Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Personal Injury Protection Bill Review

By Lucille Green

Accidents on the road are a fact of life, not matter how good a driver you are so isn't it a good idea to look after yourself with a personal injury protection plan? Most people also have other responsibilities; those of a financial nature and family members that will need to be provided for. Personal injury protection or PIP may be a part of a larger personal insurance plan or a specific plan in itself. With the growing number of insurance plans on the market, all of which sound necessary, each family has to weigh up the benefits against the additional financial strain that can be imposed by adding it.

When the cover is taken out in hast it is often found to be unsuitable and not worth continuing. Not every state has made this law yet but a few have although the amount of protection does vary considerably. This disparity is best illustrated by the huge difference in cover required by citizens in Alaska compared to those Florida where ten times as much is needed. If you live in a state where personal injury protection has not been made law yet, that does not mean you should wait until it is!

The cover will pay around 80 percent (depending on the plan) of the costs of the insured and passengers. There are some expensive items covered by this plan, which will pay out even if the policy holder is to blame, including medical costs for the driver and people in the vehicle with him. This is a good reason why it is worth checking existing insurance plans to see if any of these areas are already protected, which should, in theory, lower any additional plan you take out. It could be that the cost of lost wages and medical bills may be recovered through an existing health insurance policy.

Depending on the plan, you may not require any additional cover or only minimal in the worst case scenario. There are some other factors to consider though as to whether you actually need personal injury protection; one being your current driving record. What many drivers do not realize is that although they may be covered by their own health insurance for medical bills, other passengers, unless they are named on the policy, probably will not be.

Personal injury protection will still be required if you find that other passengers are not covered or the level of cover is so low it is almost a waste of time. Any passenger in your vehicle should feel safe so it is the driver's responsibility to ensure this is the case. For your own peace of mind you should want to make sure that even if your state does not make it mandatory to provide personal injury protection, you should feel obliged too. Your personal circumstances will dictate just how much insurance you need so the better your health is and the less claims you have made, will help to reduce the policy costs overall.

Younger drivers however, do not fair so well if they are inexperienced with little insurance cover in place but they are often in greater need of good health insurance cover to protect themselves and any family they have. Accidents unfortunately happen but before you rush into buying insurance cover, look into the subject as it could save you some money but more importantly will make you feel more secure when you drive with passengers.

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