My Car Insurance

If I have health insurance coverage, do I still need to get PIP coverage with my auto insurance?

Personal injury protection, or PIP as it’s commonly known, is a type of auto insurance that covers everyone in your car in case you are involved in a vehicle-related accident. Some also would call PIP “no fault” insurance because it pays benefits such as required medical care regardless of who is to blame for the accident.

The question that often comes up is whether a person with health insurance also needs to have PIP. Consider:

- Health insurance companies many times will want you to reimburse them if you receive money from another insurer in a personal injury settlement stemming from the accident.

- Health insurance typically doesn’t cover such expenses as wages that a person loses because of the vehicle accident. PIP provides such coverage.

- The deductible on health insurance may be costly. PIP, however, requires no deductible. It pays all needed and reasonable medical expenses as long as they don’t exceed the value of the policy.

Some drivers already may have PIP. In that case, check what its monetary limits are and weigh whether they are enough to cover medical care you may need. In any case, an auto insurance agent can answer questions related to this.

What happens if you are in an accident that is not your fault? The liability coverage that is part of the policy carried by the driver who’s at fault should cover any damages you may suffer. It doesn’t matter whether you have or don’t have PIP. But what if the driver who caused the accident doesn’t have liability protection for some or any of the medical care you need? This is probably why you should have a PIP policy. That way you get the care that you must have without worrying about how the medical care bills will be paid. And it doesn’t have to be a costly policy. Coverage worth at least $10,000 is not too expensive to purchase, especially when it comes to your peace of mind.

Even if you don’t actually buy PIP coverage, sometimes you still can use its benefits. Say you’re in accident while in someone else’s vehicle and it is covered by PIP. By being in the vehicle, you should be able to make a claim to cover any medical benefits that you may need after a wreck or other mishap. Another example is if you’re in accident while driving in a state that requires drivers to have PIP coverage. Your policy automatically should provide benefits that meet the minimum limits in that state.

Since the benefits of PIP seem to be handy in a variety of scenarios, it’s better to have PIP in addition to your regular health insurance. For the relatively small price of the policy, the fear of not having protection after an auto accident is eliminated.

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