Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Auto Insurance (2024)

Getting into a car accident is a terrible experience, especially if you or one of your passengers is injured. While your health insurance can help pay for injuries resulting from a car accident, it doesn’t cover expenses like lost wages.

Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage is an auto insurance requirement in 16 states and an optional add-on in several others. It covers medical expenses for you or your passengers after a car accident. Personal injury protection (PIP) auto insurance also handles related expenses, like funeral costs and essential services.

Read on to learn how PIP insurance can help you and your passengers after a car accident. Then, compare quotes with as many companies as possible to find the best rates.

What is personal injury protection?

Personal injury protection is a type of car insurance that helps pay for medical expenses in several situations, including the following:

• You or your passengers are injured in an accident.
• You’re injured as a passenger in someone else’s car.
• A car injures you while you’re walking or bicycling.

While it might sound similar to bodily injury liability auto insurance, PIP coverage is not the same. Bodily injury insurance covers damage you cause to others in an at-fault auto accident, while PIP coverage takes care of your medical needs.

Many states require PIP coverage before you can drive, but you can also buy it in states that don’t. While it often covers some of the same medical events as your health insurance, PIP coverage is written explicitly for car-related injuries.

What is covered by personal injury protection?

PIP insurance helps pay expenses related to injuries sustained in a car accident. While these expenses vary by state, they typically include the following:

• Hospitalization
• Operations
• Physical therapy
• Lost wages due to being unable to work
• Ambulance fees
• Funeral expenses
• Essential services when you can’t perform normal duties yourself, such as childcare or house cleaning

As a general rule of thumb, PIP car insurance covers anything reasonably related to a car accident injury.

What is the difference between PIP and no-fault insurance?

PIP coverage and no-fault auto insurance sometimes refer to the same thing — it all depends on your state laws.

States have either no-fault or at-fault laws for car accidents. In no-fault states, your insurance covers your expenses after an accident, no matter who caused it. When damage crosses your state’s tort threshold, then you can make a claim against the at-fault driver.

PIP insurance is considered no-fault insurance in these states because you’ll exhaust your coverage limits before you can file a claim against the other driver.

In at-fault states, PIP coverage is not considered no-fault insurance. Instead, the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability will likely pay for your medical bill before your PIP insurance kicks in.

What is the difference between PIP and medical payments insurance?

Personal injury protection coverage and medical payments auto insurance coverage (MedPay) are similar in that they cover medical expenses after an accident. However, PIP insurance offers more extensive coverage than MedPay.

MedPay, which is only required by Maine auto insurance laws, only covers direct medical expenses and funeral costs for you and your passengers. It does not cover lost income or living expenses like childcare or home cleaning.

PIP auto insurance might sound more appealing than MedPay because it covers more, but insurance companies don’t sell it in every state. Although MedPay doesn’t cover quite as much, it’s still an excellent option to protect your health.

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Minimum PIP Requirements by State

The minimum auto insurance requirements for each state vary. Although PIP insurance offers valuable protection, most states do not require it. Check below to see if your state requires PIP insurance and how much coverage you might need.

Minimum PIP Requirements by State

Where PIP is Required	Minimum PIP Requirements	Where PIP is Optional	Minimum PIP Requirements
Delaware	$15,000 per person $30,000 per accident $5,000 in funeral costs	Arkansas	$5,000
Florida	$10,000 per person	Kentucky	$4,500 per person $2,000 burial benefit $10,000 in lost wages and rehabilitation
Hawaii	$10,000 per person	Maryland	$2,500
Kansas	$4,500 per person for medical costs and rehabilitation $2,000 in funeral costs $900/mo for lost wages $25/day for household services	South Dakota	$2,000 per person $10,000 in death benefits $60/week in disability
Massachusetts	$8,000 per person, per accident	Texas	$2,500 per person
Michigan	$250,000-$500,000 per person	Virginia	$2,000 per person $100/wk for lost wages
Minnesota	$20,000 medical coverage $20,000 for lost wages	Washington, D.C.	$50,000 per person $12,000 for lost wages $4,000 in funeral costs
New Jersey	$15,000 per person, per accident	Washington	$10,000 per accident
New York	$50,000 per person $2,000 in death benefits $2,000/mo for lost wages (or 80% of income) $25/day for household services
North Dakota	$30,000 per person
Oregon	$15,000 per person
Utah	$3,000 per person $1,500 in funeral costs $3,000 in death benefits $250/wk for lost wages (or 85% of income) $20/day for household services

