What Does Personal Injury Protection Mean?

Personal injury protection (PIP), sometimes known as “no-fault insurance,” is a feature of motor insurance that pays for medical expenditures incurred due to a car collision. Even if some passengers do not have health insurance, PIP covers medical expenditures for wounded policyholders and passengers.

If the cost of necessary medical care exceeds the PIP limits of a vehicle insurance policy, health insurance may pay additional costs. When numerous persons are wounded in an accident, policies have a per-person maximum, which means that coverage is limited to a particular sum per person.

PIP coverage is only available in no-fault states, and the rules and benefits of auto insurance vary by state. If a policyholder is injured in an automobile accident in a no-fault state, the insurance covers the holder’s medical care regardless of who caused the accident. Even if the other driver does not have insurance, policyholders with PIP coverage can obtain benefits.

In addition to making medical care more reasonable, PIP coverage frequently includes reimbursements for missed wages, child care, and burial costs incurred from the accident. Medical payments coverage is available in some no-fault states, but it usually has minimal limits and does not cover these other expenses.

In Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Puerto Rico, PIP auto insurance is mandatory. In Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas, it is a required add-on to motor insurance. It is an optional add-on in New Hampshire, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. There are 22 states, one territory, and one federal city.

The governments of the above entities determine minimum coverage criteria, which can vary. Insurance companies set maximums, which can vary but normally cost more than $25,000. Except in New Hampshire and Virginia, PIP is not a substitute for liability insurance, needed in every state (including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.).

Liability insurance covers injuries to third parties, such as pedestrians or the driver and passengers of another vehicle. Professional liability insurance is purchased by financial advisers, business owners, landlords, doctors, and lawyers, among others, who are at risk of being sued for damages and injuries.

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