Pip Coverage

By Author: Norris Rios
Total Articles: 572
Comment this article

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) covers against medical expenses and some of the losses that inevitably follow a traffic accident where drivers and their passengers are injured or killed. So, for example, you can claim loss of earnings and the equivalent of damages for pain and suffering. Where the driver dies, funeral expenses are also recoverable. Such policies are standard in the no-fault states. It's expected claims will be settled without having to prove negligence, so you claim all your losses from your own insurer. Even in the at-fault states, holding a version of PIP, e.g. Auto Medical Payment cover, gives peace of mind, leaving it to the insurance company to sue in your name if the driver at-fault refuses to reimburse your insurer. Note that PIP cover is mandatory in 14 states, but the terms differ in their detail between those states. You should check through the small print before making a final decision on which policy to buy.

Such policies are supposed to make everyone's life easier if they are injured, so it's sad to see one insurer consistently refuse or reduce its customers' legitimate claims. USAA is ...
... now facing its third class action law suit alleging a formal strategy to collect in the premiums and then refuse claims. In one sense, this is extraordinary given ASAA's focus on the families of both serving and honorably retired members of our armed forces. A company that prides itself on looking after the interests of those defending our shores should offer top-class service. Instead, this latest law suit alleges the company is more interested in its bottom line, in effect cheating service personnel and their families.

The Plaintiff alleges USAA conspired with a second company, Auto Injury Solutions (AIS), to carry out a fraudulent cost containment program. Although the pleadings are quite general, it seems AIS produced dishonest reviews of medical claims which USAA then relied on in denying legitimate claims. What makes this particularly egregious is that this is the third law suit alleging a formal strategy not to pay out on medical claims. The first two suits were settled by USAA paying large sums in compensation. Under such circumstances, there's a good case to be made for stripping USAA of its license to sell insurance.

Anyway, putting this particular case to one side, there's an important underlying message here. The premium rates for PIP coverage are usually quite low. In Texas, for example, it costs about $5 per month. When you consider the very high costs that may follow injuries in an accident, this is really cheap car insurance. Remember this is additional to cover you may already have through a health plan at work, private health insurance or a Worker's Compensation Plan. The possibility of overlapping cover can create problems for you to resolve. You cannot make double claims for costs and losses arising from the same accident. That would be you "making a profit" from your injuries. So before you confirm the claims, you should discuss the situation with the hospital or clinic intending to bill for treatment costs. Similarly, you should notify the insurers to ensure they contribute to the decisions on overlaps in cover. It would be a tragedy if this cheap car insurance caused you problems when a claim arose.