Depending on your auto policy type and the state you live in, minimum PIP coverage typically pays up to $10,000 in “reasonable and necessary” medical bills; $10,000 in lost wages, which is paid at amount of up $200 per week after the first fourteen days following the accident; $2000 in funeral expenses: and $5000 for loss of services, which is subject to a maximum of $40 per day and $200 per week.

Loss of household services would be such items as housekeeping or yard maintenance. In the event you are injured and unable to perform such tasks, your insurance company may reimburse you for these expenses up to the amount of the specified PIP limit.

Liability coverage is mandatory in 48 of the 50 states. PIP is not mandatory coverage but an important for of coverage nonetheless. It is a great benefit if you are injured in an accident. PIP will cover you regardless of who is at fault for the accident. Following an accident, you may be faced with significant medical expenses and unable to work. PIP can help cover these expenses.

While your health insurance, if insured, may be able to cover treatment caused by a motor vehicle accident, it does not cover all treatment. It may have limitations on coverage or not cover chiropractic or massage treatment.

Following an accident, PIP insurance is the primary form of insurance for medical coverage. Your health insurer would likely make you provide proof of no PIP coverage. They would only pay medical expenses in the absence of coverage. Once the PIP coverage has been exhausted, health insurance would pay for additional medical expenses per the terms of the policy.

Because PIP is such an important type of coverage, some states require you to waive PIP coverage in writing. Auto insurance companies are required to keep a copy of your signed waiver and may have to pay PIP benefits in the absence of a signed waiver form denying coverage.

You also typically have the option of purchasing higher limits of PIP coverage from your auto insurance company. For example, in Washington State, the higher optional level of PIP coverage pays up to $35,000 in medical bills; $35,000 in lost wages, paid at amount of up $700 per week after the first fourteen days following the accident; $2000 in funeral expenses: and $14,600 for loss of services, which is subject to a maximum of $40 per day.

PIP coverage may also apply in bicycle or pedestrian accident claims. A bicyclist or pedestrian injured by a vehicle is typically covered under the PIP provision of the driver’s insurance policy, regardless of fault. If the driver that strikes a pedestrian or bicyclist does not have insurance or is underinsured, the injured person may be able to use their PIP coverage or their parents’ PIP coverage to help pay for damages such as medical bills and lost wages following an accident.

Children can also be covered under their parents PIP policy. Depending on the state they live in, if for example, a child who was walking or on a bicycle was struck by a driver that did not have PIP, they may be able to use their parent’s PIP coverage.

Some auto insurance companies also offer med-pay coverage, which is different than PIP. This is more limited coverage and covers medical bills only up to specified amount, typically $5,000 and no other losses.

A Personal Injury Insurance claim can be settle without an
attorney. Make no mistake. In fact, the great majority of personal injury claims
do not involve attorneys. The reason for this is the high legal fees and cost
that will be tackled to your settlement. So learning the process and handling
your claim can save you a bundle and increase your injury compensation.

The Personal Injury Insurance Claim process starts when you
go to the doctor. As soon as a medical professional treats you, you will be
considered “injured”. When people claim headaches or similar injuries, the
adjuster will not allow payments for pain and suffering unless they think they
can settle the day you filed the claim. Most of the time, however, there will
want to see some objective evidence of the injury.

Most insurance companies will try to settle the person
injury insurance claim (as oppose of your personal injury “legal” claim) as soon
as they think they can get a settlement and release form from you. This document
will be an agreement between you and the insurance company in which you agree
that you will not present a legal claim against the liable party in exchange of
a certain amount of money. This agreement will be honored (most of the time as
it can be disputed) in a court of law.

It is not unusual to find insurance adjusters trying to
settle in your first conversation. They can have a recorded agreement on the
phone that could have the effect of an agreement and release.

