MEDICAL PAYMENTS COVERAGE - AN OPTION WORTH HAVING

Medical payments coverage is an optional coverage that automobile insurers are required to offer to their insureds. The law provides that it is coverage in which the insurer agrees to reimburse the insured and others for reasonable and necessary medical expenses and funeral expenses incurred as a result of bodily injury or death caused by a motor vehicle accident without regard to the insured’s liability for the accident. The coverage applies to all expenses incurred within three years of the date of the accident.

This coverage is available to the named insured, resident spouse and any resident relative while occupying the covered vehicle and to any person legally occupying the covered vehicle. The insurance company must offer the coverage in increments of $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, $10,000 and $50,000.

Anyone who owns a car and does not have health insurance should purchase this coverage. Even if you have heath insurance it might still be worth having as most health insurance policies do not pay 100% of your bills because of significant deductibles or copays. Medical payments coverage pays 100% of reasonable and necessary expenses incurred and there are no copays or deductibles. Additionally, while most health insurance policies require you to reimburse your health insurance company for expenses they paid on your behalf if you make a recovery from the party responsible for causing the accident, medical payment policies generally do not require reimbursement. The result is that by using the medical payments coverage you generally end up with greater compensation when your case resolves.

Medical payments coverage are usually very reasonably priced and do not significantly increase the overall cost of your automobile insurance. You can check with your insurance agent to see how much each incremental increase would cost. Most people are surprised at how much additional coverage they are able to add to their policy. Use of this coverage when you are not at fault in an accident will not adversely effect the cost of your insurance. Next time you renew your automobile insurance discuss the option of adding medical payments coverage to the policy, in the event of an accident you will be glad you did.