Melbourne, FL -- (SBWire) -- 10/24/2012 --PIP (personal injury protection) insurance is an insurance policy that was designed to help all drivers. It has a no-fault status, meaning that whether you caused the accident, or another driver is at fault, you still receive insurance benefits in the case of injury. Within the state of Florida, all drivers who own and register a vehicle must have auto insurance. To maintain Florida registration and receive a license plate, drivers must meet PIP requirements by carrying at least $10,000 in PIP insurance. Florida law states that a PIP policy covers 80% of medical expenses and 60% of lost wages as a result of the accident. If the insured person paid for the minimum policy requirement of $10,000, then this will be the maximum amount paid; if the insured person paid for a higher amount than required by law, that amount is the cap.
Most drivers within Florida have $10,000 in PIP insurance. The problem with this amount is that with the inflated price of emergency health care, this is not nearly as much as it may sound like. For example, if you are involved in an accident and transported from the scene to the emergency room, this amount may barely cover the cost of the ambulance trip alone.
PIP insurance is designed to operate as a safety net, meaning that it will cover your most pressing expenses in the event that you, or one of your family members, are involved in an auto accident, as either a driver or a passenger. However, this $10,000 can disappear very, very quickly when it comes to medical expenses. Furthermore, many people assume that if they are not at fault in an automobile accident, the other driver’s insurance policy will pay for their injuries. However, this is not the way Florida law is written. The no-fault law means that the person who is at fault for the accident is not required to have his or her insurance company pay for your injuries, unless you have a permanent injury (in which case you would file a liability claim against the other person’s insurance).
Once you have maxed out your PIP insurance policy, you must move on to your health insurance policy to cover the remainder of your medical costs. The problem many people encounter here is that health insurance carriers frequently attempt to avoid paying claims. Health insurance companies do not automatically accept bills related to collisions. Additionally, many health insurance companies will require what is called a PIP exhaustion letter, which is a letter from your auto insurance carrier to your health insurance carrier stating that your PIP coverage has reached its maximum.
Herein, it is easy to see how many complications may arise. Plus, when you consider that you may be required to act as a liaison between your auto insurance company and your health insurance company all while trying to recover from accident injuries, you can see where having someone else attend to the matter would be helpful. When you are recovering from a personal injury and have maxed out your PIP policy, you need an attorney to act as this liaison for you. A car accident lawyer will work tirelessly for you, while you concentrate on recovery, to insure that your health care needs are met, and your expenses are covered. To learn more about how a car accident lawyer can work for you, please contact Sinclair Law today.
What to Do if Your PIP Policy Is Maxed Out