What is New Jersey PIP?

PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is a portion of a person’s auto insurance that covers accident related expenses. PIP is most commonly used to pay for a person’s car accident related medical bills. 

Additionally, a PIP policy may also provide other benefits, some of which are listed below:

• Income continuation benefits: If you are unable to work as a result of your accident-related injuries, your own insurance policy may pay you in accordance with your policy limits. 

• Essential services: If you are unable to keep up with certain necessities of life, such as cleaning or maintaining your home, due to your accident-related injuries then your own insurance policy may pay to have someone assist you in those services. 

• Funeral expense benefits: This benefit may cover funeral expenses for deaths as a result of an auto accident.  

What is No-Fault Insurance? 

New Jersey is a “No-Fault State.” This means that each person’s own auto insurance covers their own medical bills, even if someone else was at fault for the accident. This means that if you are rear ended while you are completely stopped at a red light, it is still your own car insurance/PIP policy that will cover your medical bills, not the insurance of the driver who caused the accident. 

A person’s PIP coverage follows them. So if you are in an accident as a passenger in someone else’s car and go to the hospital, your medical bills would still likely be covered by your own car insurance despite your own car not being involved in the accident. 

What are the amounts of PIP coverage?

Unless you are eligible for a Special Automobile Insurance Policy (SAIP), which does not carry any PIP benefits, you will be required to maintain the state minimum of at least, $15,000 in PIP coverage on your own auto insurance policy. The maximum you can have is up to $250,000 worth of PIP benefits. 

The amount of PIP coverage you have will determine the maximum amount of medical bills your insurance will cover. So if you have $15,000 worth of PIP coverage, your auto insurance will no longer be responsible for any bill beyond that amount. This can naturally create issues where there are medical bills beyond the PIP limits. Often times, you have to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver and their insurance company to reimburse you for any medical bills that are not covered by your own auto insurance. 

If you have been injured in a car accident and would like a free consultation, you may contact me, Jeffrey E. Salomon, Esq. As a personal injury lawyer, I devote my career to helping car accident victims.