Does my auto insurance cover my medical expenses after an accident?

A car accident is incredibly stressful, especially if you are injured. If you were recently hurt in a car crash, you might wonder, “Does my auto insurance cover my medical expenses after an accident?”

Keep reading to learn more about the three auto insurance policy add-ons to help pay for medical bills after a car crash, including affordable personal injury protection (PIP) auto insurance coverage and other options.

Does auto insurance cover my medical expenses after an accident?

Your auto insurance can cover your medical expenses after a car accident, but only if you have specific types of additional coverage on your policy. For example, uninsured motorist coverage, or UIM, is an add-on to your auto policy that will help you pay for medical bills that another driver causes.

If you don’t have UIM on your policy, it might be worth looking into getting it. As the Insurance Information Institute noted, the facts and statistics about uninsured motorists are sobering: about one in eight drivers are uninsured.

Another option, medical payments coverage, or MedPay, will cover medical expenses after an accident, no matter who was at fault.

Not all states offer MedPay, so if you are interested in adding it to your policy, you should speak with your insurance agent, if you have one, about the auto insurance requirements by state and what options are available to you.

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Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, Will Also Pay for Medical Expenses

Personal injury protection, or PIP, is another coverage that will pay for your medical expenses after an accident. It will pay your bills and those of your passengers, no matter who was at fault. Some states require drivers to have PIP on their policy, so you might already have it on your auto insurance.

Other states offer it as an optional add-on, and others do not offer it at all. Like MedPay, if you are interested to learn more about PIP, it is worth contacting your insurance agent if you have one. They can also answer the question, “What is the minimum auto insurance coverage that I have to sign up for?”

Am I always responsible for my own medical bills after a car accident?

The answer to this important question is “Not necessarily.” In most states, the driver who causes the accident must pay for the medical care of anyone who was hurt in the crash. So if you were in a car accident that was not your fault, the other driver’s auto insurance should cover your medical bills and not your policy.

State laws require insured drivers to have adequate liability insurance to cover medical expenses after an accident. Unfortunately, not everyone obeys the law, and some drivers will be uninsured or underinsured. This is why having PIP or other add-ons to your auto policy is a good idea.

Will my health insurance cover my medical bills after an accident?

If you have it, your health insurance can also cover medical expenses after an accident. If a driver breaks the law and causes an accident, the insurance company may deny the claim.

If the driver does not have MedPay or PIP, they can submit their medical bills to their insurance company. If you do not have medical insurance, you might be able to negotiate your bills with the hospital to get a lower payment.

Auto Insurance Can Often Cover Medical Expenses After an Accident

While you certainly hope you never get injured in a car accident, increasing your understanding of auto insurance and learning what medical coverage you might already have on your auto policy is a good idea.

Reach out to your insurance agent, if you have one, and see if you already have uninsured motorist coverage, MedPay or PIP on your policy. If not, you might want to add one or more to your policy to cover your medical bills in the unfortunate event of a car accident.