If I get in an auto accident and have full coverage how come my insurance will not pay toward medical?

Question

I have 12,500/25,000/10,000 but no med pay what is 12,500/25,000 for

Answer 1

"Full coverage" is a misnomer. It does not, in fact, mean you have every line of insurance the insurance company has to offer. (In fact, you wouldn't want EVERY line of insurance - that would be prohibitively expensive!) When people say they have full coverage, they generally mean they have both liability coverage and coverage for damage to their own vehicle.

I read through the other answers and noted they are pointing you in the right direction but are not quite correct. The three numbers - 12,500/25,000/10,000 in your case - are the limits of coverage for liability. This is the most your insurer will pay if you cause injury and/or property damage to some other party. 12,500 is the most your insurer will pay for any ONE person injured. 25,000 is the most your insurer will pay for ALL injury claims regardless of how many are injured. These limits have nothing to do with which car the injured party was in. Injured passengers in your car have a liability claim just as the driver and passengers in the other car if you cause an accident. Also, pedestrian(s) injured by the accident would have a liability claim.

Those liability limits have nothing to do with coverage for your injury. The liability portion of your policy is there to pay for damages and/or injuries you caused to others. It is the claim you would have to pay if you did not have an insurance policy to protect you. But you can't be liable to yourself.

Medical Payments is that portion of your insurance policy which pays for injury to you. It also pays for injury to anyone else in your car but don't confuse this with liability. As I mentioned above, a passenger in your car would have a liability claim as well. Medical Payments is added to your auto policy if you want and with a limit you select. As one of the other answers mentioned, medical providers do have a lien on insurance payout and, thus, your insurer will pay the available benefit directly to the provider. This should not be a problem for you since that is what the coverage is for - Payment for Medical bills - hence the name of the coverage.

Answer 2

Please pay the small extra $$ for the medpay coverage as this is the coverage that will pay for your medical bills regardless if the accident is your fault or the other person's fault.
The only problem is the small $5000 or $10,000 limit. So it ends up paying for emergency and some follow-up visits. Any serious or long-term injury will have to come from other insurance coverage like your health insurance or the at fault driver's coverage.
The 12,500/25,000/10,000 coverage is called liability coverage. If you are at fault for the accident then your insurance company will pay up to a limit of $12,500 for injury claims per person and a maximum of $25,000 for the total if more than one person was injured (this includes any passengers that were in your vehicle since they were not at fault for the accident). The $10,000 is for property damage to the other vehicle or property that was damaged by your fault (negligence).
If you have an agent he should also explain to you what coverage you have. If no agent then call the customer service phone # to fill you in.
By the way, you are mistaken that you have full coverage, it's more like fool coverage if you don't know what is covered and what is not.

senior claims adjuster

Answer 3

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Answer 4

If you ask 30 people what "full coverage" means, they will tell you 30 different things.

You look like you have "state minimum liability" to me.

The first number, is how much coverage you have for bodily injury to one other person, which means people outside your car (pedestrians, or passengers in other cars) that YOU are at fault for. The most the insurance company will pay to any one person (not you, or anyone in your car) is $12,500.

The second number is how much PER ACCIDENT the company will pay for bodily injury to all persons outside your car, that you hurt.

The third number is how much PER ACCIDENT the company will pay for damage to another car, NOT YOURS, or fence, or sign, or whatever it is you hit with your car.

If you hit a new Saturn, and total it, and there are four people in the car, and one has to get life flighted to a hospital, you are in deep doo doo. The new Saturn is worth $17,000 - your insurance will pay $10,000 (policy limit) and you will have to pay the other $7,000 yourself.

A life flight costs $15,000, but your policy will only pay $12,500 per person. Divide the $25,000 between four passengers, and you barely have enough to cover the ambulance charges & xrays - You're going to lose anything you own, and have wages attached FOREVER. You need an agent who can explain the coverages, and who does NOT use the phrase, "full coverage". It's innacurate, to say the least.

Answer 5

The first two sets of numbers, 12,500/25,000 are for the bodily injury and would go to pay the BI for the other party in an accident if the accident is YOUR fault. The 10,000 is for property damage. You have VERY low limits and are setting yourself up for a lawsuit should you ever have an accident. The property damage alone wouldn't even begin to cover a 2007 BMW if you were to hit one and total it! Consider increasing your limits. Second of all, in order for your insurance company to pay out anything on your medical payments you will probably have to add Personal Injury Coverage or Medical Payments. Most companies cap this limit at $5,000 however I write for one company that offers it up to $10,000. In my state Med Pay will pay that amount to ANYONE in your vehicle including yourself! But do not expect the insurance company to whip out a check to you for $10,000 or whatever you limit is. This money will go directly to the medical facility. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Like everyone else is saying, there really is no such thing as "full coverage."

Some states require "Personal Injury Protection" or "PIP" and that will pay for YOUR medical expenses. If you are not in a PIP state, then the only way you can get your own medical expenses covered (assuming the accident was deemed to be YOUR fault) is if you have med pay (or Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage, but that doesn't seem to apply here). Otherwise, the assumption is that you have personal health insurance that is willing to pay for your injuries.

The 12500/25000 is for the people you hurt (outside of your car) as a result of your accident. That's why it's called "Liability Insurance."

Oh yeah, like the other people are saying, you have way too low limits. You need to increase those badly! It's advised that you carry limits of AT LEAST 100,000/300,000/100,000 so that when you take out a brand new SUV, injure the 3 people inside, damage a light pole, someone's lawn, and the curb, you have enough coverage to get those paid for.

Answer 7

the 12,500/25,000/10,000 if for:

first number is for one person inside the vehicle
the second number is per occurance the limit for everyone in the car
and the third is for property damage

& you doint have full coverage, do you have comp & collision? or Personal Injury Protection. if not then you only have liability

Answer 8

The first two numbers are Bodily Injury, The Third is Property damage... If you were hurt it would be covered under the medical expense limit of your state, most states it is $5,000.00...Over that its your hospitalization... If someone else hit you and you got hurt it would apply to their first two numbers. 1# per person and #2 per accident #3property damage...Good Luck and seek a insurance professional

Answer 9

Medical insurance within an auto policy is intended to pay for the medical bills of other people, both within your car, and in the other vehicles, if it turns out that you are determined to be the cause of the accident.

You are expected to have your own medical insurance already.

Answer 10

Those numbers are you limits of liabilty, and I would seriously suggest raising them. Your liability insurance is what your insurance pays for injuries you do to other people, none for you, unless someone else hits you that doesn't have insurance and then your uninsured coverage will pay for your medical bills.