What Is Personal Injury Protection (PIP)?

How Can I Open A Personal Injury Protection Claim After An Automobile Collision?

Do you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP)? Adding this specific type of coverage to your car insurance policy is a wise decision. If an accident strikes, this coverage will help you pay damages that otherwise you’d likely need to pay out of pocket, or through your health insurance. Personal Injury Protection coverage is additional coverage that one adds to their car, motorcycle or truck insurance policy. This type of protection is designed to help you pay for certain damages should you become involved in any type of accident with your insured vehicle. Personal Injury Protection coverage can help pay for hospital bills, medical costs, lost income and even funeral expenses, up to a certain amount.

An auto accident can bring sudden financial hardship on an unsuspecting victim. No one ever anticipates that they will get into an accident, so being proactively prepared in case one occurs is a smart idea. In Washington state, purchasing PIP car insurance is not required by law and for most states, drivers are only required to carry liability car insurance. However, it’s a wise decision to add this coverage to your auto insurance policy as it will certainly come in handy should you become injured after a car accident.

PIP insurance is available to be used by anyone in your vehicle who was injured at the time of the accident. Personal Injury Protection is a form of no fault insurance, so regardless of who is to blame for the car accident, the coverage will still apply.

This differs from other coverage like bodily injury liability coverage, which is used to pay for damages of the opposite party when you are at fault for the accident. PIP insurance kicks in before your health insurance does, and is used first for paying medical bills or funeral and burial expenses after an accident. Once the funds from the Personal Injury Protection are exhausted, health insurance will cover the rest of the expenses related to the accident.

What Are The Benefits Of Having Personal Injury Protection?

There are a multitude of benefits to having this special type of coverage. Depending on the specifics of your auto insurance policy, accident victims who have PIP coverage are able to have their hospital expenses and medical expenses paid for a maximum of three years following the accident, or up to $10,000. Without PIP coverage, an accident victim may face financial hardship while trying to heal from their accident.

When you have Personal Injury Protection, you don’t have to pay a copay or deductible when you visit the doctor’s office. And, remember, since PIP coverage is a no-fault type of coverage, you and your passengers are covered regardless of who caused the accident. With more and more accidents happening every day, many Washington drivers are adding Personal Injury Protection coverage to their insurance policies just to be safe.

How Can I Open A Personal Injury Protection Claim After An Automobile Collision?

If you have suffered car accident injuries in Washington and need to open up a Personal Injury Protection claim, first contact your insurance company. For your PIP insurance claim, you’ll need to formally report the accident and provide them with certain information. We’ve outlined steps for you to follow below, but if you have any additional questions you can reach out to our law firm for help.

Next, ask your insurance company to confirm whether or not you have Personal Injury Protection coverage. Your insurance company representative will be able to tell you the amount of coverage you have available to use. Be sure to get the claim number and contact information for the claims office, as you’ll need to speak with them as well.

Once you call the claim’s office, discuss your claim with the adjuster and ask them to send you an application for PIP and an Attending Physician’s Report right away. This information is crucial, and should be filled out and returned to the adjuster as soon as possible.

For those who had to miss work to heal their injuries, there’s an additional step you must take in order to receive PIP coverage for your lost wages. Have your employer fill out a Salary Verification Form, and return it to your adjuster.

The doctors and health care providers who are taking care of you after the accident will need your claim number, adjuster name and the contact information of your claim office, so be sure to complete this step promptly as well. Since your PIP coverage will cover the cost of your medical treatment to a certain extent, you need to let your doctor know to bill your insurance coverage directly. It’s wise to get a report for your treatment also, as this may come in handy further down the line.

Call Church & Page If You’ve Been Injured In An Auto Accident In Washington

If you have been injured in a auto accident in Washington and need help filing a Personal Injury Protection Claim, contact Church & Page today for a free, no-obligation consultation.