|
Call Us 24Hrs. A Day
|
What is 'PIP' Insurance?
"PIP" stands for Personal Injury Protection insurance. Florida law
requires each owner of a motor vehicle to carry "PIP" or Personal
Injury Protection insurance on their car as a condition of having a
valid registration. The minimum coverage that must be carried to
comply with the law is $10,000 of Personal Injury Protection and
$10,000 of property damage liability. Personal Injury Protection
insurance will pay you a portion of your lost wages and medical
bills if you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of
who caused the accident. That is why this law is sometimes referred
to as the no fault law.
Under the Personal Injury Protection law, your insurance company
must pay 80% of your reasonable and necessary medical bills incurred
as a result of a motor vehicle accident. The law also provides that
you may recover 60% of your lost wages. The medical benefits cover
all reasonable expenses for necessary medical, surgical, x-ray,
dental and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic devices.
Your insurance company will also pay for necessary ambulance,
hospital and nursing services. If a death results from the accident,
the personal injury protection insurer may have to pay a death
benefit under this policy.
Florida law allows individuals to carry a deductible on their
personal injury protection coverage. If you elected such a
deductible, you should know that the effect of that is that you are
"self-insured" for the amount of your deductible. In other words, if
you have personal injury protection insurance with a $2,000
deductible, you have agreed to pay the first $2,000 of your lost
wages and medical bills if you are in an accident. This is true even
if the accident is totally the fault of someone else.
When you have been involved in an automobile related accident and it
is the result of someone else's negligence, you may seek damages for
bills and expenses that are not covered under Personal Injury
Protection Insurance. This may include the cost of your deductible,
medical expenses and lost wages not covered by Personal Injury
Protection Insurance, and pain and suffering. Maximizing your
benefits is something that Kinney, Fernandez & Boire can help you
achieve. We will help to make sure medical bills and lost wages are
paid in such a way to obtain payment of your PIP benefits in the
most efficient manner, so as to make the best use of these benefits
that are available to you. For example, you would not want your
lost wages being applied toward your deductible. Instead, you would
be better off asking that your lost wages be placed in line for
payment after the deductible has been met. Maximizing your benefits
can also incorporate health insurance benefits that may be available
to you.
Overall, we will work to ensure that whatever benefits are available
to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and any other expenses, are
used in the best manner possible in order to keep out-of-pocket
expenses to a minimum. This will position your case in the best
way when it comes time to initiate settlement negotiations with the
insurance company for the at-fault party. Our clients are always in
a better position when medical expenses and lost wages have been
addressed properly during the time leading up to negotiations.
This can sometimes take months, depending on the type of injury and
the response you have to whatever forms of treatment you need.
Regardless, we want to position your case in such a way as to be
able to provide you with as much a recovery as we can, as opposed to
large portions of a recovery going to pay bills that have been
incurred. In other words, we believe it is our responsibility to
try to put as much money obtained in your case in your pocket, for
future needs, retraining, pain and suffering etc., as opposed to
having to use much of the money to pay your outstanding bills.
Using your PIP insurance, and any other benefits that may be
available to you, while you are treating and waiting to reach what
is called "Maximum Medical Improvement" is vital to keeping a
"check" on your expenses and situating your case in the best way to
achieve a satisfactory and fair settlement a the end. We do
understand that victims of negligence that have suffered personal
injury are often not simply concerned with money. Rather, they are
concerned about their physical and mental well-being, being able to
continue the work and personal activities they could before getting
injured, the effects an injury has on their family, and many other
very personal and emotional challenges. However, financial
concerns will always be a part of recovering from a traumatic injury
and we can help so, hopefully, you have a little less to worry
about.
Put Our Team
To Work For You"
We Welcome You To Meet Our Personal Injury Attorneys & Criminal Defense Lawyers:
We Have Seven Conveniently Located Law Offices, and We Are Available 24hrs A Day To Serve Your Needs. We Offer Free Consultations, No Recovery No Fee.
"Let Us Put Our Team To Work For You" |
At Kinney, Fernandez, & Boire
We're Here To Serve Your Needs 24 Hours-A-Day 7 Days-A-Week. |
