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Automobile Accidents:
What is PIP (Personal Injury Protection)?

PIP or Personal Injury Protection is injury care (whiplash, back pain, etc.) insurance that is part of your automobile insurance policy. If you look on your declaration page, the summary page at the beginning of your policy, you will see a line that says “Personal Injury Protection.” Next to Personal Injury Protection will be a dollar amount, usually $2500.00 (PIP is usually offered in the following amounts: $2,500, $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000). This $2500.00 is the total amount of money that your auto insurance will pay toward medical bills and lost wages due to an auto accident.

In Maryland, your PIP coverage is what is called “no fault insurance.” This means that your PIP coverage will pay for injury care regardless of who caused the accident. This coverage is not required by law, i.e. you do not have to purchase it when your purchase your auto insurance, but it usually costs very little money (in 2011 mine costs $11.60 for one car for one year). As you can see, it is well worth it to add PIP coverage to your policy!

When you call your insurance company (“PIP carrier” in legal parlance) after an auto accident, they will give you a claim number and a claims adjustor who will be responsible for getting your claims paid. They may also send you paperwork called an Application for Benefits. These are the forms which most carriers use that allow you to “apply for benefits;” in other words, tell the insurance company that your want to use your insurance to pay for your injury care. It is important to complete these forms promptly and return them to the insurance company.

At Capital Sports Injury Center in Silver Spring or Bethesda, we will help you complete these forms and submit your bills directly to your PIP carrier for you to make the payment process as easy as possible. If you have an attorney, we will be happy to work with them and with your permission will send them all the medical records from our office. At Capital Sports Injury Center, chiropractor Dr. Steven Horwitz uses a state of the art electronic health records system making it easy to communicate with your insurance and/or attorney in a prompt and efficient manner.