If you live in Massachusetts, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is mandated for your automobile insurance. 
But what is Personal Injury Protection exactly, and how much coverage does one need?
PIP is a portion of auto insurance that covers medical expenses for individuals in any party involved in a motor vehicle accident. PIP coverage will be employed whether or not the driver was at fault. While not all, some states do mandate a Personal Injury Protection, and Massachusetts is one of those states.
The following excerpt from The 188th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts describes the parameters of the mandate.
Every owner, registrant, operator or occupant of a motor vehicle to which personal injury protection benefits apply who would otherwise be liable in tort, and any person or organization legally responsible for his acts or omissions, is hereby made exempt from tort liability for damages because of bodily injury, sickness, disease or death arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of such motor vehicle to the extent that the injured party is, or would be had he or someone for him not purchased a deductible authorized by this section, entitled to recover under those provisions of a motor vehicle liability policy or bond that provide personal injury protection benefits or from the insurer assigned.
This means that every automobile insurance policy is required to include PIP coverage, and therefore the operator of the vehicle will not be personally liable for medical expenses of a victim. These expenses also include any lost wages due to injury.
In order for insurance to cover injuries, however, it is vital that the injured party submit medical proof of the damage caused to them by the vehicle accident. Without proper proof, PIP cannot cover any medical expenses. This is to prevent people from taking advantage of insurance payouts for injury that may or may not have occurred during the accident.
PIP does not cover an individual riding a motorcycle. However, motorcycle insurance is still required to include PIP in order to provide coverage to anyone else on the road that has the potential to be injured by the motorcycle.
There are different amounts of Personal Injury Protection that an individual can procure. If you have a good health insurance plan with a lot of coverage, than a lesser amount of PIP coverage will do just fine. However, if you don’t have an extensive health plan, then it is a good idea to get a larger amount of PIP coverage that can help to make up for what your health insurance plan lacks, should you be involved in an accident. Also, if you frequently drive with passengers who are not on your family insurance plan, then you may want to purchase more PIP coverage.
If you are unsure of how much PIP coverage is best for you, please contact TJ Woods Insurance. Our agents would be happy to help you get the best auto insurance for your specific needs.
Have you ever been injured in a motor vehicle accident?
