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What is PIP Insurance?

Even if you are not at fault in a car accident, you are still entitled to receive PIP or Personal Injury Protection benefits. This is commonly referred to as the Florida No-Fault Law or No-Fault Insurance. Personal Injury Protection is protection offered by your own insurance company for medical treatment you need from a car accident regardless of who is at fault. However, in order to receive your PIP benefits, you must seek initial treatment within 14 days. If you fail to seek treatment within 14 days, you waive all of your PIP benefits permanently. It is important to be sure that you are seeking treatment from a qualified provider. As of 2013, massage therapists and acupuncturists are no longer eligible to provide treatment under PIP.

Everyone in Florida is required to have $10,000 in No-Fault or PIP Insurance coverage. This means that if you have insurance in Florida, then you have PIP coverage of at least $10,000. Additionally, you may qualify for coverage if the driver of the vehicle maintains car insurance or if you live with a blood relative or spouse who maintains car insurance within the state of Florida. However, depending on the severity of the injuries sustained, you may only be eligible to receive $2,500 in PIP benefits. If you are in an accident seek treatment with 14 days to determine what level of benefits you are eligible to receive.

PIP insurance coverage pays for 80% of all medical bills and 60% of all lost wages incurred as a result of a car accident.

How do I know if I am entitled to $10,000 or $2,500 in benefits from Personal Injury Insurance?

Pursuant to Florida Law, you must have an “emergency medical condition” to receive the full $10,000 in PIP benefits. An emergency medical condition is defined as a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, which may include severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in any of the following:

1. Serious jeopardy to patient health, including a pregnant woman or fetus;
2. Serious impairment to bodily functions;
3. Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

Determining whether your injury or injuries qualify as an “emergency medical condition” will be determined by your treatment provider. This determination does not need to be made within 14 days to establish PIP coverage. The law allows your treatment provider to make this determination at a later date, so that a proper evaluation can be conducted.