What Does Personal Injury Protection Cover in Philadelphia?

With a cerulean blue background, a hand on the left holding a bright red umbrella sideways as a black ball hanging on a chain breaks as it hits the umbrella, posing the question, What does personal injury protection cover in Philadelphia?

Personal injury protection (PIP) is a form of no-fault insurance that will help cover expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and funeral costs after a car accident, no matter who was at fault in the accident. 

You may or may not want to buy personal injury protection, depending on what else your automobile policy covers as week as your medical and disability insurance coverage for those same types of expenses. In some state, PIP only covers medical costs and is called MedPay. In other states, you may have both MedPay and PIP.

With a cerulean blue background, a hand on the left holding a bright red umbrella sideways as a black ball hanging on a chain breaks as it hits the umbrella, posing the question, What does personal injury protection cover in Philadelphia?

What Exactly Is Covered by PIP Philadelphia?

PIP covers expenses resulting from an automobile accident. PIP covers you, your passengers, or anyone covered by your car insurance policy injured in a car accident. It applies when no fault can be established in the accident. Note that the expenses covered must be related to the injuries, so no property coverage is available with PIP.

Are There Limits to Personal Injury Protection Coverage?

Yes, there are. As with all insurance policies, the PIP section of your automobile insurance will limit the carrier’s liability. You choose that limit, in compliance with any state requirements, when you buy your policy. Higher limits have higher premiums. In any claim, the insurance company will only pay to that limit; expenses after that come out of your pocket.

How Does PIP Cover Medical Bills in Philadelphia?

PIP will cover medical bills for those covered by the policy, but only to the extent those injuries were not covered by health insurance. It will even cover the health insurance policy’s deductible. The expenses usually have to be reasonable and necessary and can include:

  • Surgery, nursing, emergency room care, dental care, hospital procedures
  • Therapy and rehabilitation
  • Psychiatric care
  • Glasses and other eye care
  • Ambulances

What Else is Covered by PIP in Philadelphia?

Some PIP policies will cover your lost wages if you cannot work due to injuries in a car accident. This coverage is not always included in PIP and may require payment of an extra premium. Usually, the policy will not cover 100% of your lost wages. The policy will also deduct for any Workers’ Compensation or Social Security disability payments you receive. The policy may also carry a small death benefit, but if you have life insurance, the death benefit will not be worth the extra premium if any is required. Likewise, there may be a small benefit for funeral expenses, but it will generally not be worth any extra premium.

Essential Services May Be Covered by PIP

If your injury leaves you unable to perform essential services, the costs for hiring people to provide them for you may be covered under your PIP policy. Some of these essential services include:

  • Childcare
  • Home maintenance
  • Home cleaning
  • Laundry

What Is Not Covered by PIP in Philadelphia?

Specific exclusions apply to most PIP policies. If one of these was the cause of your accident, you would not receive coverage. These include:

  • Accident was intentional
  • Injury was caused by an uninsured vehicle owned by your or your immediate family member
  • Driver was being paid as in an Uber driver or a taxi
  • Driver was in the process of committing a crime
  • Injury was caused by war, insurrection, or a nuclear explosion

Remember, property damage of all sorts is not covered by PIP. This coverage is provided by other sections of your policy or the other driver’s policy.

Is PIP Required in Philadelphia?

State requirements for auto insurance come in two types:  fault and no-fault. In no-fault states. PIP is usually mandatory. Pennsylvania, for instance, is a no-fault state which requires certain minimum PIP coverage options. In no-fault states, it is not required and may not even be available.

PIP in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, a PIP policy covers you, relatives living with you, passengers, and pedestrians or bike riders hit by your car. The minimum coverage required is $5,000 medical, $15,000 body injury per person, and $5,000 property damages. Pennsylvania also has full and limited tort policies which allow for full or partial rights to sue the other driver for your injuries. Under the limited tort policy, you can only sue if you were injured while on a motorcycle, as a pedestrian, were a passenger in a commercial vehicle, or were hit by a drunk or out-of-state driver. Pennsylvania law also requires that medical service providers accept insurance payments as full coverage for the service; balance billing is prohibited. 

Making a PIP Claim in Philadelphia

To make a personal injury protection claim, you do not have to wait for fault to be established in the accident. Therefore, you should make a claim as soon as you can. After making the claim, you should submit all medical bills in detail to the insurance company, along with records supporting any other claims like lost wages.

Consult a Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney about Personal Injury Protection

If you aren’t sure about handling your PIP claim or are having trouble with a claim, contact the law offices of John Mattiacci, a Philadelphia attorney concentrating his practice in personal injury for clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 

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