds cannot be used to pay for automobile repairs.
Your automobile insurance works from a separate limit than your PIP coverage and must be treated as a separate claim. If you happen to be in a state where fault determines the payer, and you are at fault, you will have many claims going at once.
Claims for your vehicle and injuries will be handled separately from the other party's vehicle and injuries. Although it all may sound very complicated, your insurance claims office will handle most of the details for you.
Why do you need this type of coverage if you have health insurance? First, your health insurance will not help pay for the medical expenses of those passengers in your vehicle. And second, they do not pay for any time missed from work. When you are covered by PIP insurance you don't have to use up your vacation time or sick days.
Look over your policy really good and make sure you are covered adequately, and that you have personal injury protection insurance. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but you will feel more secure knowing it's there.