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What in The World is Med Pay Coverage?

Health insurance basics

What is Med Pay Coverage on a Car Insurance Policy?

Car insurance protects your car, not the people inside of it.  Medical Payments Coverage, also known as Med Pay Coverage, pays for immediate and necessary medical services following a car accident that results in injury.  It pays medical expenses for you and any passengers in your vehicle who are injured during an accident or auto-related injury.  It protects you regardless of who caused the accident.

Med Pay Coverage also follows the policyholder. In other words, if you’re walking, riding in a friend’s vehicle, or using public transportation, your medical payments coverage remains active.

 

What Does Med Pay Coverage Cover?

Consider the following list:

  1. Injuries sustained by your passengers;
  2. EMT and ambulance fees;
  3. Hospital visits and stays, doctor visits;
  4. Surgery and x-rays;
  5. Professional nursing services and care;
  6. Prostheses;
  7. Dental procedures needed as a result of an accident;
  8. Injuries sustained as a pedestrian or riding a bicycle if a vehicle hits you; and
  9. Funerals.

There are situations where medical payments coverage will not apply. For example, while medical payments insurance covers personal automobiles, it cannot be applied to trailers or other equipment attached to them.

 

When Should You Pay for Med Pay?

Med Pay coverage is an optional insurance coverage that is offered as a part of your auto insurance policy.  You should consider the following before you purchase medical payments coverage:

  1. Your current health insurance;
  2. Your personal injury protection coverage (if you have any); and
  3. The cost of coverage.

If your health insurance provides excellent coverage for injuries you suffer in a car accident, you may have very little need for Med Pay Coverage.  However, if you find your health insurance does not cover these types of injuries, it can be a very good idea to buy Med Pay Coverage.

 

The Cost of Coverage

When it comes to car insurance, several factors go into determining your premium rates, including your:

  1. Driving record;
  2. Claims history;
  3. Age;
  4. Sex; and
  5. Marital status.

With all factors considered, medical payments coverage is generally one of the least expensive types of car insurance coverage.

 

Med Pay Coverage as Secondary Insurance

You may also have the ability to use Med Pay Coverage as a secondary insurance to your health insurance. This means that if you are hurt in an accident, your health insurance will cover you up to its limits. Once your health insurance limits are met, your Med Pay Coverage will cover you up to the limits written in your car insurance policy.

 

Med Pay vs. PIP

You also need to understand the difference between Med Pay and Personal Injury Protection when you are selecting your auto insurance coverage.   These are the two main types of medical coverage you can purchase as part of your car insurance policy.

Medical Payments (Med Pay) will cover the medical payments of you and your passengers in your vehicle if they are injured in a crash.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) includes medical payments coverage but also will cover other documented losses such as your lost wages.  PIP offers insurance coverage for:

  1. Wages lost from work;
  2. Other reasonable non-medical or work-related losses; and
  3. A death benefit.

 

The Bottom Line: Should You Buy Medical Payments Insurance?

For most people, the answer is simple: Include Med Pay coverage in your insurance policy.

If you don’t have health insurance coverage for yourself or your family, Med Pay is an affordable way to make sure medical bills will get paid after a car accident. Plus, Med Pay coverage extends to passengers who are not part of your household – and who may or may not have health insurance themselves.

Even if you do have a health insurance plan, Med Pay can be beneficial.

 

The ABCs of Your Vehicle’s Coverage

Should I Let Someone Borrow My Car?There are many different clauses in a car insurance policy, and it can get confusing.  It helps to have some information about those parts of a policy that can affect you the most.  One such topic is the difference between “Comprehensive” and “Collision” Coverage.  “Comprehensive coverage” (a.k.a. “Comp” or “Other Than Collision”) and “Collision Coverage” are parts of an insurance policy that cover physical damage from an accident.  However, the two are very different in what they cover.

 

 

Some Basics

Let’s look at the different parts of an automobile insurance policy.  An auto insurance policy is broken down into two basic parts:

  • Liability coverage, and
  • Physical damage.

Liability coverage pays for damage you cause to another person’s property and/or their injuries, while physical damage covers your own vehicle.

 

Physical Damage and Comprehensive Coverage

Physical damage coverage, which covers damage to your own car, is further separated into collision coverage and comprehensive, or “Other Than Collision” coverage.  Let’s take a closer look at the physical damages components of your auto insurance policy.

Comp, or comprehensive coverage (also known as “other than collision” coverage), covers damage done to your vehicle from things other than collisions; it covers damage to your car caused by events that are out of your control. It includes things such as:

  • Vandalism;
  • Glass and windshield damage disasters;
  • A falling object;
  • Hail;
  • Theft;
  • Fire; and
  • Impacts with animals.

It’s an optional coverage to you, so you don’t have to have it.  However, if you have a lease or loan on your vehicle, the lender or finance company may require you to purchase full coverage for your vehicle, in which case they will require that you include comprehensive coverage. So, it can prove useful if something happens to your car that is out of your control.

