Hurst & Hurst, Attorneys at Law
301 West Main Street, Suite 200
Danville, KY 40422
(859) 209-2101
The short answer is that Med Pay is a form of insurance that only pays for medical expenses resulting from injuries sustained in accident. In many states, it is incredibly important to those injured in auto accidents, however because Kentucky is what we call a PIP (Personal Injury Protection) state; which makes it less important in car wreck litigation. The reason being that PIP will cover everything that Med Pay covers, but it will also cover lost wages.
The Motor Vehicle Reparations Act (MVRA) mandates insurance companies offer Personal Injury Protection (PIP) with all auto insurance polices sold in the State of Kentucky. The purpose of PIP coverage is to allow a driver to have their car insurance company pay their medical bills and other expenses like lost wages without regard for who caused the car wreck. This is why it is often referred to as No-Fault Insurance.
For people involved in car accidents that only caused minor injuries often their PIP coverage will make them financially whole. For someone with more serious injuries that were caused by a negligent driver, it allows them to receive the medical treatment they need and receive payment for lost wages while attempting to resolve the matter with the at fault driver’s insurance company.
The purpose of Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM) is to protect yourself in case you are injured in an auto accident by someone who doesn’t have car insurance. This can easily be confused with Underinsured Motorist Coverage. However, they are separate and distinct types of coverage.
UM is for when you are hurt in a car wreck where the other driver has no insurance at all. It can also be used in cases where the driver fled the scene and cannot be identified. Continue reading
The purpose of Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) is to protect yourself in case you are injured in an auto-accident by someone who has insurance coverage that is insufficient to cover the cost of your losses.
When most people think of losses in a car wreck the first thing that comes to mind is the damage to their car, but this is often just the tip of the ice berg. Modern medicine is a wonderful thing that can save lives and cure injuries in ways once not thought possible, but if you are seriously hurt in a car wreck you will find the costs of your medical treatment quickly surpass the cost of replacing your vehicle; in addition to lost wages.
Generally, when you ask someone about their car insurance policy they will simply tell you if they have full coverage or liability insurance. Unfortunately, for someone injured in an auto accident this is the least important part of the policy.
If you ask the same question of most attorneys, they answer with a set of numbers. The numbers they are referring to are their insurance policy limits This means the maximum amount their insurance company will pay if they are involved in an accident. They might give an answer like $300,000/$500,000 for bodily injury and $300,000 for property damage.
The reason they give two numbers is insurance companies’ cap how much they will pay for the injuries of a single person and how much they will pay for the entire accident. Continue reading
In most cases the compensation for a driver injured in an auto accident is actually going to be paid by an insurance company. Insurance law comprises an entire semester long course in most law schools and can be very confusing, but the most important thing to know about insurance in Kentucky is the state minimum car insurance standard.