Auto Insurance Medical Payments Coverage (MedPay)

Auto Medical Payments Coverage is a type of car insurance that pays for expenses relating to injuries resulting from a covered event, such as a car crash. Unlike your liability for bodily injury or death, Medical Payments Insurance covers you – and your passengers – regardless of who is at fault in the car accident.

Not all states require additional medical payment coverage on top of liability. Only Maine requires Medical Payments. New Hampshire does not require its drivers to purchase auto insurance, but if they do purchase it, the minimum package must include MedPay. Others require Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or No Fault Insurance. Some do not require additional medical payment policies at all or do not offer it. In many places, it is considered optional coverage. Your Freeway agent has the information you need and can help you sift through your options to find the best plan for you.

It provides what is considered gap protection in the event of injuries or death. Most MedPay benefits will cover you even when you are not in your vehicle, for example, if a vehicle hits you while walking or biking. It offers immediate money after an incident to help you pay for things like medical bills and funerals and you can even use your it to help pay for the deductibles and copays for your regular healthcare. It can be considered a supplement to your health policy – check with your health provider to find out which would be considered primary.

For the peace of mind it provides, it’s actually pretty cheap. It averages somewhere between $5 and $20 per month – depending on the amount of protection you purchase and other factors insurer takes into account, such as your overall driving record. It’s another good reason why shopping around and comparing car insurance companies is a good idea.

If you have this policy, make sure you get some information from your insurer on exactly how to file a claim, since it is handled differently from carrier to carrier. In some cases, you’ll get a direct payout after you submit a bill. In other cases, this type of coverage is added to your existing health plan and they pay the bills. Across carriers, they may ask for your health insurance policy to pay first and this next or vice versa.

In most situations, you’ll either pay your medical expenses upfront and receive reimbursement or your health plan will pay the bills. In the second case, you can use it to help pay your regular health deductible or copay.

At any rate, if you are injured in an crash that is not your fault, you’ll receive help from this protection before the other driver’s bodily/death liability is approved by their insurer.

Bodily injury liability insurance helps pay for the medical expenses and other associated costs of other drivers and their passengers when you are the at-fault driver in a wreck. In a no-fault state, typically the extra protection required is used by each driver to pay the associated medical expenses for themselves and their passengers, regardless of who caused the crash. But liability payouts can get caught up in lawsuits after a wreck and insurers are reluctant to pay out until blame has been established. The extra policy provided starts to pay immediately.

In every state that requires drivers to carry insurance, bodily injury liability is part of that requirement, except Florida. Florida only requires property damage liability and PIP. And, of course, New Hampshire does not require any.

As with most types of protection, in most states you can decide how much of this you want to purchase. Experts say to examine your current health plan for information specific to auto accidents. With today’s high costs for medically associated services, having some extra may be a good idea. Keep in mind there are no deductibles or co-pays.