Elistan

Assuming you have decent health insurance from work, is there any reason to get "personal injury protection" and "uninsured motorist bodily injury" with your auto insurance?

I ask because adding the above to a motorcycle policy I got a quote on increases it by $55/mo.

JonBoy

Depends on your thinking.

I like it because in my recent accident, my PIP covered all of my chiropractic bills for myself, wife, and daughter. So, I don't have the chiropractor breathing down my neck as I wait to settle with the other guy's insurance (the one that hit us).

Car accidents and associated bills are not subrogated, so if you happen to get hit, you can charge both your PIP and the other person's insurance (if they're at fault) for all your medical bills. You can double dip. Even if you put it all on your medical insurance, you can charge your PIP and the other person, and only have to pay back half your medical insurance for their costs. You can typically pocket nearly half of what you claim in medical (since you're getting the full amount from your PIP and the other guy's insurance).

That means that if you lose money on your car or get a low settlement, you get some of it back by charging against your PIP for everything else. Better yet, using your PIP in an accident does NOT count against you. It is separate from your liability insurance that covers property damage and personal injury to yourself and others.

I'll be using my PIP for chiropractic bills, medication, mileage to and from appointments, lost time at work, etc, etc... My medical bills, lost time, etc, etc, are over $15K so far, and by charging that to my PIP and the other guy's insurance ($30K total), I should be able to easily pocket $10K of it (legally).

It's also a great way to get money in your pocket quickly and easily without attaching the "You have to settle with us completely before you get your money" string (which is what most insurance companies do, if their client is at fault). It addresses immediate needs and you can file against it multiple times for the same accident (as bills come in and such).

I'd highly recommend at least $5K per person in PIP (for a family vehicle). We may bump ours up to $10K per person, based on this last accident.

$55 a month is steep, though, so you'd have to weigh yours a little more heavily. Our PIP was only $10 a month or something.

Will

pip will cover much more than just your medical expenses. It also covers loss of wages, etc. so i'd say, just do it.