Personal Injury Protection Plans Also Are Called 'No Fault' Insurance

Insurance: Personal Injury Protection Plans Also Are Called 'No Fault' Insurance

While there are many kinds of car insurance plans available, in some states, personal injury protection (PIP) is required by law. Also called "no fault" coverage, such types of vehicle policies pay up to their stated limits for any injuries suffered while driving.( insurance companies, car insurance companies, auto insurance companies, car insurance company, health insurance companies; life insurance companies, praetorian insurance company)

A handful of states enacted no fault auto policies starting in the 1970s, and Michigan has no limit on how much will be paid to cover the costs of personal injury protection. Anyone suffering a long-term disability from a car accident in Michigan will have medical costs and other claims paid for life. And that has made the state the most expensive in the nation for insuring vehicles in recent years.

Twelve states in all have such no fault auto policy laws in place with the intent to reduce the number of lawsuits arising from accidents. Regardless which party is responsible for causing a collision resulting in bodily injury, personal injury protection plans will provide automatic payment while leaving it up to the insurers to determine if they will seek redemption through legal means.

(cheap insurance, cheap auto insurance, cheap car insurance, cheap insurance companies, car insurance cheap , cheap health insurance, cheap home insurance , cheap life insurance, cheap motorcycle insurance , cheap medical insurance)Unfortunately, such insurance plans have spurred a great deal of abuse and criminal activity through fraud. Policy limits can be as high as $250,000 for injuries to more than one person involved in a vehicular mishap. And criminals have created elaborate schemes to defraud car insurers in some states by staging collisions and sending the would-be victims to real or fake medical professionals who bill for health care services that never were needed or provided.

Mandatory no fault insurance laws exist in Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan. Other states with such laws are Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington State. In each, the average car insurance rate generally is much higher than in those with standard auto laws.

But even in those states, laws can vary greatly. Maryland, Texas and Washington State allow motorists to waive personal injury protection in favor of standard vehicle coverage. And while not required in 38 states, personal injury protection policies can be bought in many of them, although many drivers choose more standard plans.

A benefit of PIP coverage is rates generally do not rise due to a claim being filed for bodily injury payments. And that can be a comfort for people involved in injury-causing collisions that otherwise might have landed them in a courtroom and facing a potentially expensive legal judgment. And while rates generally are higher with PIP coverage, knowing there is less likelihood of being sued does comfort many motorists, making the additional cost bearable.