After a car accident, you and your passengers might have medical expenses. While car insurance covers vehicle damage and medical expenses of the other driver, your insurance won’t necessarily cover your medical bills. Does auto insurance cover medical expenses? The answer isn’t totally straightforward, but it’s important to understand your coverage to ensure you’re prepared.
When you buy car insurance, you’re able to choose from many different types of policies. Most states require that you carry liability coverage, which helps pay for property damage or any injuries to other people. Bodily injury liability coverage pays for medical expenses if you’ve hurt someone else in an accident, and most states require you carry a minimum amount of liability coverage.
If another driver hits you, their liability insurance should cover your medical expenses. Unfortunately, many drivers don’t carry any insurance coverage, even when required by law. In this situation, you may be able to sue the other driver, or you might have to file a claim with your own insurance company.
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There are several types of car insurance policies that help to cover medical costs for you and your passengers.
Medical payments coverage, also called med pay, can cover medical bills for you and your passengers, regardless of who is at fault for the accident. This type of coverage can pay for medical bills, including ER visits and x-rays, but it can also help cover funeral expenses for a death resulting from a car accident.
You can choose from different dollar amounts of medical payments coverage, and this type of insurance can help you avoid unexpected medical bills after a car accident. Depending on your state, this type of coverage may help pay for health insurance deductibles, so you don’t have to pay your deductible out of pocket.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) helps cover medical expenses for you or your passengers after an accident, regardless of who is at fault. While medical payments coverage only pays medical expenses, PIP coverage may pay medical expenses plus some related costs, like childcare expenses or lost wages resulting from your injury during in a car accident.
If you’re injured by an uninsured driver, uninsured motorist coverage will help pay for any injuries you’ve sustained, up to your policy limit.
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Does car insurance cover medical bills? Not always, which is why it’s essential to choose the right coverage. Depending on your state, you may be required to carry PIP insurance and/or uninsured motorist coverage. Medical payments coverage is usually optional. Be sure to review your state’s insurance requirements to verify that you’re carrying at least the minimum required auto insurance.
Even if your state doesn’t require you to carry PIP insurance, you may still want to invest in it or in medical payments coverage. Car accident injuries can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You can get free car insurance quotes online today to start comparing policy coverage and costs and exploring your options.
Paige Cerulli Paige Cerulli is a freelance content writer and journalist who specializes in personal finance topics. She graduated from Westfield State University and brings more than a decade of professional writing experience to the ConsumerCoverage team. Paige’s work has appeared in outlets including USA Today, Business Insider, and more.
