Personal Injury Protection Insurance: Do you need it?
Posted Saturday, February 24, 2007 by Ed Harper
Personal injury protection (pip) insurance covers you, your family members and those riding in your car for medical expenses and any wage loss. The coverage will also provide for some additional items such as loss of services and yard work too! In sum, the benefits far outweigh the expense of this coverage and I highly encourage my clients to obtain this coverage.
This coverage is important to the consumer and provides a relatively inexpensive mechanism to help you and your loved one recover following an accident. If you do not want this coverage, you must sign a written rejection provided to you by your insurance carrier. An insurance agent should advise you of the valuable nature of this benefit prior to waiving this coverage.
The standard amount of coverage is $10,000 for reasonable and necessary medical care or up to three years whichever comes first. Lost wages are covered for the standard $10,000 at $200 per week starting at the beginning of the third week after an accident. The other coverage amounts vary respectively.
One can see any physician of their own choosing. This allows many consumers to go outside of their PPO and HMO provider lists, Thus, they can see a chiropractor or massage therapist for injuries even if this health care provider is not within their plan.
The coverage applies whether or not the beneficiary is at fault. I have been able to recover wage loss and medical care for an injured person even though they were jay-walking while crossing the road. The man had sustained a nearly catastrophic leg injury and had lost 6 months of work. In certain circumstances this may be the only amount one could recover when injured in a car collision.
Further, if you are a pedestrian and struck by another vehicle, your medical care can come from the drivers insurance policy provided they have personal injury protection (pip). If the medical expenses exceed the amount of that driver’s insurance, you can also open up a pip claim with your own insurance. Or if the other driver does not have pip coverage, you can make the claim against your insurance policy.
Call me if you have any questions regarding personal injury protection or any other issues regarding your insurance.
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