If you do not settle, then the personal injury insurance
claim will continue. You will follow a treatment schedule and your medical bills
will be paid by your insurance company by your
Personal Injury Protection Coverage.
Both insurance companies will send you a Medical
Authorization From. This form entitles them to ask for your medical bills and
records. You insurance company will not pay the medical bills until you give
them the form. This is perfectly legal. Courts have ruled that if the insurance
company is required to pay the medical bill, they are entitled to see the
reports. However, you do not have to give this Medical Authorization form to the
insurance company of the person that hit you. You can withhold the records until
you are ready to settle.

After you insurance company pays, they will be reimbursed
by the responsible party’s insurance company but only when you settle. This can
take up to three years, depending on your state’s bodily injury statute of
limitations. However, your insurance company will not pay for you pain and
suffering and general damages. You have to settle those by yourself.

The personal injury insurance claim process will focus in
your medical treatment. The insurance carrier will be sending you letter and
asking you to report your medical condition. If they believe that you are over
treating, they will send a letter to your own insurance company telling them
that if they pay for your medical bills, they will not reimburse them. This is a
technique to put pressure on your own insurance company to review the medical
records and decline payment in anything that does not appear to be accident
related.

Once you feel better, you are back to “pre accident
condition”, or you are release from treatment, the other person’s insurance
company will be asking you for the medical authorization form again. You can
declined to turn it in, but you can collect the medical records yourself, review
them, exclude whichever ones you believe do not help your case, and submit the
rest (just like a lawyer would do). Most people will just sign the medical
authorization from, giving the insurance company the right to see every record
in your medical history.

The next step in a personal injury insurance claim is the
evaluation process. Once the insurance company receives all medical records and
reports, they will “compare” your injuries and treatment to similar cases in
your area and find the average jury award. Their first offer is the lowest
amount they believe a jury would award you. You can negotiate that amount to
what you believe a jury would award you.

Once there is an agreement, the insurance company will send
you a settlement of any and all claims form. Once you returned signed, they will
issue you payment and the claim will be settled. At that point, your insurance
company will be reimbursed for your medical bills.

Click here for more information about your personal injury insurance claim.

All the best,
Hector Quiroga
www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com

Hector Quiroga has a high interest in helping consumers gain knowledge of the auto insurance claim process for both property damage and bodily injury claims. He covers in great detail what a car accident investigation entails and share many helpful tips for dealing with insurance companies and adjusters.

Liability insurance defends a person or business from claims for damages by another entity. One can of course live without it in Los Angeles, but it is prudent to avail of this protection because it may turn out to be useful. The insurance company takes on the risk of damages being claimed from you for a consideration, which is usually called a ‘premium.’

There are different types of liability insurance, which is part of general insurance. In business it could be availed of to cover ‘premises liability,’ that is, accidents or injury sustained by another on your business premises. Others include directors and officer’s liability, employer liability, and professional (malpractice) liability. It pays for the loss of the third party but doesn’t cover your damages or personal injury.

It is mandatory that drivers carry liability insurance. If you are hit by another vehicle, that party’s liability insurance pays for your damages. But what happens if that person doesn’t have one? This is a realistic scenario in Los Angeles, where one out of three drivers don’t have liability insurance, according to police estimates. It is generally considered that people without insurance normally do not have meaningful assets. In such cases you will be protected if you have Uninsured Motorist Insurance (UMI). There are two parts to it – personal injury and property damage. Both can be covered. To encourage drivers to obtain liability insurance, a low-cost scheme for those who have no more than one endorsement on their licenses has been introduced in Los Angeles and San Francisco, through government initiatives.

How much liability insurance should you have? It depends on your risk perception. Liability insurance is not very costly, and the difference in premium for enhancing the coverage is not in direct proportion to the increase in amount. If the charge for a $100,000 policy is X, augmenting it to $200,000 does not require Xx2. It is advisable to obtain cover for the cost of legal defense as well. Attorney bills can be quite high.

Quotes for insurance coverage can be obtained online. Compare them. It could be beneficial to do a background search of the insurance companies you approach, or who approach you.

Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys provides detailed information on Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys: A Guide, Los Angeles Personal Injury Claims, Los Angeles Personal Injury Funding, Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Firms and more. Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys is affiliated with Driving Under The Influence.