GOLDLAW – West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyers, Car Accident, Slip & Fall – Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb

Tag: how PIP works

  • How Do I Claim My Personal Injury Protection Benefits?

    How Do I Claim My Personal Injury Protection Benefits?

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is required in the state of Florida, and all drivers must carry this insurance coverage. We are often asked: How do I claim my personal injury protection benefits? And what exactly are my PIP benefits? We answer these questions and more below!

    Drivers in Florida Are Required to Have Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

    PIP insurance is necessary in Florida, and it covers $10,000 of qualifying medical costs (or more if you choose a greater level of coverage) associated with motor vehicle accidents. Drivers cannot choose to carry PIP; every registered vehicle in Florida must have PIP. Your children and any non-drivers injured in an accident are also covered by the insurance that’s in place for that vehicle.

    What is Covered by PIP?

    A successful PIP claim will cover medical bills and lost wages caused by the accident. Coverage isn’t linked to fault, so you’ll be covered no matter who was at fault for the accident.

    There’s a range of different costs that might be covered by your PIP insurance. That includes medical services, medication, surgery and other hospital costs, ambulance services, rehabilitation and diagnostics. In the event of death, things such as funeral costs will be covered by PIP. And 60% of lost wages up to $10,000 are covered, as well as the cost of completing tasks around the home that can’t be completed as a result of your injuries.

    Claiming PIP Benefits

    In order to claim PIP benefits, the treatment you received for the injuries sustained in the crashed must have happened within 14 days of the crash itself. When making a claim, it’s important to understand the coverage is capped at $2,500 for medical attention considered non-emergency.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1604527200331{margin-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column][templatera id=”5675092″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1604526215619{margin-top: 60px !important;}”][norebro_heading subtitle_type_layout=”bottom_subtitle” module_type_layout=”on_middle” title=”TW9yZSUyMEZyZXF1ZW50bHklMjBBc2tlZCUyMFF1ZXN0aW9ucyUyMEFib3V0JTIwUElQ” subtitle_typo=”weight~inherit” title_color=”brand”][vc_text_separator title=”Learn More From Our Articles and Blog” color=”custom” accent_color=”#c2903e” css=”.vc_custom_1604524201212{margin-top: 15px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][norebro_recent_posts post_category=”513″ card_layout=”simple” columns_in_row=”3-3-2-1″ posts_in_block=”12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • What Is Personal Injury Protection, And Why Do Floridians Need It?

    What Is Personal Injury Protection, And Why Do Floridians Need It?

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In Florida, every driver must hold PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance if they are on the road. But what is personal injury protection? PIP, for short, is mandated by the state of Florida for all drivers to carry. PIP pays for injuries arising from an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault.

    PIP was enacted by the Florida legislature in the early 1970’s to ensure that all Floridians have access to medical care after an accident. While the law is updated in one way or another just about every year, the concept has remained the same for some fifty years, and it’s not likely to go away anytime soon.

    What Is Covered by Florida PIP?

    Florida PIP covers medical costs, lost wages, and death benefits, just like New Jersey and Michigan, but if you are in an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault, your PIP pays for your first $10,000 in medical bills. This is known as PIP benefit. 

    When Is Someone Covered Under PIP?

    PIP insurance covers the owner of a car involved in a collision, and also provides coverage in the following situations:

    • Your children are covered if they’re riding in your car or on their school bus.
    • Giving a lift to someone who doesn’t own a car.
    • If a bicyclist or pedestrian is injured and doesn’t have their own PIP policy (and doesn’t live with a relative who has a PIP policy).

    As you can see, PIP is not just another premium to pay, as you can receive $10,000 or more for injuries regardless of whether you’re at fault for the collision, it can help many accident victims.

    How Would I Claim PIP Benefit?

    To claim a PIP benefit, you must have had treatment within 14 days of the accident, either from a hospital, urgent care clinic, primary care provider, chiropractor, or from emergency medical technicians at the scene of the crash. Learn more about how to claim your PIP benefit here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1604527181412{margin-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column][templatera id=”5675092″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][templatera id=”5677596″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Why All of Our Clients Should be Concerned About PIP Fraud

    South Florida is a wonderful place to live. However, we are not without our fair share of criminals looking to take advantage of residents. One serious illegal activity that continues to affect our clients directly is PIP fraud. “PIP fraud” is a term law enforcement uses to categorize crimes against Florida’s auto insurance laws.

    Personal injury protection insurance, or PIP, pays for your medical treatment following an auto accident, regardless of who is at fault for the crash. PIP fraud generally relies on insurers paying fake or false medical claims under PIP law.

    A typical scheme works like this: You get into a bad enough accident that the police are called, or your car is inoperable and towed. Your personal information is obtained by someone called a “runner” who contacts you and offers to help you get treatment. If you tell them you’re not injured, the caller may entice you with a cash payment to visit a specific clinic or medical center anyway, with the promise of more when the “case” is over.

    The medical clinic then employs a crooked personal injury lawyer to file a claim against your insurance company for the PIP dollars. Because the state minimum of required PIP insurance is $10,000, that’s often the limit to how much the lawyer is willing to obtain. Everyone gets paid with the PIP money – the runner, the doctors, and the lawyer – and you as the victim are offered very little, if any, from the funds.

    The sad truth of this illegal scheme is that these criminals are basically stealing your PIP insurance proceeds from you, and keeping it for themselves. So what part of this is illegal, exactly? For one, contacting an auto accident victim in any way (by phone, text, email, or in person) to solicit them for medical treatment or legal representation is illegal in the state of Florida.

