Medical Payment or Personal Injury Protection at Citizens Insurance company, which is often referred to as Medpay or P.I.P., assists with medical bills that you and/or your family may have from an accident. It’s not possible to go into more detail than that on medical payment coverage because every state has very different and very strict requirements and laws about Medpay or PIP. For example, some states like Michigan allow treatments like a massage to be covered. Whereas, other states specifically exclude these types of treatments.
The best information is to tell you to ask the person selling you the insurance about it. If they are selling it to you, they need to know their stuff. If they don’t, don’t buy your insurance from them!
Citizens Insurance Property Damage
Ok, so now we get into the coverages that cover another people’s property. If you cause an accident or hit someone else’s property, Property Damage or PD covers those damages. This coverage will take care of the other person’s car, a house, a street sign or even when you drive over the neighbor’s wind chime garden (on accident of course).
This coverage will also provide reasonable rental coverage to the other person. Example: If you drive a Honda Accord at least Citizens insurance company is not going to pay for you to rent a Maserati.
What some may not know, is that this coverage will also take care of some personal items that are in the vehicle. For example: the golf clubs that were in the trunk and are now bent in half, or the grille that fell out of the back of the truck after you T-boned it.
Citizens insurance coverage does not cover the damages to your car or your personal items. This coverage only takes care of damages that you cause to other people’s property.
This coverage does not have a deductible in most cases
There are some types of Property Damage for commercial policies that do have a deductible but the standard personal auto policy that the average is buying doesn’t have one.
When purchasing your Property Damage coverage at Citizens insurance, you will see there are different amounts. This is the amount that you will be covered up to. The lowest amount offered will depend on your state, there are some states that will allow Property Damage limits as low as $5,000.00. Now, $5,000.00 sounds like, and is, a lot of money. To put it into perspective, if you make $50,000.00 per year, you make less than $5,000 a month. However, $5,000.00 is not a lot of money if you are responsible for an accident involving more than one vehicle.
So, when you think about purchasing insurance, remember, the amount of Property Damage is the MOST your insurance will pay. If you hit a brand-new high-end car and the damages are so severe that the vehicle is a total loss, or your vehicle ends up in the side of a house, your damages will be much more than $5,000.00.
Let’s use the example of hitting the house, say you cause $10,000.00 worth of damage and your Property Damage limits are $5,000.00. Your insurance company will try to get the homeowner’s insurance company to accept the $5,000.00 that they can pay. However, if the homeowner’s insurance company refuses, they can come after you, and even file a lawsuit against you.
This is to scare you into buying high limits, this so that you are informed. The worst thing that can happen in insurance, is someone give you half the facts and not be completely honest with you.
On a side note, if you ever get sued, or receive papers notifying you of a lawsuit for an accident you’ve been involved in, call Citizens insurance company right away! Your policy likely has a clause that your insurance company will hire an attorney (of their choosing) to defend you.
Bodily Injury
Bodily Injury or BI is the coverage that pays for injuries people in the other car and/or in your car get as a result of the accident. Ok, to make it simpler; if the other people in the accident get an owe, they can make a claim under this coverage.
If you ever have watched TV, for sure you’ve seen a commercial where an attorney is looking very serious and saying: If you’ve been in an accident, I’ll get you the money you deserve. This is the coverage they are talking about in those commercials.
Bodily Injury, in general, does NOT pay out until you and the insurance company have reached a settlement. Which means, this coverage does not pay any medical bills, lost wages, out of pocket medical expenses, or pain and suffering until you sign a release.
So, (in general) this coverage will cover everyone that is injured in the accident. This would include the pedestrian walking in the crosswalk, the bicyclist on the side of the road, your friend in the passenger’s seat and the people in the other car.
Remember though, this coverage ONLY is available through the insurance policy of the person who is at fault for the accident. If you are not at fault, this coverage is not available to anyone through your insurance policy.
Conclusion
Knowing how Citizens insurance works and what each coverage offers will empower you to pick the coverages and the limits that work for you and your life.
Remember, knowledge is power, and knowing what each coverage is will help you make sure you covered the way you want to be. Take control of your insurance and make sure it is what you need.
