The Importance of Med Pay Benefits If You Get Hurt in a Car Wreck

One of the most important aspects of your auto insurance policy is an optional coverage called medical payments or "med-pay" for short.  In Virginia, this is offered as a voluntary part of your insurance contract.  However, if you don't get it, you are making a mistake.  The reason is that it is quite inexpensive and yet makes sure that you have enough money to pay your medical bills, if you or anyone else is hurt in your car, or in someone else's car for that matter.

I am always glad when I find out that the client has med-pay on their own automobile policy. I can collect the amount of their coverage, if they have bills that exceed their coverage, and use the med pay benefits to pay their medical bills so they will have more money at the end of the case. 

I do not normally charge any fee to collect the medical payments coverage for my personal injury/car accident clients. Sometimes, you can make the difference between a settlement that makes the client "whole" which means all of their medical bills are paid, their lost wages are reimbursed, and they are compensated for their pain and suffering due to what they've been through. 

If the client doesn't have medical payments coverage, then it can sometimes be tougher to end up with a satisfactory outcome because the insurance company for the at-fault driver will simply pay one lump sum, and out of that sum the injured person has to pay any medical bills that they have that are outstanding and have not been paid by any other insurance.

One important thing to note about med-pay is that making a med-pay claim will not increase your insurance rates.  The reason is that automobile insurance companies are not allowed to raise your rates in Virginia (VA) for making a claim which is not based upon your fault.  It was somebody else's carelessness that caused you to be hurt in your car and therefore no hike in your insurance premium is going to occur, for letting your lawyer or doctor submit for your med-pay.

Most people don't even know if they have this coverage on their policy or not.  So I advise you to pick up the phone and ask your insurance agent whether you have it.  If you don't, adding it will not cost that much money and will protect you and your family when some other driver rear-ends you or runs into your car.

To learn more about insurance coverage for Virginia car accidents, check out this article.