It can be hard enough to make sense of an automobile insurance policy when you are shopping around for one. If you are dealing with the pain or stress of a major car crash, analyzing your insurance policy and coverage can be even more difficult.
Many people are confused about the different kinds of insurance coverage available to drivers in Virginia. Although many understand the basics of liability insurance for a car crash, few understand medical expense benefits or Med Pay coverage.
If you understand how Med Pay coverage works, it will be much easier for you to navigate a claim and get the compensation you deserve after a crash.
Med Pay is a form of no-fault coverage
Med Pay is no-fault coverage which helps the person who has the policy regardless of who is responsible for the crash. You and any passengers in your vehicle can make a claim under your Med Pay policy even if another driver was responsible for the accident. It covers you and any other policy holder as long as they are injured by a motor vehicle. So, you can use it even if you are in someone else’s car.
Why you should get Med Pay coverage
The company from which you buy your motor vehicle insurance policy has to offer you certain types of coverage. In addition to bodily injury and property damage liability coverage, you should also ask for Med Pay coverage. There are many reasons for this:
- Med Pay coverage is cheap: It only costs a few dollars a month.
- Your auto insurance rates won’t go up if you use Med Pay: In Virginia, insurance companies are prohibited from raising your rates due to using your Med Pay coverage.
- Med Pay is a reimbursement plan: It usually will pay you directly for costs, rather than making payments to service providers.
- Med Pay reimburses you for what your health insurance pays too: In addition to your own out-of-pocket costs, in Virginia, Med-Pay must pay you for any money your health insurance pays. With a large emergency room bill, Med-Pay will pay you your deductible as well as whatever your health insurance pays.
- Med Pay covers non-car accidents too: You can receive Med Pay coverage if you are struck by a vehicle while bicycling or walking.
Insurance companies have to offer you the option of purchasing at least $2,000 of this no-fault coverage. You can always buy more coverage. The difference in price between $2,000 and $10,000 is normally very small.
You must have Med Pay on your policy at the time the accident occurs
Don’t wait. Add Med Pay to your policy today. You can capture your Med Pay coverage while you wait for the resolution of your liability claim.
Making a claim for Med Pay coverage does not absolve the driver who caused the crash. Instead, it can be an important stopgap for covering your costs until you file a personal injury claim, or it can help you cover expenses that exceed the other driver’s insurance coverage.
Navigating a Med Pay claim can be complicated, but the better you understand the insurance coverage, the easier it will be to get the compensation you deserve.