Insurance: PIP Get It!

I'm Rahlita Thornton from the Thornton Esquire Law Group. Today, I want to talk to you about another insurance policy coverage issue that a lot of people are familiar with. But a lot of people just say, "Oh, I'm not going to get that because it's too expensive." And that is personal injury protection coverage (PIP).

PIP benefits provide you with coverage for your medical bills, for your lost wages, and for those extra things that you have to do when you have an accident. And for PIP benefits, it doesn't matter whether you're at fault or the other person is at fault.

Now, this coverage is something that you probably have to ask your insurance agent about. In order to reject this kind of coverage, you're supposed to sign something saying you specifically reject it. And if you don't specifically reject it, you're supposed to automatically have it.

But, insurance companies don't really like to sell it because it's a no-fault insurance coverage. And that means that they have to pay regardless of whether you were at fault or the other person was at fault. You do have to pay extra per month for this coverage, but it's not a whole lot.

You should also check your limits. I had a client recently who had $25,000 worth of PIP, and that means that even if she had been at fault, that much in medical bills and lost wages would have been covered for her regardless.

There are a lot of people out here who don't have insurance. So that's another way we can protect ourselves and have our own policy to make sure that we're covered in case something should happen.

Remember, it's called personal injury protection benefits. And don't let the insurance companies fool you and tell you that MedPay is the same thing. MedPay is another type of coverage. MedPay provides coverage in case you have an accident.

And once you get a recovery, then your recovery is going to be reduced by the amount of MedPay you received. With PIP, the amount you received is not going to be deducted from your recovery amount.

This means that your insurance company is going to expect you to pay them back for MedPay payments. For PIP payments, however, they're not going to expect to be reimbursed, so there is a difference.

So when you call your insurance agents, make sure that you are aware of what you have, and how much coverage you can get. I like to have at least $10,000 of coverage for myself. And, guess what? That also goes to the other people in your car.

If you have an accident and it's a family of four, then each person has up to $10,000 coverage. Or if you have $25,000 in coverage, they have up to $25,000 in PIP coverage each to cover their medical bills and their lost wages. So, if I'm only paying $30 a month for that coverage, I've gotten up to $100,000 of coverage for just one accident.

So that's a very important tip. I hope you'll call your agent and get that protection. If you're having other questions, feel free to give me a call. I'll be happy to talk with you. Again, I'm Rahlita Thornton with Thornton Esquire Law Group.