    Another crime occurs when the “runner” tries to bribe you, the victim, with a cash payment for going to their clinic of choice. While all these crimes are serious offenses, it’s the insurance fraud scheme that you should be most concerned about. By falsifying or exaggerating injuries and treatment related to an auto accident, these people are committing felonies.

    Depending on the scope and size of the criminal ring, these financial crimes are punishable by several decades in prison, and millions of dollars in restitution and legal fines. How does this affect you, the auto accident victim?

    First, these criminals are taking advantage of your unfortunate circumstance, and your lack of knowledge on how the PIP system works. Their goal is to steal as much of your insurance money as possible. They ignore your legal rights, including the right to privacy. They don’t care about you – they only want to use you.

    As if that wasn’t enough to upset you, here’s something else they are responsible for: increasing auto insurance rates. Florida’s auto insurance companies have been raising rates on their customers for years in part due to increases in PIP fraud. Though disputed, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says that PIP fraud cost insurers close to $1 billion from 2010-2012, the most recent period in which insurance audits were available. That equates to about $250 per family a year in higher auto insurance costs. The insurers say they have no choice but to pass these additional costs on to customers.

    What can you do to help in the fight against PIP fraud?

    Report suspected insurance fraud to the Department of Financial Services at 1-800-378-0445. You may be eligible for a reward for the successful prosecution of your tip.

  • How PIP insurance protect drivers under Florida’s no-fault laws

    Were you at fault in a car accident that happened in Palm Beach County? Are you worried that you might have trouble with your insurance company? And if you are hurt, are you concerned that you might not be eligible to receive insurance money to pay for your injuries?

    Don’t be. In Florida, we have laws that are designed to protect drivers who are in an incidence where an auto accident occurs with injuries, regardless of who is at fault for the collision or accident. Florida, and Palm Beach County by extension, operates under what is called “No-Fault” laws.

    These laws specifically exclude insurance companies from withholding certain compensation for injuries you incur during an accident. Typically, that compensation is paid out for what’s called a “PIP claim”. PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection, and it’s a basic policy of car insurance all drivers in Florida must carry.

    Here’s how PIP works.

    • If you are in an accident, and you are injured, your insurance company pays you up to $10,000 in PIP money, regardless of who is at fault for the accident.
    • PIP dollars can only be used to pay towards medical bills incurred as a result of the accident.
    • You MUST have an insurance policy to qualify for PIP if you are injured in an accident. Basic PIP coverage is a minimum requirement under Florida law.

    The last point is an important one, because it means that if you have any car, auto, motorcycle, or trucking insurance in Florida, you have at least mandatory minimum PIP coverage, and therefore, you qualify for compensation in the event of an accident.

    It is illegal to own a car in Florida that you operate on public roads without the minimum Florida mandatory insurance coverage. PIP laws allow for Florida to be a no-fault state, and the fact that this coverage is required of every driver eliminates the need for the insurance companies to spend needless time and resources trying to figure out who is “at fault”.

    But, you might ask, what if you are injured while riding as a passenger in someone else’s car? Your medical bills can still be covered as a passenger under what’s called “Host Vehicle PIP”. This allows the insurance company to pay your medical claims using the driver of the host vehicle’s PIP coverage, but only if the driver carries insurance, of course.

    Here’s another scenario: If you do not own the car you are driving, but are involved in an accident, then you likely have no auto insurance because you do not own a vehicle (there is no requirement in Florida that a driver with a valid license own the car he or she is driving, or that he or she carry insurance – the mandate only applies to drivers who own and drive their own vehicle.) In this case, an insurance caveat called “Resident Relative PIP” could apply.

    Resident Relative PIP allows you to be covered under the auto insurance policy of a family member or relative who lives in the same household as you do. For example, Resident Relative PIP could apply if you are driving the vehicle owned by a parent or spouse, sibling, aunt, or uncle, provided that you all live under the same roof.

    Under Florida’s No-Fault laws, there are other protections in place for you if you are involved in an auto accident. Some other protections include Bodily Injury Coverage and Uninsured Motorist Coverage, which will be discussed in later blog posts (click the links if they are active).

  • PIP Rates Increase, Despite Reform

    Could you be affected by the PIP rate increases in 2013? That will be the reality for many insured drivers in Florida. After reviewing the first round of filings submitted by insurers to the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation it appears most are increasing their PIP rates, despite the new legislation pushed by Gov. Rick Scott this spring.

    At least half of the first half-dozen filings approved by Florida regulators show an increase in PIP rates up to 26.3 percent. Not the anticipated result of the Governor’s legislation, which was supposed to lower auto insurance rates after sharp reductions in personal injury protection benefits. Some did see this coming however, such as Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network, who says, “We told you so.” He states, “Bottom line, consumers have lost benefits and many will see premium increases, not decreases.”

    Proponents of Gov. Scott’s legislation claimed it would lower costs for drivers by cracking down on up to $1 billion in fraud. But critics including Newton said the law was just a favor for insurers, who will still collect premiums for a state mandated $10,000 PIP coverage, but must pay fewer benefits. The law eliminates massage and acupuncture and limits non-emergency care to $2,500.

    Those with approved PIP increases include Florida Farm Bureau (8 percent), MGA Insurance (3.9 percent), and Agency Insurance (26.3 percent).

    Those with decreases include United Fire and Casualty (15.2 percent), Hartfod Insurance of the Midwest (15.2 percent for AARP renewals only), and Philadelphia Indemnity (10 percent for collector vehicles).

    Given the upcoming PIP changes, it’s important that every Florida driver review their policies to see how they will be affected. If you or someone you know is injured in an accident you’ll want to have the most up-to-date information regarding the limits of your insurance coverage before you need treatment. Please contact us at the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb if you have questions about what to do after an automobile accident.