AUTO ACCIDENTS: Understanding Texas Auto Insurance: PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION

Are you maximizing the benefits of your auto insurance policy?

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is a valuable, but often overlooked coverage that you can provide important financial support after a car wreck.

What is Personal Injury Protection Coverage?

PIP is a coverage that you can buy when you purchased your automobile insurance. If you have the misfortune of being in a car wreck, then PIP will help cover the costs of medical bills and lost wages that you incur as a result of the wreck.

The coverage can apply in several situations. First, if your own car is in a wreck, then the coverage extends to everyone that is in your vehicle. What does that mean? If you and a friend are in the car, then both you and your friend get PIP coverage. If someone is borrowing your car and is hit, then that person gets PIP coverage.

But personal injury protection coverage on your policy even follows you if you are not in your vehicle. If you are hit while in another vehicle, whether you’re a passenger or driver, then your personal injury protection covers you. If you’re a pedestrian, and you’re hit by another driver, then your personal injury protection covers you.

How much coverage do you have?

Personal Injury Protection coverage is so important that Texas law provides that you have the coverage unless you have specifically rejected it in writing. But it’s not unlimited. You only have benefits up to the amount of coverage you have purchased. In Texas, if you purchased it, then you have at least $2,500.00 in coverage — that’s the minimum allowed by law. The minimum, $5,000.00, and $10,000.00 of coverage are the most popular. The most I’ve had a client purchase was another lawyer who had $100,000.00 of coverage.

What are two big advantages of Personal Injury Protection?

First, PIP pays almost immediate reimbursement. In a car wreck case, you generally don’t get interim payments from the other driver’s insurance. Instead, you have to wait for any type of payment until the claim is resolved. But with PIP, you can send your bills in as you receive them, and your insurance company will process the bills and pay you for your expenses. It is not immediate, but it can be done quickly in most cases.

This can be important to help compensate you if you miss time off of work or if you need funds to pay your deductibles for your medical care.

Second, you do not have to reimburse your insurance company if you make a recovery against a third party. Most insurance policies, including most health insurance policies, have a provision that the insurance company will pay your bills, but if you make a recovery, then you have to reimburse the insurance company for what they paid on your behalf.

PIP is not like that. You can collect the PIP benefits from your auto insurance company and then use the same bills in your claim against the other driver, and you don’t have to reimburse your PIP carrier for what they paid you. This can be a huge benefit to people in a wreck.

What does this look like in the real world?

Let’s say you are in your car and you are hit by another driver. You have $10,000.00 of personal injury protection on your auto insurance policy.

As a result of your injuries, you go to your doctor, who sends you to physical therapy. You also miss a week of work. The cost of your medical bills and the amount of lost wages you incurred total $9,500.00.

As your bills come in, we can submit them to your automobile insurance company, and they will write you one or more checks paying you the $9,500.00. At the same time, we can take those medical bills and lost earnings and make them part of your claim against the other driver. So the $9,500.00 will also be part of that claim.

Conclusion

So make sure you order personal injury protection insurance when you buy your auto insurance. And if you’ve been in a wreck and need help navigating your PIP benefits or filing a claim, contact us today. We’ll guide you through the process and ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

For more information, check out these articles:

Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Claims