What To Know About PIP Insurance In St Petersburg
Michael Babboni
Insurance Coverage
Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, coverage covers medical costs, lost wages, funeral expenses, and passenger damages in the event you find yourself in an accident in the St. Petersburg area. Florida is one of about a dozen or so states that observe no-fault insurance laws and require motorists carry PIP insurance in order to stay legal on the road.What Does PIP Insurance Coverage Cover?
PIP insurance coverage is in charge of covering medical bills and other associated costs for motorists and their passengers in the event of an accident. With Florida’s no-fault insurance laws, injury claims will be made to one’s own insurance provider, and this PIP coverage will kick in to pay for damages related to the accident.
The specifics that your PIP insurance may cover include:
• Hospitalization
• Surgery
• Ongoing rehabilitative care
• Lost wages if injuries cause a person to miss work
• Funeral expenses
• Accidental death benefits
• Some home care services if an injured person is unable to take care of domestic tasks themselves.
Why Is PIP Necessary If I Have Health Insurance Coverage?
PIP insurance differs from health insurance coverage. In some instances, health insurance providers may deny claims for injuries experienced in auto accidents. In the state of Florida, one must turn to their PIP insurance coverage first, and only after that coverage is exhausted may they turn to their health insurance coverage to cover any other existing injury damages.
PIP insurance also includes coverages that health insurance providers do not. A health insurance provider may cover a surgery or a hospitalization, but they won’t cover the lost wages and home care services needed afterward. If an accident proves to be fatal, health insurance coverage will not cover funeral related costs like personal injury protection.
How Are Claims Filed?
Claims are filed either online or through a phone call, just as one would file with any other type of insurance. PIP coverage will kick in immediately to cover the medical costs one incurs after an accident, but it can get a little more complicated after that. Accident injuries may require ongoing treatments that are considered to be “non-urgent”, like physical therapies or rehabilitation care, and these will need to be reviewed or pre-approved by insurance adjusters. This approval or review process involves a medical professional of your provider’s choosing to approve your treatment plan alongside a medical claims processor. Additionally, your insurance provider may only grant partial reimbursement or direct you to use only medical teams of their choosing.
In Florida, PIP coverage will cover 80% of your medical costs, with the additional 20% considered to be the motorist’s responsibility. MedPay is an additional coverage that can help to pay some of these leftover accident injury medical costs. Without MedPay, your health insurance coverage will help to cover any existing medical damages.
What If My Insurance Provider Isn’t Approving My Claims?
While your insurance provider and your PIP coverage may kick in and cover any immediate medical costs, things can get complicated when it comes to ongoing care. What can an injured person do if their medical team’s treatment plan isn’t being approved in a timely manner?
Having a skilled and experienced auto accident injury lawyer on your side can help. They can handle insurance providers to make sure you get the claims approval you deserve as you try to recover from your accident injuries. Insurance providers know this, and while they may try to get away with denying claims to a motorist, they’re far less likely to try the same when they know the motorist has an attorney on their side. To learn more about PIP coverage, the claims process, or representation after an accident, contact us at TheStPeteLawyer.com today.