Medical Payments, or Med Pay Insurance, & PIP Insurance: What they Mean to Your Tampa, FL Area Car Accident

All drivers in Florida are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection, or PIP, insurance. Regardless of who is at fault in your Tampa area accident, your PIP insurance would pay 80 percent of your medical bills and 60 percent of your lost wages, up to the $10,000 limit on your policy.

If you're thinking that $10,000 does not seem like a lot of coverage, you're right. Your medical bills alone could dwarf your $10,000 PIP coverage, leaving you with unpaid medical bills and no coverage for your lost wages.

Medical payments coverage, or Med Pay for short, is a type of insurance that supplements your PIP insurance. Any experienced Tampa car accident lawyer will tell you that Med Pay is often worth the minimal cost because this coverage protects you in several ways. First, Med Pay covers all of your medical bills up to the limits of your policy. This fact means that Med Pay covers the 20 percent of your medical bills that your PIP coverage does not pay. Furthermore, Med Pay reserves your PIP coverage to pay for your lost wages. Therefore, if you have Med Pay coverage, your insurance company is required to use Med Pay first for your medical bills (up to your policy limits) and save your PIP coverage for lost wages. This provides you with a significant advantage if your car accident causes you to be out of work for an extended period of time.

Med Pay is quite affordable, can help you pay for your car accident medical bills, and also reserves your PIP insurance for lost wages. Ask your insurance agent today about adding Med Pay to your policy. You might also consider contacting a Tampa car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Dale Appell, P.A. to discuss PIP and MedPay issues with them before making any final decisions.