Personal injury protection (PIP) is also known as no-fault insurance. This special no-fault coverage can help with expenses like medical bills, funeral costs, and lost wages after an accident. Unlike other types of coverage, policyholders receive this protection regardless of who is at fault for the accident.
There are different personal injury protection requirements across the nation, as some states require a minimum amount of PIP coverage. Here is a basic overview of what to know about PIP.
PIP Coverage Basics
After an auto accident, personal injury protection, or PIP, provides financial assistance for drivers and passengers that have sustained injuries. This coverage applies regardless of who is at fault and covers costs beyond just auto accident injuries. In some policies, PIP insurance can help cover costs if you were injured while not in an actual vehicle.
Medical Payments Coverage
One area of coverage PIP often provides is in the cost of medical expenses. A personal injury protection policy will most often cover medical expenses for the injuries sustained in a car accident. In many cases, PIP coverage even helps with your health insurance deductible. Generally, medical expenses related to any passenger injured in your vehicle are also included. Rehabilitation services, nursing services, and ambulance bills are also potentially covered as PIP benefits. This doesn’t replace health insurance, but PIP can work in conjunction with that insurance to cover medical costs.
Lost Wages
Injuries from an auto accident can often lead to missed work and lost wages for extended periods, including days, weeks, or sometimes even years. Doctor’s appointments and medical treatments can also result in a loss of income. Personal injury protection coverage can help cover lost wages resulting from an accident. It even applies to self-employed individuals who have to hire temporary help to get work done.
Funeral Costs
If a car accident leads to death, PIP insurance can generally help with cremation, burial, and funeral expenses. Some coverage plans extend the benefit to cover a survivor’s loss, helping cover the cost of income lost due to the loved one’s passing.
Non-Medical Expenses
Most PIP coverage covers some of the other things that aren’t related to medical bills. You can file a PIP claim for other essential services that may be covered in a PIP auto insurance policy, which may include child care or housecleaning, particularly in cases when injuries prevent you from taking care of these tasks. Other financial strains, such as rehabilitation expenses, may be written into your policy as well.
PIP vs. Other Insurance Products
Carrying liability car insurance doesn’t usually cover the cost of your physical injuries in an automobile accident. More often than not, liability covers the loss and damages done to the other vehicle. Coverage also depends on whose fault the accident is, whereas personal injury protection follows a no-fault process. There are 12 states with no-fault requirements and four fault-based states that require PIP coverage in their minimum coverage requirements.
A standard car insurance policy may have medical coverage for the other driver and loss to someone else’s car, but it won’t benefit you. Even if you have medical treatment expenses included, the policy limits may not be high enough.
Limits on Personal Injury Protection PIP Insurance
Your personal injury protection PIP insurance company will usually have limits on what is covered and to what extent the policy will pay. It doesn’t cover property damage, the other driver’s injuries, injuries sustained during criminal activity, or injuries in an accident when driving for payment. Because of these restrictions, you will want to check with your insurance company on bodily injury liability insurance or property damage coverage.
Getting the Help You Need
If you’ve been injured in an accident, need help with your auto insurance company coverage, or just have questions about what PIP coverage pays, get in touch with 1800AskGary. Ask questions and get the answers, support, and service you deserve through our legal and medical hotline.
