Can I receive my settlement amount before PIP dispute?

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 09:33 pm Post Subject:

The car rental company is supposed to pay the 10K

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 01:47 pm Post Subject:

hi Max,

it occurred in Florida and it did involve a rental car which i was driving at the time.

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 01:51 pm Post Subject:

Are you a Florida resident? Do you have your own auto insurance? Did your rental include PIP coverage?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 04:24 am Post Subject:

Most likely the the rental company is providing PIP as a condition of the vehicle operating on FL roads. Why are the disputing this? On what grounds?

You can settle with the other carrier but you need to keep in mind if you are not give PIP then you may be responsible for paying your medical bills out of that $35k.

There is really no reason to settle for the $35k until you know if PIP is going to be paid. I fail to see how the rental company would be able to deny PIP. If they did, you'd then also have an argument that the other vehicle owes you PIP. I don't know if that would fly as it's a very technical (legal) issue. The State of FL is simply not going to allow the use of a vehicle without it offering PIP.

Will the $10K in PIP address all of your medical expenses?

If PIP has not been paid and 30 days has gone by, file a complaint with the FL Office of Insurance Regulation. If they don't pay w/in 30 days they need to have given you a reason.

FL PIP is mandated by the vehicle being registered in FL.

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 03:29 pm Post Subject:

Thanks for the reply tcope and Max

No, i am not a FL resident. I was on vacation and got into an accident in a rental car during my stay. I spent a day at the hospital, ran tests and all. Med bills came out 10K when i was discharged.

The rental car company is trying to get my personal insurance to pay the 10K for the medical bills.

It's been going on for a year now and i'm considering telling them i will do a PIP suit if this isn't resolved soon.

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 04:24 pm Post Subject:

You would win as one of those carriers need to pay you PIP. Here is what should happen....both carriers should either pay or deny within 30 days. Here is what is happening, both carriers are simply pointing the finger at the other carrier and doing nothing.

My recommendation is that you 1) file the complaint as I mentioned above and 2) send a letter to both carriers informing them that they had 30 days to either pay or deny PIP and as this was not done, they now owe PIP coverage.

Send the rental company a copy of the following:

(4) PAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—Benefits due from an insurer under ss. 627.730-627.7405 are primary, except that benefits received under any workers’ compensation law must be credited against the benefits provided by subsection (1) and are due and payable as loss accrues upon receipt of reasonable proof of such loss and the amount of expenses and loss incurred which are covered by the policy issued under ss. 627.730-627.7405. If the Agency for Health Care Administration provides, pays, or becomes liable for medical assistance under the Medicaid program related to injury, sickness, disease, or death arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, the benefits under ss. 627.730-627.7405 are subject to the Medicaid program. However, within 30 days after receiving notice that the Medicaid program paid such benefits, the insurer shall repay the full amount of the benefits to the Medicaid program.
(e) The insurer of the owner of a motor vehicle shall pay personal injury protection benefits for:
4. Accidental bodily injury sustained in this state by any other person while occupying the owner’s motor vehicle or, if a resident of this state, while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle if the injury is caused by physical contact with such motor vehicle, if the injured person is not:
a. The owner of a motor vehicle with respect to which security is required under ss. 627.730-627.7405; or

I don't think your vehicle is registered in FL. As such, your vehicle is not subject to 627.730-627.7405 (your carrier is not required to offer PIP... your vehicle was never in FL). So the rental company needs to pay PIP. Rental companies see hundreds of these claims... of course they should know if they are required to offer PIP. They just want to throw crap out at the other carriers to see if they are dumb enough to pay. Since no one is beating down the rental companies door they are simply not going to do anything.

I'm prettys sure the info above is correct... it's been awhile since I've looked at a PIP claim for FL. What sticks in my head is that your carrier has no obligation to offer PIP as you don't have it on your policy and your vehicle was not being used in FL. So your carrier has no obligation to offer FL PIP. The rental car is registered in FL so it _has_ to have PIP coverage.

I doubt your medical bills were exactly $10,000. If they are over that amount then you may be responsible for the the difference. If this is true, you'd want to negotiate the bills down with the medical providers. It's not unusual for them to accept 50% less (but they were already paid a full $10,000 on their bill).

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 03:54 pm Post Subject:

thanks so much Tcope!

My med bills were 16K before but i got it down to 10K

I figured the rental car company is playing games and i have sent them a 30 day notice or i will take action against them.

I hope this gets resolved soon, thanks so much again !!!

:)