Medical Payments Car Insurance Coverage
You may not need medical payments car insurance coverage, but choosing whether to get it is worth considering. Also known as MedPay coverage, medical payments coverage costs only a few dollars a month for most drivers. When shopping for auto insurance, medical payments isn't bodily injury coverage. Medical payment coverage pays for your injuries while bodily injury is a liability insurance that pays for others if the accident is your fault. Though both cover medical expenses under car insurance policies, only MedPay or personal injury protection (PIP) covers you specifically. Your health insurance may pay for medical costs, making medical payment auto insurance coverage less necessary. Having MedPay coverage and medicare, medicaid, or private health insurance may be redundant. However, if you have inadequate or no health insurance, medical payment insurance could be well worth it. Learn more about MedPay and when you might need it by reading on.
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Daniel Walker
Licensed Insurance Agent
Daniel Walker graduated with a BS in Administrative Management in 2005 and has run his family’s insurance agency, FCI Agency, for over 15 years (BBB A+). He is licensed as an insurance agent to write property and casualty insurance, including home, life, auto, umbrella, and dwelling fire insurance. He’s also been featured on sites like Reviews.com and Safeco. To ensure our content is accura...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Feb 15, 2024
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Nobody wants to get injured in an accident. If you or a loved one I’ve been hurt in an accident in the past, then you may be seriously considering the purchase of medical payments or personal injury protection (PIP) coverage.
This can be a smart move if you think that a collision-induced injury could have a significant financial impact on you. It may not be the right auto insurance coverage option in all cases though.
Under some circumstances, you may not need medical payments car insurance coverage. Below, we’ll clear at the confusion and let you know whether or not PIP/MedPay coverage is right for you.
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Difference between Medical Payments and PIP Coverage
First of all, it’s important to explain exactly what medical payments coverage and personal injury protection are.
They are very similar, but there are some important differences that you need to know about before you decide on what or if you should purchase it for yourself.
Medical payments (“MedPay”) coverage is a completely optional form of coverage that you can add to your policy if you happen to live outside of a no-fault state (some no-fault states do have medical payment coverage options, however).
It covers a limited number of medical services including ambulance rides, emergency care, hospital stays, and funeral expenses, to name a few.
Unlike health insurance, when you file a medical payments claim with MedPay, you usually get your money disbursed more quickly and you don’t have to worry about co-pays or medical deductibles.
Personal injury protection, on the other hand, is a required form of coverage in 12 states (Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Dakota, and Utah) which are classified as “no-fault” states.
Personal injury protection is important in these states because in the event that you are hurt and the other driver is not found to be at fault, their bodily injury liability coverage would not pay out for your medical expenses, regardless if you were deemed at fault or not in the accident. (For more information, read our “Personal Injury Protection vs. Health Insurance“)
This means that’s your medical treatment would have to be paid for by your health insurance, your PIP coverage, optional medical payments coverage (if your insurance company offers it), or by you, out of pocket.
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How Much Will MedPay/PIP Cost You?
Medical payments coverage will raise your rates somewhat but can be a small price to pay for some people in exchange for the peace of mind it provides.
This is especially true if you don’t have any health insurance coverage at all, or your health insurance coverage is very poor.
As you can see in the chart below, the difference in price between having some sort of injury protection coverage and going without only amounts to a few dollars with most large providers.
In our research, Allstate was the most expensive; however, keep in mind that this price difference is less than $15 a month. And that’s for a $10,000 coverage limit.
Nobody wants to think about getting hurt in an accident, but bad things can happen to good people when you least expect them. You can help protect yourself by purchasing a nominal amount of either medical payments or PIP coverage for only a few dollars more per month.
But if you’re strapped for cash and want to make sure you get the best rate while also having the peace of mind that your medical expenses will be taken care of in the event of an injurious accident, you could compare quotes right now!
It only takes a few minutes of your time, your ZIP code, and the desire to save money on your car insurance premiums. What do you have to lose?