In Texas, Personal Injury Protection coverage is mandatory and automatic on any auto insurance policy you purchase, but this coverage may be waived if you sign a written exclusion agreement.
Personal Injury Protection (or PIP) is a form of no-fault coverage that may be used to pay medical expenses and other losses following an accident. It is an inexpensive and highly useful type of coverage that can provide immediate financial help with medical bills, co-pays, and sometimes even lost wages and the cost of domestic help while you recover. The default, minimum amount of PIP coverage in Texas is $2,500 per person, but many insurance carriers offer the option of purchasing higher levels of coverage. Making a PIP claim should not affect the policy’s premiums. After an accident, an injured person who has PIP coverage on her own policy is able to turn to her insurance carrier for immediate assistance with EMS, ER, or physical therapy bills. She or her attorney’s office is able to gather her medical bills and lost wage records and submit them for payment, regardless of fault. Without PIP coverage, the same injured person is at the mercy of the Defendant’s insurance carrier, which may have no legal obligation to pay the EMS, ER, or other accident related bills. Over the years, I have seen that those clients of mine who kept PIP coverage in their policies are unanimously relieved that they did. They are especially glad when they elected to pay a small increase in premiums to purchase higher levels of PIP coverage. They tend to have more favorable financial stability and outcomes in their cases, because they have more resources available to them to help with their accident related expenses and losses. Those clients who have signed PIP exclusion agreements with their insurance carriers generally regret doing so. They may save some money per month by having the lowest premiums, but when an accident or loss occurs, they do not have the benefits that PIP coverage could have easily provided.
