Car accidents can cause serious injuries that require prompt medical attention, expensive surgeries, specialist consultations, and months of follow-up appointments.
It’s easy to get stressed out about how you’re going to navigate these costs, especially when you’re involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, someone who doesn’t have enough coverage to cover the full cost of your medical care, or someone who leaves the scene before you can get their information.
While Texas is an at-fault state for auto accidents, you’re not out of luck if the at-fault driver can’t pay or doesn’t carry a policy with enough coverage to pay for your medical bills. Texas requires insurance companies to offer certain coverage when you buy a policy, and several options can be used to offset the extraordinary costs of medical treatment after an accident, even if you’re without blame.
These include Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits, MedPay, and Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) benefits.
You might have one or more of these coverages on your auto insurance policy and not even know it. An experienced Austin car accident attorney can review your policy, determine which coverage can potentially apply to your situation, and help you get the money you need to get back on your feet.
Here’s a breakdown of what these different insurance policies cover, when they apply, and which one(s) might be most helpful to you after a car accident in Texas.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage
Personal Injury Protection isn’t mandatory, but it has to be included as an option when you buy a car insurance policy. If you don’t want it, you have to reject it in writing. If you didn’t do this, there’s a good chance your current car insurance policy includes at least $2,500 in PIP benefits.
So, what does PIP cover? PIP benefits cover:
- Medical bills
- Up to 80 percent of your lost wages, and
- $25 per day for limited household services after an accident.
You and passengers in your vehicle are covered by PIP benefits, and they can extend to family members in some cases, too.
You can recover PIP benefits even if you’re responsible for a car accident in Texas. A car accident lawyer can help you determine whether you have PIP coverage and how to properly file a claim.
MedPay Coverage
MedPay is another type of optional coverage that can help you pay for medical care after a car accident in Texas. Unlike PIP benefits, insurance companies aren’t required to include this or offer it to you when you buy a policy.
Major auto insurance providers like Geico, State Farm, USAA, and Progressive are known to offer MedPay as an add-on to personal auto insurance policies, but you typically have to ask for it.
MedPay provides no-fault coverage for medical expenses for car accident victims. It doesn’t pay anything for missed paychecks, pain and suffering, or household services.
Many Texas insurance companies have strict requirements for MedPay benefits, and they can vary from one provider to the next.
For example, the Office of Public Insurance Counsel notes that companies might only permit MedPay benefits as reimbursement for co-pays and health insurance deductibles, while others might only grant payment within one year of the date of an auto accident.
An experienced car accident lawyer in Austin can help you review your policy and determine any limitations on receiving MedPay benefits.
UM/UIM Benefits
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are grouped together, but they cover very different things:
- Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage takes the place of insurance benefits that an at-fault driver should have had in place at the time of an accident. It can also be used when you’re involved in a hit-and-run accident, and the hit-and-run driver can’t be located.
- Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, on the other hand, bridges the gap between what another driver’s insurance policy pays and the full extent of your damages.
For example, if you’re involved in an accident with another driver who only carries the state minimum for coverage, the $30,000 in bodily injury might not be enough to cover your medical bills, lost income, and distress. If you have UIM on your personal insurance policy, those benefits can alleviate costs exceeding $30,000.
Minimum UM/UIM coverage in Texas is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in bodily injury damages, plus another $25,000 for property damage. If your UM/UIM coverage is set at the minimum, you can potentially recover another $30,000 in benefits on top of the $30,000 you recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurer. You can recover benefits up to your policy’s limits, which were set when you bought your policy.
Unlike PIP and MedPay, UM/UIM coverage isn’t no-fault. You have to prove that another driver is liable for your car accident before your insurance company will cut a check for UM or UIM benefits. A skilled car accident attorney can help you gather the evidence needed to prove liability and secure these benefits.
What’s Best for Me: PIP, MedPay, or UM/UIM?
It depends. There are times when you might be able to recover PIP, MedPay, and/or UM/UIM benefits after a car accident in Texas. It will depend on the type of accident you were involved in, what coverage you’ve added to your policy, and who’s at fault for your accident.
PIP benefits can help cover medical bills and lost wages after an accident where:
- The other driver leaves the scene without exchanging information with you or providing it to the police
- You’re fully or partially at fault, or
- The other driver is uninsured or doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your medical care.
MedPay benefits can pay for medical expenses after an accident where:
- You’re at fault
- Another driver is uninsured or doesn’t carry enough insurance to pay your medical bills, or
- The at-fault driver doesn’t stick around to take responsibility.
Uninsured motorist coverage can pay for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering from a crash:
- That’s classified as a hit-and-run, or
- Where the other driver is one of the 13.8 percent of Texas drivers who don’t have car insurance.
Underinsured motorist coverage can pay for medical treatment, disability, and emotional distress for an accident:
- In which the other driver is at fault and insured, but doesn’t have enough coverage to pay for your considerable damages.
If you get into a hit-and-run accident in Texas and have added PIP, MedPay, and UM/UIM coverage to your car insurance policy, there’s a chance that you can tap into all three to alleviate the costs you have after a crash.
Consulting with an Austin car accident lawyer can help you understand exactly which coverages apply to your specific situation.
Dow Law Firm Can Help You Identify Potential Options for Coverage After an Accident
Don’t stress about figuring out insurance coverage, policy limits, policy exclusions, and fine print after a car accident in Texas. Focus on getting better, and trust the car accident attorneys at Dow Law Firm to take care of your fight for compensation.
Our Austin car accident lawyers bring decades of experience to each case, along with a proven ability to win top-tier results. We’ll evaluate your recovery options and execute a strategy to get you every cent you’re owed under the law.
Call (512) 240-9951 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with a car accident attorney today.