Does Car Insurance Cover Medical Bills?

Medical payments for automobiles, or Medpay coverage, is important insurance that can help protect your finances in many ways. It can help cover medical expenses for injuries you and your passengers sustain in a car accident.

But this key insurance doesn’t stop there. It’s coverage that travels with you and others covered by the policy — whether they’re struck by a car as a pedestrian or hit by a vehicle while riding a bike. Take a look at all the great ways this key coverage can help you when you need it most.

Who Pays for Medical Bills in an Auto Accident?

In the aftermath of an accident, it can be difficult to determine who’s at fault. The question of who’s responsible to pay for the damages to your car — and the medical bills that result — can be hard to answer.

With car insurance medical payments coverage, you’ll have insurance for you and your passenger’s medical bills. And you’ll have it regardless of who’s at fault — up to the policy’s limit. It’s additional protection that can help you and your passengers whether you’re found liable or not.

What Does Medical Expense Coverage Cover?

Medical expense coverage is an auto insurance product that helps pay for medical bills under certain circumstances. With it, you may have coverage in the event you, your relatives or your passengers are injured in an auto accident. Here are a few instances where you may be protected with this important coverage.

• If you or a family member is driving and passengers are injured in your car
• If you’re in a different vehicle than your own and you are injured in an accident
• Funeral expenses that result from an accident
• If you’re a pedestrian or while riding on a bike and you are struck by a vehicle

Your health insurance company may pick up your medical expenses. But it won’t cover others injured in your vehicle if they’re not on your healthcare plan. With medical expense coverage, your passengers can be better protected.

Medical Payments Coverage vs. Bodily Injury Coverage

Navigating the financial stress after an accident can be a lot to deal with. Bodily injury coverage is a different insurance product that helps to protect your finances when you’re found liable for causing an accident. It can help pay for medical expenses along with pain and suffering claims made by injured parties.

And it can also help pay for lost wages claims, legal fees and funeral costs. All states require that you carry bodily injury coverage in order to help guarantee that drivers have some ability to pay for accidents they cause.

The difference between bodily injury coverage and medical payments coverage is the responsible party. Medpay covers you, your family and passengers regardless of who’s at fault. But bodily injury coverage only offers payment to injured parties when you’re at fault for causing the accident.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) vs. Medical Payments

Sometimes called PIP coverage, personal injury protection is also known as no-fault insurance. It’s designed to help pay for medical costs and resulting lost wages for you and your passengers resulting from an accident — regardless of fault. Some states mandate Personal injury protection while medical payments insurance is a supplemental coverage strictly intended to cover medical bills.

Medical payments insurance is great when you’re taking care of covering injuries and medical treatments for you and your passengers riding with you.

Making the right decisions about how to best insure your car can be difficult — but it doesn’t have to be. Your American Family Insurance agent (Opens in a new tab) can help you select the right coverage.