Accidents are unfortunate and devastating at times. However, insurance laws can help reduce damages by covering some financial aspects. PIP or personal injury protection is an extension of car insurance that covers the costs of both hospital and material damages. If you lose the ability to work, it also covers about 80% of the lost income wages. This insurance is applied to everyone who has been injured through an accident, for this reason, it is also known as ‘no-fault’ insurance. This insurance sounds convincing and straightforward. Although in real life, things Aren’t always as clear as we like to perceive them to be; In some accidents, it is difficult to realize who will be covered by and insurance or exempt. This is especially true if a person is solely a passenger and not the driver. If you are asking yourself “Does PIP Apply to ME?” Here are some ways that PIP insurance would affect a passenger after an accident.
Passengers With Insurance
The common perception is that when you are traveling in another person’s car, you will be automatically covered by their insurance. This is not entirely true. Imagine a hypothetical situation; you have your own personal insurance and you are riding in your friend’s car down the road in Florida. Your friend is involved in an accident with another car or a truck, and you are injured, say in a minor way. Your friend’s personal injury protection insurance will not cover you; personal injury protection is referred to as protecting the insurance holder. This means anywhere in Florida he is in evolved in an accident the personal injury protection guys will come to his help even when he is at fault. The only solution for you in this situation is to call up your own insurance company to come for your assistance.
Passenger Without Insurance
Personal injury protection at times can cover the costs and damages of a passenger as well. Let’s go through the hypothetical scenario again and add a few more details; imagine you live alone in Florida. You don’t have your own car so your friend is doing you a favor and giving you a ride to your destination. The unfortunate happens and despite his good deed, he gets into an accident with a truck. Both you and your friend are injured. You remember that your Insurance has expired. Although your friend, owning the vehicle, is insured by personal injury protection insurance. In this case, his insurance company will cover the costs of his medication and damages as well as yours. This is because you don’t own a vehicle or live with a relative in Florida that owns an automobile. This is the policy for uninsured passengers in the vehicle of someone that is insured by personal injury protection. Although the insurance wants to know if you really do not have insurance and neither lives with a relative that does; They will do extensive research that is time-consuming and involves a lot of paperwork. However, if all the requirements by the insurance company are met, they will cover all your costs and 80 percent of your wages. To help speed this process and minimize involvement in extensive paperwork, consider engaging a reputable legal assistant, such as Hudson work injury lawyer, to represent you.
A Passenger Without Insurance And Insured Relatives
In the last hypothetical situation, we saw that personal injury protection covers your loss if you are not ensured and your whole household doesn’t have car insurance. You may wonder what if you do live with someone who has car insurance? Won’t the insurance company cover you as well?
Well, this situation is highly dependent on who do you live with and how you are related to them. Personal injury protection insurance companies consider close relatives to determine these details, they require time and investigation. If they realize your relationship with the insurance holder in your house is close enough, they will not cover your costs. This is also effective if your legal address is with a relative who owns a car and consequently, car insurance despite the fact that you have moved out. Let’s consider all the people you would hypothetically live with, who are covered with car insurance:
Spouse (husband/ wife): a husband and wife are covered in the same insurance policy because of their matrimonial relation. If you and your spouse also are going through a phase or maybe separated, this policy still affects you. Although if you are separated legally, this policy doesn’t include you.
Same-sex partners: If you are living with your partner who happens to be the same sex as you, the situation can become a little difficult. Florida doesn’t accept same-sex marriage. Therefore, you are not legal partners. The complication arises with policies that may extend coverage to these types of relationships. The best solution for same-sex relationships is to be on a joint insurance policy or as the permissive driver of one another’s policy.
Siblings: Siblings are your relatives more than anyone; you share the same blood.
Friends, boyfriend, and girlfriends: Any friends or roommates are not considered relatives because there is no relation legally.
Parents: There is a parent policy. This is true in case your parents own a car.
Children: Either you have biological, adopted as stepchildren, their insurance will cover you.
The rule of thumb is if you are legally projected as relatives to someone and you live with them, personal injury protection insurance of your friend will not cover you. You could live with someone who owns a car and insurance; but if there is no legal relationship, personal injury protection will cover your costs. Taking help and legal advice to communicate with the insurance company is always a quicker and surer approach to deal with it.
Conclusion
There may be a lot of complications involved in this process. If you are ever put in real situations like the scenarios on top, hiring a lawyer before things get problematic is the best route to take. It is not about the personal injury protection policy; It is about practicing your rights. Having legal guidance on your side will give you the peace of mind that insurance companies will cover the costs of your injuries and wages. If you are looking for the best Personal Injury or accident attorney then contact us today!