How Does Massachusetts PIP Insurance Actually Work?

So the question always comes up is PIP insurance. What’s covered? How does it work in Massachusetts? And so PIP insurance first of all stands for personal injury protection. And so it’s used only in motor vehicle accidents and it’s by the insurance company of the vehicle you’re in. So even if you’re rearended and the person who hits you is at fault, it doesn’t matter. The PIP coverage is going to come from your vehicle. The exception to that is if a vehicle hits a bicyclist or a pedestrian. the bicyclist or the pedestrian is covered by the vehicle at fault, the vehicle that hit them. So, there are four benefits to PIP insurance. The first is medical bills. The second is lost wages. The third is inhome care. And the last is the death benefit. So, the total value of PIP coverage is $8,000 and is first come, first serve. So, it’s going to cover up to $2,000 in medical bills if you have health insurance. If you have no health insurance, then it could be the full 8,000. which bills get paid are the ones that PIP pays first. So that’s the same between your health insurance and lost wages. So if you have a lost wage claim to make, they’re going to pay you 75% of your lost wages to a maximum of 8,000. But if medical bills get paid first and you exhaust your PIP, it’s exhausted. Now, that’s the minimum requirement in Massachusetts. You can buy a PIP policy for greater than 8,000. You could have a $25,000 policy just like your liability coverage. You could have 25,000 or 100,000. It’s whatever you pay for.