One of the least expensive elections to an auto insurance policy is called Personal Injury Protection, referred to generally as “PIP” (P-I-P). Most people may not realize this is a coverage they have on their policies—it is a relatively obscure and innocuous coverage and goes hand-in-hand with Uninsured/Underinsured (“UM/UIM”) coverage.
People may not realize they DO NOT HAVE PIP coverage when asked, although a person must specifically deny/waive it when applying for coverage (or at policy issuance). PIP can help defray such costs as medical bills, lost wages and other expenses that may occur in an automobile accident. PIP can even help protect your friends and family after a covered accident (if they occupy the covered vehicle).
Personal Injury Protection is a “no-fault” coverage that is required in some states, but is not required to be on a policy in Texas. Personal Injury Protection “no fault” insurance generally means that regardless of which driver was at fault, some of the medical expenses for the policyholder and others in the policyholder’s auto may be covered by this insurance.
PIP may pay for medical expenses and up to 80% of lost wages that result from a covered accident, depending on the limits of the policy, including expenses associated with medical treatment for the injuries suffered by you and/or your passengers. Generally, PIP coverage amounts are in increments of $2500.00, so that a person may have $2,500.00, $5,000.00, or $7,500.00 of coverage (even more in certain circumstances).
Another advantage with PIP coverage, as intimated above, no blame needs to be assessed. If it is a covered accident, medical and lost income payments are made as soon as possible, and you deal only with your insurance company. It is important to note that a tremendous number of people driving on the roads are uninsured. It pays to protect against instances involving them (with UM/UIM), but certainly, in any circumstance, PIP is a huge benefit—and the coverage is remarkably inexpensive.
Our experience here at the Harris Firm, P.C. is that many people have elected to have this benefit added to their policies when they bought coverage, but have forgotten that they have the benefits of PIP. We always urge clients who come to us for help with an accident to determine if their policies have PIP. Since you can’t add PIP to a policy in regard to an accident that has already occurred, we urge you to call your agent and investigate adding it to your policy immediately (along with UM/UIM coverage, ideally).
The Harris Firm P.C. has extensive experience in automobile and truck collisions. We have dealt with countless accidents in our 27 years in business. Please feel free to contact us if you have been involved in an accident that was not your fault.
