Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance: The Basics

PLEASE NOTE: This article is not intended to provide legal advice, and is no substitute for speaking with a licensed attorney. If you have been injured in a car accident or other motor vehicle accident and you have questions, please contact an attorney. You can reach our office—the Law Office of Benjamin A. Pepper, PLLC— by phone at (360) 733-3966 or by sending us an email via our website at https://bpepperlaw.com/contact-us.

What is “PIP” coverage?

Personal Injury Protection (PIP), sometimes called “no-fault insurance,” is coverage you add to your auto insurance policy. If you are in an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault for the accident, PIP will pay for reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses, partial reimbursement for lost wages if you are unable to work, loss of services, and funeral expenses up to certain limits specified in your insurance policy.

PIP covers the policyholder; household residents related by blood, marriage, or adoption; step or foster children; and any non-family passengers or pedestrians involved in an accident. For PIP coverage to be in effect, the vehicle you or a qualified person was driving at the time must be listed on the declarations page of your auto insurance policy.

The key thing to know is that PIP applies regardless of who is at fault and takes effect immediately after an accident. Even after an accident where liability is not clear or you are at fault, your PIP coverage will kick in. And if you have PIP coverage, your own auto insurance company will pay medical expenses for diagnosis and treatment of injuries resulting from an accident as you or your passengers incur them, up to your PIP policy limits. If the accident was not your fault, PIP coverage helps you and others involved obtain the immediate medical attention you need without paying up front for medical care (or paying co-pays or deductibles), even if you will likely later recover compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

Without PIP coverage, you might have to pay your medical expenses on your own while you or your attorney try to resolve any liability claims against at-fault drivers. Even if you have personal health insurance, without PIP coverage you will be responsible for co-pays, deductibles, and the cost of any medical services not covered or limited by your specific health plan (such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy, or specialists). If the accident was not your fault, an experienced personal injury attorney may be able to help you avoid these up-front costs even if you did not have PIP, but PIP coverage ensures that you will not have to pay up front and wait to be reimbursed.

Is PIP coverage required by law?

Including PIP in your auto insurance policy is optional, but by Washington State law your insurance company MUST offer it to you. If you do not want PIP coverage, you must decline it in writing. If you do not specifically decline PIP coverage in writing, your auto insurance company will add it to your policy and include a charge in your policy premium.

What PIP covers

Basic PIP insurance covers up to $10,000 for reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses for you and each other person in your vehicle or pedestrians struck by your vehicle. In Washington State, additional PIP coverage may be added to your policy for a fee to provide up to a $35,000 benefit for medical and hospital costs.

PIP includes up to $2,000 for funeral expenses for each person who died due to the accident.

PIP provides up to $200 per week ($10,000 total) for income replacement coverage. This takes effect only after the person has been disabled for 14 consecutive days following the accident. Additional coverage may be added to provide income benefits of up to $35,000 total, paid at a maximum of $700 per week.

PIP also provides up to $200 per week ($5,000 total) to pay non-family members for work that an injured person is unable to do, such as household chores. Additional loss of services coverage can be added to increase the total benefit to $14,600.

What PIP does not cover

PIP does not cover injuries caused by using farm equipment, recreational or off-road vehicles, mopeds, or motorcycles. PIP coverage may be available for motorcycle insurance policies, however, although PIP covering motorcycle accidents is typically more expensive.

PIP understandably also does not cover intentional injuries caused by the insured person, injuries sustained when the insured person is engaged in organized racing activities, or injuries sustained by the insured person during the commission of a felony.

Finally, PIP does not cover services that the insurance company decides are not reasonable, necessary, or related to the accident, although the insurance company must adhere to certain standards in making such determinations. Importantly, an experienced personal injury attorney will advocate for the injured client to ensure that the PIP carrier’s coverage decisions are fair and lawful.

Cost of PIP coverage

The premium for PIP coverage varies with each insurance company. If you do not decline PIP coverage, the insurance company may require that you cover all of the vehicles covered on your policy. In this case, the more vehicles covered under your policy, the greater the overall cost of PIP coverage.

Keep in mind, however, that when you buy insurance for your vehicle(s), you are paying primarily for the liability coverage. The cost of PIP coverage may be less than you think. If you do not decline coverage in writing, insurance companies are required by law to include it in your policy. We strongly recommend that all vehicle owners have at least the minimum PIP coverage.