Medical Payments Insurance

What Does Medical Payments Insurance Mean?

Medical payments insurance is a component of car insurance that helps cover medical expenses if the insured person is injured in a car accident. It’s one of several coverages that make up what insurers call full coverage car insurance, alongside collision, comprehensive, and liability. For example, if someone has $1,000 of coverage and incurs $1,500 in medical bills after an accident, their medical payments insurance will pay up to $1,000 of the bills. The insured person would be responsible for the remaining $500.

Insuranceopedia Explains Medical Payments Insurance

In some states, medical payments insurance is a mandatory component of car insurance, while in other states, it is optional. When purchasing car insurance, the policyholder chooses the amount of medical payments coverage they want. If the medical bills exceed the coverage amount, the insured person will need to find another way to cover the remaining costs. This is an important difference from liability coverage, which only pays for injuries you cause to other people, not your own. That gap is one reason many drivers ask whether liability car insurance alone is enough.

The medical payments insurance coverage applies to everyone involved in the accident. Each person receives the full amount of coverage for their medical bills. For instance, if an insured person has $1,000 of medical payments coverage and is involved in an accident that injures both themselves and a passenger, both the insured person and the passenger will have $1,000 in coverage for their medical expenses.