How will my bills be paid?

The auto insurance carrier for the motor vehicle in which an injured person was either an operator or passenger is responsible for the initial payment of bills for medical care. In other words, if you are injured while a passenger, the insurance company for the car in which you were riding while injured would be responsible for the payment of your bills (up to the limits of the PIP coverage as outlined below), even though you might have an auto insurance policy covering your own motor vehicle. Likewise, the operator of the vehicle is covered by the policy on the vehicle he is operating, even though the accident may have been his or her fault. That is why PIP is also called “no fault” insurance. (Please do not confuse PIP or no-fault payments with the liability coverage of a negligent driver which will be explained further below.) The process for obtaining the payment of medical bills for motor vehicle accident injuries is fairly simple. However, coordination of benefits can be complicated. To open a personal injury protection benefits claim, you must file an application for benefits. The application requests information concerning how the accident happened, the involved parties, your employment status and a description of your injuries. Once the claim is opened, your medical providers or your attorney can submit bills with supporting medical documentation directly to the insurance carrier for payment or reimbursement. There is a limit, however, to how much the motor vehicle insurance policy will pay for medical care.