 

Physical Damage Coverage and Collision Coverage

Now let’s talk about collision coverage.  Collision Coverage can best be described as any event that results in the “upset” of your vehicle.  This includes any time your car collides or runs into something while you’re driving, or if something runs into it.  Collision Coverage reimburses you for damage to your car after you’ve been in a car accident, whether you are at fault or not at fault in the accident.

 

To Buy or Not to Buy

Car insurance companies typically sell collision and comprehensive coverages together. You may find these coverages packaged together as “physical damage coverage.”

 

Most companies will not allow you to buy collision coverage without buying comprehensive coverage; however, some may offer policies that have comprehensive and not collision coverage.  When shopping for collision and comprehensive coverages, consider whether you need these coverages and how high you want your deductible to be.

 

Is it Necessary?

Because comprehensive and collision are optional types of car insurance coverage, you should consider some factors before determining whether or not you need to purchase these coverages.

 

Your Car’s Value

It is important to consider the value of your car when determining whether you need collision and comprehensive coverage. If your car is:

  • Older and/or low-value, it may not be worth purchasing these coverages, since they will only pay up to the estimated fair market value of your car.
  • Newer and/or high-value, having these coverages can save you from paying out significant costs to repair or replace your car (if totaled).

 

Note that if your car is totaled, your collision and comprehensive insurance will only pay you the estimated fair market value of the vehicle. If you have a loan or lease, consider gap coverage, which will pay the difference between your how much you owe and the car’s cash value.

Your Driving Habits

Also consider what you put your car through on a daily basis. For example, if you drive a lot of miles, or if you park your car in a location that is especially susceptible to theft or vandalism, you might want to have comprehensive coverage.

 

Choosing Your Deductibles

A deductible is the amount towards a claim that you are responsible for out of pocket before your insurance pays out. Collision and comprehensive insurance coverages require you to pay a deductible whenever you make a claim towards either coverage.

Insurance companies often offer different set options for how high your deductible is.

 

Choosing a higher deductible lowers your premium.

Keep in mind that a high deductible means you are paying more up front and out of pocket towards a claim. If you choose a high deductible in order to save money on your premium, make sure you have enough money saved to pay your deductible when you need your insurance.

 

Conclusion

Simply meeting your state’s car insurance requirements may not provide you with enough protection. When comparing car insurance quotes, consider carefully how much coverage you need and whether collision and comprehensive coverages are right for you. When in doubt, ask your agent.

 

How to Avoid Paying in a Car Accident

No one wants to be in a car accident, but accidents can happen to anyone.  So we protect ourselves and others with automobile liability insurance. If you’re injured in an accident caused by another driver, that driver’s liability insurance will usually help cover expenses you incur — unless that driver doesn’t have auto liability coverage.

Being Uninsured

If someone is injured in an automobile collision in the United States, the chances are about one in seven that the driver at fault is uninsured.  However, you can ask your insurance agent to include uninsured motorist insurance in your car insurance policy.  In that case you can put a claim in under your own insurance policy for uninsured motorist coverage.

What Exactly is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

Uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage protects you as a driver against any damage that results from another person hitting you when that other person does not have car insurance.

UMPD and UMBI: Know the Difference

There are two types of uninsured motorist coverage that you need to know about:

  1. Uninsured motorist property damage coverage, also known as UMPD, covers car damage in the event that the at fault driver does not have car insurance.
  2. Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) bodily injury coverage (UMBI). This pays for your injuries (not car damage) when someone with little or no insurance crashes into you.

UMBI and Medical Bills

UMBI usually pays for the following:

  1. Pain and suffering;
  2. Lost wages; and
  3. Medical bills.

If you’re in an auto accident caused by an uninsured motorist and you don’t have UM coverage, your health insurance will generally pay for your medical bills related to that car accident, with you being left to pay for any deductible and co-payment amounts. That can easily add up to a hefty amount if you require a hospital stay.  So, UM coverage can help bridge that gap in these payments.

UM Coverage in Ohio

The State of Ohio does not require drivers to purchase UM coverage as part of their car insurance policy.  Ohio requires only that insurers offer it to customers without collision coverage.  However, it is important to consider having this coverage as part of your policy.  As a minimum, your UM coverage should at least equal your liability coverage which, at a minimum, is $25,000.

Is “Full Coverage” Enough?

And what if you have “Full Coverage” insurance? When people talk about “full coverage” car insurance, they’re often referring to a combination of coverages that help protect a vehicle.  But, there’s really no such thing as “full coverage” for your car.  “Full coverage” does not mean you are fully covered in the event of a car accident. Every coverage has a set limit which the insurance company will pay up to, and nothing more.

What about Comprehensive and Collision Coverage?

If you have collision coverage, it would also pay for car damage caused by a driver without insurance or without enough coverage. In this situation, there’s really only one advantage to uninsured motorist property damage coverage: It generally has a lower deductible than collision coverage.

Conclusion

As the owner of the insurance policy, you pay extra for uninsured motorist coverage, but it’s worth it to have that protection.  Uninsured motorist coverage is a relatively inexpensive coverage that you shouldn’t do without.

 

 

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