by renditioner » Thu Aug 14, 2008 06:30 am
Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance is a measure you can take to cover for the medical bills you would have to pay in case you suffer any injury in an accident regardless of who is at fault. Accidents can be very taxing, painful in the body as well as to the pocket. If you have personal injury protection, you can stop worrying about any medical bills.
What does PIP cover?
Personal injury protection insurance covers the charge accrued in case of an emergency situation and simultaneous health care treatment when an accident occurs. This coverage protects the driver and the passengers of the driver's car. PIP insurance covers the policyholder, his family member and relations that he has named, the passengers in his car, permitted drivers and in some cases and specific states, any insured individual who gets injured while riding in the car. A pedestrian who gets hit by the vehicle is also covered under this policy.
PIP also provides coverage for lost wages and damages caused due to pain and suffering. You can receive payouts up to the maximum limits of the plan.
With PIP you can cover the cost of:
PIP also provides coverage for lost wages and damages caused due to pain and suffering. You can receive payouts up to the maximum limits of the plan.
With PIP you can cover the cost of:
- Medical costs
- Transportation in case of medical emergency
- Lost wage
- Death by accident
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Benefits to survivor
- Costs of childcare while you or a passenger in your is being treated in the hospital
- Loss of companionship (conditions apply)
How much does personal injury protection pay?
PIP can give you a payout of up to its maximum limit. However, usually there is a cap to the amount paid out under PIP and this level varies from one state to another. While on some states the coverage is considerably lower than what it costs for repair and the medical bills, the policyholders or motorists are asked to purchase additional insurance. These additional insurance includes bodily injury protection, uninsured and underinsure motorist coverage. Many mistake PIP and bodily injury to be the same. However, there are differences between PIP and Bodily Injury coverage.
Why would you purchase personal injury protection?
Having personal injury protection means that you can do away with the need to file a lawsuit since it functions regardless of who is at fault. In no-fault states requiring PIP, the drivers are not allowed to sue anyone for damages. They have to make a claim with their own insurance company. They can only pursue damages from another driver at fault if the damages incurred reach a set limit. In case of a death or very serious injuries, the injured party can sue the other driver and can receive payouts beyond the PIP payout cap.
Which are the states where PIP is mandatory?
- Delaware
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Texas
PIP is mandatory in few states and in others it is offered as a choice. It depends on your state's auto insurance laws whether you are required to purchase PIP coverage.
Related Discussions:
Hello people ,I am in a predicament now.Imagine I have a Personal Injury protection and I had an accident while travelling in a car with 4 other people. That's why I need to ask- what does pip cover ?? Will it cover the medical expenses for all the people,who were in the vehicle at the time of the accident? or is it just me?Do the other people also need to have a policy similar to the one I have or any other policy to cover their medical bills ?
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 09:33 am Post Subject:
I'm not clear was it your vehicle the accident happened in or another persons? Also what state are you in?
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:57 am Post Subject:
Yeah it's my vehicle only .. I am from Florida
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:09 pm Post Subject:
PIP or personal injury protection coverage extends its benefits also to the passengers of the vehicle. Well, you may receive coverage only upto the limit of the policy depending upon the amount you are carrying on it. If you have sufficiently high policy limit, its likely to cover the medical expenses of the people accompanying at the time of accident.
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 01:55 pm Post Subject:
Nope... in Florida if your passengers are listed on their own policies then they get PIP from those policies, not yours. Also, even if they live with a relative with PIP but are not listed on that policy, they get PIP from their relatives policy. If they don't have access to their own PIP, only then would they get PIP from your policy. Each person would get $10,000 in coverage.
If this was a 1 car accident it sounds like you may be a fault. If so, they might also have a claim against your policies bodily injury coverage. They have to have some type of permanency to their injury but in Florida this is almost always the case.
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 04:39 am Post Subject:
Hi renditioner..I'd very much agree with tcope at this one.
If they don't have access to their own PIP, only then would they get PIP from your policy.
..see even logically there is no point in covering someone who is already covered for the same event. We do have instances in the global insurance industry...wherein people have opted for more than one insurance programs covering the same events. But when the event occurred the policy that was obtained first would be the only one to help him unless ofcrs the loss was of a higher magnitude that demanded a greater worth of coverage & hence needed to fetch the excess amount from the latter one! Fatman
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 07:34 pm Post Subject:
Usually policies cover the people riding in your car up to a certain amount. Reread your policy. Most common case is that your passengers are covered but not yourself.
Good luck!
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 08:12 pm Post Subject:
Usually policies cover the people riding in your car up to a certain amount. Reread your policy. Most common case is that your passengers are covered but not yourself.
But in this case covering yourself is exactly what PIP does.Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 08:43 pm Post Subject:
Reread your policy. Most common case is that your passengers are covered but not yourself.
I think you are confusing PIP with BI coverages...PIP would most certainly cover the insured. BI, not so muchPosted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 03:13 pm Post Subject:
Have you talk with your local insurance agency? If yet. I suggest you to talk it now with them.
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 05:38 pm Post Subject:
In Florida, if a person needs transportation to & from his doctor visits (treatment is for injuries from an auto accident) does auto insurance pay a benefit for transportation? If so, are there specifications as to who must provide the transportation (family member, licensed transportation company, cab)?
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