Personal Injury Protection Insurance

Certain things are covered by the law in the United States of America. Property damage liability when you are at fault in the case of an accident is required by law and must be purchased by you. Bodily injury liability, personal property insurance and privacy policy terms are also required in every state. These are policies that every licensed insurance company licensed must offer you, and you must purchase them if you own a vehicle.

Much more important than your house, your car or your material possessions, you need to have coverage that will protect you, your family and all of those around you. Which is why you need to make sure that you have the auto insurance coverage that protects your most important aspect – YOU.

Purchasing a personal injury protection insurance policy has become almost a necessity in today’s harsh conditions. This type of protection primarily covers the medical costs that are associated and incurred with any injuries due to accidents on the road by a vehicle. Depending on what kind of PIP insurance plan you can afford, these insurance policies can cover you, your passengers, other drivers and even pedestrians to keep you safe. You can easily see how this type of policy can benefit you.

Why Is Personal Injury Protection Necessary?

PIP is almost like a type of health insurance. In today’s America and the prevalent economic conditions, we can’t all afford the insurance or the bills that come along with hospital visits. In the case of an accident, you, your family or someone you don’t know may be hospitalized for the long term and the medical bills will start to pile up and someone has to pay them. This coverage will ensure that those medical bills will not have to come out of your pocket and everyone will receive the treatment that they need to recover. After all, if you don’t have it, it can ruin your life. This is why you need PIP coverage.

Depending on the state, they will cover funeral costs, depending on the specified dollar and time limits, as well as specified medical costs that are included in the plan. The insured person’s passengers can also be covered and any pedestrians struck by the vehicle. Basic coverage is usually for the insured’s own injuries. Over and above basic coverage, some states will cover blood relatives and adopted relatives, your spouse, step or foster children and anyone else that is involved in the accident. Of course, this varies from state to state.

In some cases, PIP insurance will cover other damages such as lost wages too. This is extremely important if the personal injury has left you unable to work regularly. If you have been in an auto accident where you are hurt and you have no injury protection, you may be left with extensive medical expenses. With no way to work, these bills can quickly add up to serious debt and leave you in a steadily worsening situation. This can affect your entire life. Without this type of medical payments coverage, you, your family and any unsuspecting strangers may be left financially ruined or even possibly disabled for life.

On top of your PIP insurance coverage, you may want to consider obtaining personal umbrella insurance if you can afford to spend some extra money. This is a type of policy that provides you with extended damage liability coverage that you can use once your primary auto coverage is used up. In the instance that you injure someone in a road accident and they decide to sue you and put you and your assets in jeopardy, the personal umbrella insurance will take care of the damages. When you have run out of your primary coverage, the personal umbrella policy will cover the costs depending on your plan. Coverage can extend to as much as $10 million. This will provide you with the peace of mind and additional personal protection in the event of a car accident where court proceedings eventually take place.

Is Personal Injury Protection Mandated By Law?

Strangely, not every state insists that you are covered by a personal injury protection plan. Of course, there are certain states where owning personal injury protection insurance coverage is required by law. The states that require the where coverage is mandatory are Utah, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, North Dakota, New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland, Hawaii and Delaware. If you’re not a resident of one of these states, it is not a statutory requirement that you purchase this type of insurance, but it is still highly recommended to do so.

In such states where there is coverage, personal injury protection coverage can vary widely. Each state determines what is considered a reasonable claim and an allowable treatment option for medical purposes. For example, in Utah, they consider acupuncture to be a viable treatment option, but in California, it is not an accepted practice. It is both prudent and wise to thoroughly research your own insurance company’s policy for what type of medical treatments are covered in your Personal Injury Protection Insurance Policy and what is not covered.

Be sure to check your auto insurance policy to determine whether this is included in your policy, because some auto insurance does not include this type of coverage. The truth of the matter is, considering the absolute seriousness of the possible medical expenses that one can incur, it is surprising that it is not mandatory for all US States to include this in their plan. You need to ask yourself how safe you really feel with your car insurance while you’re out on the road.

It is a dangerous world out there for everyone, especially when you’re out driving on the roads. We drive every day to different places without many thoughts of our own personal safety. There are a lot of different types of drivers out there – dangerous drivers too – and road accidents aren’t uncommon. We all need to feel completely safe out there on the road and that’s the job of our insurance coverage.

Sometimes it is impossible to prevent certain accidents before they happen. That’s why this type of coverage is important to have. You need to know that it exists and research it thoroughly with your insurance company for the safety of everybody, including you. If anybody is given the driving privilege of operating a motor vehicle, they should also be mandated the privilege of insurance that protects their financial assets and their family’s health.