What is Personal Injury Protection Under Maryland Insurance Law?
Almost any Baltimore personal injury lawyer Attorney Eric T. Kirk will tell you that PIP benefits are ‘no-fault’, ‘first-party’ insurance benefits.
‘No-fault’ means that if you get injured in an automobile accident, then no matter what the cause of the accident is, you receive the benefits. Now, you can’t collect if you intentionally caused the accident, or if you were committing a felony that led to the accident. But if you run off the road and hit a tree, or strike the rear end of the car in front of you, or are hit by another vehicle, the result is the same: you get the benefits you purchased with your premiums.* ‘First-party’ means that it is your insurance.
- The minimum coverage is $2500 and your insurer has to offer it to you
- You must decline it in writing if that is your choice
- You can buy more coverage
- The coverage pays your reasonable and necessary medical expenses, up to the limit, and/or
- The coverage pays 85% of your lost wages, up to the limit
Most insurers tend not to challenge the wage loss benefits but frequently refuse to pay, or reduce, the medical charges of some medical providers.
*The Assembly has recently enacted a change in this process. Marylanders now have the option of carrying less insurance. An insured may now reject personal injury protection altogether, under specific circumstances. See Insurance Article, Md. INSURANCE Code Ann. § 19-506.1.
