PIP coverage is the part of your auto insurance policy that covers you and anyone
in your car medically if you are in an accident. This is called Personal Injury
Protection or PIP in Utah. Other states have similar coverage with other names
such as Med Pay or Medical Coverage. Utah is a “no fault” state. This means that
regardless of who caused the accident, PIP coverage is available to you from your
own insurance. Your Utah automobile policy is required to have a minimum of
$3000 of PIP. When you get quotes from insurance agents, this is generally the
amount they use in the quote.
Let’s look at what $3,000 of PIP coverage will cover. If you are in an accident and
get taken to the hospital in an ambulance, that generally runs $800-$1,200 (or
more). An Emergency Room Evaluation with regular x-rays will be in the
neighborhood of $1,500-$2,000 dollars. So if you go to the ER and get an MRI or CT
scan, you will be over your minimum PIP in one visit-and that leaves you no
money for treatment. Most auto accident injuries are soft tissue injuries: meaning
no fractures to hard tissues. This means that you have injury to soft tissues such
as: muscle, ligament, discs, and fascia. (See article: What Is Whiplash?) You will
want money available for treatment of these injuries as well.
So, what can you do? In my opinion, the minimum PIP you should carry is
whatever your medical deductible of your health insurance is. If your health
insurance medical deductible is $5,000, you should carry that in PIP as a minimum
so you will have no out of pocket payments should you be in an accident that
requires hospitalization and/or surgery. I recommend at this time you should
carry a minimum of $10,000 PIP. I personally carry $25,000 PIP on my policies. Did
you know that for a few dollars more a month, you can increase your PIP to
$10,000 or more? Your insurance agent can tell you what your current coverage
is and update that coverage if needed. Please call your agent today…make sure
you and your family are protected appropriately.
Neil C. Logan has been a Chiropractic Physician for over 35 years. He is Certified as
a Motor Vehicle Occupant Injury Specialist and is a member of the Utah Whiplash
Group.