You can still buy PIP coverage if it’s not required, but only in select states. States like Arizona, California, and Tennessee allow insurance companies to sell MedPay insurance rather than PIP coverage.

How much does PIP cost?

As far as coverage goes, personal injury insurance is affordable. Most PIP policies cost between $5 and $50 a month.

The biggest factors that affect the price of PIP coverage are insurance laws in your state. Rates are usually higher in no-fault states that require PIP insurance. The amount of coverage in your policy will also change your price, with a higher limit meaning increased rates.

Regardless, finding companies that offer cheap PIP auto insurance isn’t usually difficult. As long as you’re eligible, there’s no reason to skip PIP insurance if it fits your budget. Having PIP insurance in the event of an accident will likely give you access to better health care.

Is PIP necessary if you have health insurance?

Although PIP insurance is valuable coverage, whether you need it depends on your state. There are 16 states that require PIP insurance, meaning you’ll have to file a PIP claim if you’re injured in an accident.

If you don’t live in a state that requires PIP, your health insurance won’t deny a claim from an auto accident. However, it won’t cover everything, especially if you need help with lost wages, funeral costs, or essential services.

Some states allow your PIP and health insurance to work together after a car accident. States like New Jersey and Michigan allow your health insurance to cover physical injuries while your PIP covers other losses. This will enable you to maximize your PIP coverage and health insurance simultaneously.

Regardless of whether your state requires you to carry it, PIP insurance is usually so affordable that it’s worth adding to your policy. At the very least, you should ask your insurance company how much PIP coverage would cost.

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How do you file a PIP claim?

Filing a PIP claim is the same as filing an auto insurance claim with any other type of insurance. It depends on your company, but you can usually start a claim online, on a mobile app, or by calling an insurance representative.

PIP insurance covers emergency care immediately after an accident, so you won’t have to worry about hospital visits or ambulance rides. Non-urgent care requires an approved treatment plan usually created by a doctor from your company’s network.

The amount your PIP insurance covers depends on your policy and the state you live in. For example, New York limits PIP payments to $50,000 per person, while Florida caps coverage at 80% of your medical costs. Other states split their limits between direct medical expenses and additional related costs.

Although starting a PIP claim is similar to other types of insurance claims, it can be more complicated as time goes on. It’s crucial that you follow the instructions an insurance representative will give you — failing to do so could result in fines or even the denial of your claim.

How does PIP work with other types of insurance?

When you’re injured in an accident, your PIP insurance is usually exhausted before other parts of your policy kick in.

For example, if someone hits you, your PIP will cover your medical expenses first if you live in a no-fault state. If you reach the limit of your PIP insurance, you can then file a claim against the other driver’s liability insurance.

As for your insurance, you don’t have to wait until a PIP claim resolves before you can start other claims. If you need to file a collision auto insurance and PIP claim simultaneously, your insurance company can handle it.

Of course, there are times when you can skip a PIP claim and file a lawsuit against another driver instead. If your injuries are severe or permanently disabling, or if your medical expenses cross your state’s tort threshold, you don’t need to make a PIP claim.

Find the Best PIP Insurance Rates Today

Whether your state requires it or not, personal injury protection insurance offers valuable coverage at affordable rates. Unless you’re trying to keep your insurance as low as possible, adding PIP coverage to your policy is usually worth it.

Of course, PIP insurance isn’t available in every state. Speak with an insurance representative to check if your state sells PIP or MedPay coverage, then compare quotes to find the best rate possible.

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