Why You Should Get Medical Payments Insurance
One of the most important components of car insurance is the part that insures your health. There are essentially three types of coverage that accomplish that: bodily injury liability, personal injury protection, and medical payments. Oft forgotten is the latter, especially when it comes to drivers who have personal injury protection insurance. There are a few things you should know however before dismissing MedPay insurance.
What Is MedPay?
Medical Payments coverage is a "first party benefits" component of auto insurance that pays for your medical costs regardless of who was at-fault in an accident. First party means that rather than filing through another driver's insurance, MedPay will cover your expenses directly.
What is Personal Injury Protection
PIP does everything MedPay does with the addition of covering lost wages and rehabilitative costs. Overall, PIP is a more broad coverage. In most states, like Missouri, for example, PIP is optional. In states like Minnesota however, "No-Fault" states, PIP is mandatory.
Why Do I Want Either of These Coverages?
Getting into a car accident does damage to more than just your car. If you are injured in an accident, medical bills are going to rack up fast. To recoup losses due to injury from a crash, you would need to file a claim through the other driver's bodily injury liability insurance. Filing a claim through another insurance takes time, and has a degree of uncertainty to it. The other company will fight to prove you were partially responsible for the accident, chipping into how much they owe you. You do not want to be caught in a legal battle while recovering from injuries. Both PIP and MedPay eliminate the need to ever file through another insurance because they are meant to insure your own being. You file a claim with your own company, and usually see the money fast.
What is the Point of MedPay if I Can Have PIP?
While it may seem the two coverages are redundant, there are still valid reasons for also getting MedPay insurance. For one, MedPay is generally low cost. Adding on $10,000 worth of MedPay insurance may cost less than $100 a year. The exact price will depend on your company and location. It may not always be cheaper than PIP however. The two coverages can adjust in price in different areas.
Furthermore, even if PIP is the cheaper coverage, there are limits to how much you may be able to buy. Only one state, Michigan, offers unlimited PIP coverage. Considering the average hospital stay for people ages 18 to 64 is $10,000 and the average price for a non-fatal car injury $67,000, your limits for PIP should be able to match those demands. Frankly though, not every state will offer enough PIP to meet them. If you are forced to have low limits, less than $20,000, then MedPay would be the best place to turn.
What About MedPay in "No-Fault States"
Currently there are twelve "No-Fault" states that make PIP a mandatory insurance. Of that twelve, only four offer MedPay Insurance. The following "No-Fault" states are the only ones that offer MedPay.
If you are from Hawaii, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michgian, New Jersey, North Dakota or Utah, you will not have the option to purchase MedPay insurance.
You Should Get MedPay in FL, KS, and MA
The simplest reason for getting MedPay insurance in these states is that the mandatory PIP does not provide enough coverage. In Kansas the most PIP coverage you can receive is $25,000, $12,000 in Florida and $8,000 in Massachusetts. In Kansas the additional cost for $10,000 worth of coverage is quite small for an entire year, about an extra $1.66 to $4.00 a month depending on which company you go with. In Massachusetts, GEICO offers up to $100,000 worth of coverage for only $33 extra per year. The low cost of MedPay can prove advantageous as medical expenses rise, as well as the cost of health insurance premiums.
The article Why You Should Get Medical Payments Insurance originally appeared on ValuePenguin.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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