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Personal Injury Protection
Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage is optional in Washington.
If you decide to purchase PIP, you can choose limits of either $10,000 or $35,000.
The same types of protection are available under each plan, but limits of $35,000
will generally provide higher payments on covered expenses.
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Medical Expenses-PIP covers your medical expenses if you or your passengers are injured in an auto accident.
| These may include: |
- Customary medical and surgical treatment
- Requisite dental and optometric treatment
- Ambulance and nursing service
- Necessary medications, medical supplies, and prosthetic devices
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When you choose limits of $10,000, payment is limited to $10,000 per person within 3 years of the covered accident.
When you choose limits of $35,000, payment is limited to $35,000 per
person within 3 years of the covered accident.
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Income Continuation – If you or your passengers are unable to work due to
accident-related injuries within one year of being injured, PIP helps you recover your lost wages.
With limits of $10,000, you'll be reimbursed for 85% of your weekly income up to $200 per week. Total payment is limited to $10,000 per person.
With limits of $35,000, you'll be reimbursed for either 85% of your weekly income, or $700 per week, whichever is less. Total payment is limited to $35,000 per person.
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Substitute Services – Should you or your covered passengers need help performing household or
other tasks due to accident-related injuries, PIP also helps pay for such essential services.
With limits of $10,000, payment is limited to $40 per day, up to $200 a week, with a maximum amount of $5,000.
With limits of $35,000, payment is limited to $40 per day, up to a year from the date of the covered accident.
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Funeral Expenses – If a covered individual dies from accident-related injuries, both levels of PIP will pay $2,000 to the insured's designated beneficiary.
PIP provides coverage to the policyholder, resident relatives of the policyholder,
passengers without PIP, and authorized drivers of the insured vehicle.
How much protection does this coverage provide?
All PIP coverages have an aggregate limit of $10,000 or $35,000 per person, per
incident, depending on the coverage level you choose. This means the maximum amount
you'll receive for any combination of auto insurance coverages will be $10,000 or $35,000.
Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury
Underinsured motorist bodily injury is an optional coverage that pays for medical expenses,
lost wages, and other damages when policyholders, authorized drivers, or passengers are
injured in an accident caused by a driver who has insufficient auto insurance coverage.
Specifically, when the other driver in an accident is underinsured, this coverage pays
the difference between your coverage limit and the other driver’s bodily injury coverage limit.
The dual coverage limits refer to the maximum amounts that will be paid per person, per accident,
respectively. If the accident costs are more than the limit you purchase, you will have to
pay for the amount over the limit yourself (but note that if you have separate health
insurance, it may cover some or all of that expense).
The limits you select for this coverage cannot be higher than the limits you choose for your
bodily injury liability coverage. Also, if you want to carry this coverage on multiple
vehicles, your limits must be the same for each vehicle.
Underinsured Motorist Property Damage
Underinsured motorist property damage is an optional auto insurance coverage that
protects a policyholder if his/her vehicle is damaged in an accident involving a driver
who has insufficient insurance. If the other driver involved in an accident is
underinsured, this auto insurance coverage pays the difference between your coverage
limit and the other driver’s property damage coverage limit.
The limit you select for this auto insurance coverage cannot exceed the limit you
select for your property damage liability coverage. If you choose to carry this
coverage for more than one vehicle, the underinsured motorist property damage limits
for each car must all be the same.
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