(800) 253-1482Medical Payments Coverage Auto Insurance
Summary: Medical payments coverage will cover you after an accident regardless of fault for expensive healthcare expenses. This coverage will also apply to passengers. While drivers carry bodily injury coverage, it’s important to remember that this coverage is not for your own medical bills after an accident, making MedPay an important consideration. Estimated Read Time: 3 mins
Table of Contents:
- What Does Medical Payments Coverage Cover?
- How Much Medical Payments Coverage Do I Need?
- Auto Insurance Medical Payments vs. Bodily Injury
- What Is MedPay?
The aftermath of a car accident can leave many losses to restore including injuries sustained by the driver causing the accident and their passengers. Medical payments coverage is there to help you pay for expensive medical bills after a wreck, even when you’re at fault.
Liability coverage will help you pay for the medical costs of others but if you have car insurance without medical payments coverage, you’ll be stuck paying for your medical expenses alone.
Furthermore, if you are responsible for the medical bills of others within your vehicle, these expensive costs could also lead to legal action only increasing your financial hurdle. Below, we’re looking at how to protect yourself with auto insurance policies with medical payments coverage for the lowest cost possible.
What Does Medical Payments Coverage Cover?
Medical payments coverage applies to the medical expenses of drivers and their passengers after an accident.
Your protection will cover you even if you are at fault for the accident and can also cover you if you or your family are a pedestrian walking or riding a bike and are injured as well.
While medical payments coverage is similar protection to personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, the protection is more narrow in scope.
Drivers who are looking to protect against more risks may see this as a negative, however, medical payments auto insurance still has your policy limits which help overcome spontaneous medical costs while keeping protection affordable.
How Much Medical Payments Coverage Do I Need?
You should carry enough medical payments coverage to cover your medical bills following an automobile accident and the bills of your passengers.
As medical costs continue to rise, this figure can become a bit convoluted. However, the average cost of medical expenses after an automobile accident can easily reach several thousand per person.
Auto insurance medical payments coverage will help you pay for doctor visits and consultations, but for serious injuries, it may not be enough.
Because of this, there are a few considerations all drivers need to remember when deciding if medical payments coverage is the right choice:
- Your medical payments coverage will still pay for more expensive medical procedures, however, your policy limits may end up leaving you paying for the rest out of pocket.
- If you are at fault and you and/or your passengers incur serious injuries, PIP coverage may be necessary.
- Medical payments coverage is great protection in the event you are in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist.
Your coverage should be enough to help you avoid a financial crisis and help you receive the medical care you deserve. While not required in the Lone Star State, it’s still worth considering.
This is because the average cost per bodily injury claim averages can easily reach over $15,000 and medical costs continue to rise.
If paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for medical expenses would be a severe financial hurdle, medical payments coverage is important coverage to consider.
Auto Insurance Medical Payments vs. Bodily Injury
Texas already requires drivers to carry a minimum amount of bodily injury coverage because of the expensive nature of healthcare costs. However, your policy will restore the losses to another person if you are at fault, but won’t cover your own medical bills.
If you are in an accident that you’ve caused and have medical expenses, you’ll need to have health insurance or pay out of pocket unless you have medical payments coverage. While car insurance policies have different limits, your medical payments coverage will typically cover around $2,500-$5,000 worth of expenses.
What Is MedPay?
MedPay is another name for medical payments coverage. Your medical costs are also covered by MedPay in the event you are involved in an auto accident while you’re a pedestrian. However, it’s important to note that MedPay is not the same as health insurance. Simply another name for possible auto coverage available to drivers.
