Personal Injury Protection, American Family, confusion!

T

Taigrr

Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
19
Got a question for all the more intelligent one's on the forum, 'cause it's making my head spin.

What is Personal Injury Protection, as offered by American FAmily insurance?

On monday, my fiance was hit by a car (See: Ford F350) (on her bike), and the head officer has held the driver at fault. We had a meeting with a reprisentative from the guys insurance, who begin to ramble on and on about Personal Injury Protection, and liability, and.. It kinda made me dizzy.

Can someone help clear up a little bit? What is the difference, advantages, disadvantages.. ... Opinions on which way to go? We're 19 years old, have a year old son, no health insurance, no money, and now we're down 1/2 income! :grumpy:

Thanks for any help here, and i'm sorry if I posted in the wrong forum...
 
I'm not going to answer your insurance question but I am going to give you some VERY good advice. DO NOT deal with the insurance company on your own! There are things involved you would not probably think of. Sign nothing! Accept nothing! GET A LAWYER - NOW! Especially so that the other guy was ticketed and/or found at fault by the police. The insurance company will chew you up & spit you out if you're not careful. GET A LAWYER!
 
ronsec said:
I'm not going to answer your insurance question but I am going to give you some VERY good advice. DO NOT deal with the insurance company on your own! There are things involved you would not probably think of. Sign nothing! Accept nothing! GET A LAWYER - NOW! Especially so that the other guy was ticketed and/or found at fault by the police. The insurance company will chew you up & spit you out if you're not careful. GET A LAWYER!
Click to expand...

Great advice, ronsec. Glad he ran into you, first, here on the forum. Don't trust the insurance company to take care of you, Taigrr. They will look out for THEIR best interests, only.
 
Yeah, a lawyer is definately on our list of things to do. But I just can't make heads or tails of what the insurance guy was saying. I think he was just trying to confuse us to make it easier for him to sell us something. :thumbdn:

But anyway, i'm just trying to understand what the diffrence between PErsonal Injury Protection, and Liability insurance is. Since he's at fault, seems like he's liable. But he's still saying something about getting Personal Injury Protection, and agghh.

But yeah, lawyer is comming, for sure
 
If other driver was clearly at fault, and he is insured, most injury attorneys will take the case for "free" (they take a cut of the settlement).

Insurance attorneys are degenerate weasles who profit from the misery of others. Nothing they say can be trusted. They are liars and thieves.

Get a good attorney and sue. You've got quite a bit of money coming to you above & beyond medical bills and lost wages. I hope your fiance is doing well (but DO NOT admit this to the insurance attorney!).
 
Here you go. I found this on a website from Washington State, but I think the general idea is the same everywhere. If you and your girlfriend don't have medical insurance it probably isn't a bad idea to have PIP.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is an insurance coverage for medical and other expenses resulting from an automobile accident, for people specified in the policy, regardless of who is at fault in the accident.

Who is covered?
The person named in the policy as the 'named insured', and residents of the named insured's household related by blood, marriage or adoption, step or foster children are covered for injuries incurred in an accident. Also passengers or pedestrians are covered. These people will be eligible for payments no matter who is at fault in the accident.

What does PIP cover?
PIP covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, up to three years from the date of the accident and up to $10,000. PIP also offers income replacement coverage limited to a maximum of $200 per week for one year, after a person has been disabled for 14 days after the accident. Funeral expenses of $2,000 and loss of services (payment to others for work you can't do) of up to $5,000 are also included in the coverage. Payments are made for costs that are actually incurred by the injured person.

What doesn’t it cover?
PIP doesn't cover injuries caused by using farm equipment, recreational or off road vehicles, mopeds or motor cycles (PIP coverage is available on motorcycle policies). It won't cover intentional injuries to the insured person or if the person is injured in organized racing activities or committing a felony.

Do I need it?
That's your choice. If you are retired, have other medical and disability coverage, PIP may be duplicate coverage. If you and your family have health care coverage, most of your medical bills may be paid, subject to the plan's limits and co payments. If you seldom transport passengers who aren't residents of your household, you may not need the added protection.

Are there other choices?
Some companies offer basic medical payments coverage, usually with some level of modest coverage, such as $5,000 for medical treatment only. This coverage is also available regardless of who is at fault. You can also request higher limits for PIP coverage if you feel you need more protection than the basic limits offer.

Jack
 
It sounds like the insurance company lawyer wants YOU to buy PIP so that they don't have to p[ay liability. It's likely you would have signed away your liability rights.
 
Buying insurance now isn't going to help at all with the accident you are currently dealing with. It's probably a good idea for the future but that is a different issue. If you do hire a lawyer (which I strongly recommend), be completely honest with him.

Also as you go through the process of settling this, be honest and ethical in all your dealings. Trying to cheat and deceive people for financial gain is a lousy way to approach adulthood. A lot of people do it but I think you with respect yourself much more if you are ethical.

Good luck.
 
Get a lawyer!

My 21 year old daughter was struck as a pedestrian in a hit and run by a driver who was never found. She had the minimum required auto insurance, including $20,000 uninsured motorist coverage. Her insurance company seemed willing to pay it, but wanted me to be named her guardian first. For that I needed an attorney. So I contacted a lawyer with the sole intent of recovering the $20,000 to pay for some of the rapidly mounting nursing home expenses.

Then the discussions started:
Was she living with you? Yes.
Do you have auto insurance? Yes, but she is not on it.
Doesn't matter. If she is living in your home and not a specifically named exclusion, your uninsured motorist coverage applies. What is your coverage limit? $100,000. Now, how many cars are on that policy? Three.
Good, multiply $100,000 by three.
Does her boyfriend have insurance? Yes, he is on his parent's policy, but they were not in his car. Yes, but they were leaning on it. What are their uninsured motorist limits? $20,000. How many cars are on the policy? Three.
Good, multiply by three.

The three insurance companys involved contested nothing.

If I had succeeded in handling it on my own, I would have walked away with the $20,000 I was seeking, less attorney fees. As a direct result of consulting an attorney, after attorney's fees we netted $240,000 placed in a trust for her continuing health care.

I repeat, get a lawyer!
 
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