Understanding Medical Payment Coverage
Most people always worry about any kind of financial implications of vehicle damage when they are considering the kind of car insurance coverage they’d like to purchase, but no matter what it’s always important to take a look at the bigger picture when it comes to this kind of insurance purchase and understand that your personal health is always more important than your car.
In order to ensure that you are fully covered for any kind of medical expenses after a car accident there is medical payments coverage, which is a great and affordable insurance option that we’ll be discussing in detail below.
What Does Medical Payments Cover?
In general, medical payments coverage pays for your medical costs after you’re injured in a car accident, and it doesn’t matter which party is later found at fault for the specific accident. Some other expenses that are covered through medical payments insurance include the following:
- Injuries sustained by your passengers
- Injuries you personally sustain while on a bicycle or as a pedestrian after a vehicle impacts you
- Any dental care that is necessary as a result of an accident
- Funeral expenses
The overall restrictions and benefits of medical payments coverage is going to be different amongst car insurance companies, and so it’s always very important to make sure you keep medical payments coverage in mind when you are doing your comparison-shopping for your car insurance. It’s also a great idea to speak to an insurance agent from the company you are interested in and have a conversation about medical payments coverage so you can get the full details of their specific plan.
Purchasing Medical Payments Coverage
For the most part medical payments coverage is considered to be optional, but certain states may legally require this type of coverage to be written into your policy. In Minnesota, one of the requirements of all car owners is that they must have no-fault insurance, or personal injury protection, which we’ll discuss in detail below.
When it comes to the actual purchasing of medical payments coverage, or any optional car insurance coverage for that matter, there are a few things you should consider before buying, including the following:
- Your current health insurance plan
- Your personal injury protection coverage (or lack thereof)
- The overall cost of the coverage
Your Health Insurance
Possibly the biggest factor to consider when looking into purchasing medical payments coverage is your current health insurance plan, because if your health insurance does in fact provide comprehensive coverage for car accident injuries then you may not necessarily need medical payments coverage.
BUT, if you look into your health insurance coverage and it does NOT cover these kinds of injuries then medical payments coverage is more than a great idea to consider.
A lot of times people will use medical payments coverage as a secondary insurance, which means that your medical payments coverage will cover your hospital bills and overall medical expenses up to your car insurance policy limits once your health insurance limits are met. This of course can be very supportive when you are in a serious accident that requires expensive medical bills.
Personal Injury Protection
As previously mentioned, Minnesota is a no-fault state, which means that drivers in Minnesota are required to have car insurance that covers injuries no matter who is the at-fault party in any given car accident. Personal injury protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage are very similar in that they both are predominately intended to cover injuries from car accidents.
However, there are some significant differences between these types of coverage, including the following:
- PIP is a requirement in no-fault states, and not an option.
- PIP is only available in these no-fault states, and a few no-fault optional states.
- PIP offers coverage for loss of income, while medical payments insurance does not cover this.
In many no-fault states like Minnesota you can utilize medical payments coverage as an additional optional coverage, and this is a good opportunity because you can utilize the medical payments coverage to supplement any medical costs that exceed your PIP limits.
It is also important to note that some no-fault states will not allow car insurance companies to sell medical payments coverage, and so it’s always best to contact your car insurance agent and get the details about how medical payments coverage could potentially work with your PIP coverage.
Cost of Coverage
There are a few factors that will help determine premium rates for car insurance, and these include the following:
- Claims history
- Driving record
- Age
- Sex
- Marital status
But when it really comes down to it, it’s safe to say that medical payments coverage is typically one of the most affordable car insurance coverage options.
Your Car Insurance Policy
Every car insurance company is different, and so are car insurance policies, so it’s important to study up on your policy and speak to an agent to get the exact details of what your policy covers under all circumstances.