How exactly does the medical payments coverage section of your auto insurance policy work? What does the medical payments cover and not cover? How does the medical payments coverage coordinate benefits with your health insurance policy?
Automobile insurance is necessary if you want to operate a motor vehicle in every state of the United States. Because the need for insurance varies from person to person, automobile insurance and its rates can be very different depending on the type and amount of coverage that you decide to purchase. Usually, people that own new models in cars would be required to pay a higher rate due to the fact that the car can be more expensive to fix in case of an accident, while people that own old cars usually only get the minimum coverage that the state requires. Although most people think of automobile insurance as covering the car and allowing them to get their car fixed in case of an unfortunate accident, it is important to highlight that car insurance policies in all the states also require you to have a minimum medical insurance coverage (even if you have health insurance).
This is very common due to the fact that Americans and cars do not mix well together. In 2005 there were an estimated 6,420,000 automobile accidents in the Unites States. Out of these disastrous car accidents, 2.9 million people were injured and approximately 42,636 people killed. Statistics are assumed to only get worse through 2006 and what has gone by of 2007 because more and more Americans are hitting the roads making automobiles a necessity in this country. Overall there are an estimated 243,023,485 automobiles in the United States which makes this country the highest vehicle market in the whole world.
Although some people may argue that they do not need medical coverage within their automobile insurance policies, the fact of the matter is that it’s required by every single state in the nation. All of the states require the driver to purchase a minimum amount of Personal Injury Liability and Property Damage, but what some states are missing is making the Bodily injury Liability (the coverage that doesn’t protect you, but the other party involved in the accident) a required one. An example of the states that do not make the Bodily Injury Mandatory is the state of Florida. Because of this lack of regulations, residents of this state are subject to high risk of subrogation in the case that they do not have Bodily Injury and the accident is their fault.
Medical coverage in automobile insurance policies is necessary because it can add to the treatment you will receive if you are injured in an automobile accident. Usually what this type of coverage gives you is the security of paying for your medical expenses if you are injured and funeral services in the unfortunate event that you are killed in the accident. It is also important to note that this coverage can assist you in case of an injury when you are riding in another vehicle and it can also cover the family members enrolled in the policy (wife and teenage drivers) in the event that they get injured while being the passengers of another vehicle or even while walking somewhere.
Currently there are 12 states in the United States of America not counting Puerto Rico that have no-fault auto insurance laws. It is important to note that with this type of insurance has a form of medical insurance included in the actual automobile insurance policy. This type of coverage in those twelve states is called Personal Injury Protection or PIP. In addition to covering what is revealed by the name (“Personal” it covers you) it can protect you from such things as lost wages, child care and other stuff related to it. The best thing about it, is that combined with your health insurance coverage, this can cover you for 100% of the medical related expenses.
People think that they have enough coverage with health insurance, but they don’t realize that the medical part of your automobile insurance is key when it comes to an unexpected automobile accident. One important thing to highlight is that depending on the amount of money you pay monthly, the higher or lower your coverage will be. With higher deductibles, the out of pocket expenses after an accident would be more costly. If on the other hand you have no deductible or a low deductible the more you will be covered in case of an accident.
