Why Pennsylvanians Need to Buy More Medical Coverage in Their Automobile Insurance Policies

Pennsylvanians should  purchase more than the minimum $5,000 medical coverage in their auto insurance policies for several important reasons:

1. When you buy auto insurance, you buy medical coverage to pay for your medical bills. Most people buy the minimum, yet if you are seriously hurt, or even just need a few tests, you may use up/exhaust your medical coverage quickly. Then, you have to pay the bills, typically from your private health insurance. Unlike auto policies, private health coverage has copays and deductibles that add up quickly. The more auto medical coverage you have, the less chance you have of ever having to use your private health insurance. 
2. In this podcast, attorney Daniel J. Siegel explains why he recommends that his clients purchase $100,000 in medical coverage. And $100,000 in medical coverage usually does not cost much more than the minimum coverage, but it will give you tremendous peace of mind.
3. Pennsylvania has a no-fault type of auto insurance system with limited medical coverage. This means that in the event of an accident, your medical expenses may not be fully covered. Increasing your medical coverage can help ensure that you have adequate financial protection for medical bills, rehabilitation, and other related expenses.
4. Medical expenses can be substantial, no matter how serious your injuries are. MRIs, CAT Scans, and other tests are expensive. Even the copays for physical therapy add up quickly. By purchasing more medical coverage, you can reduce the out-of-pocket costs you have to pay for hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, ongoing medical treatments, and therapy.
5. Accidents can happen unexpectedly, and having comprehensive medical coverage in your auto insurance policy provides peace of mind knowing that you and your loved ones will be taken care of in the event of an accident.

In summary, this podcast explains why purchasing more medical coverage in your auto insurance policy in Pennsylvania is a prudent choice to protect yourself and your loved ones from the potential financial hardships associated with auto accidents. It provides a safety net for covering medical expenses, especially in cases of severe injuries, and offers peace of mind while driving on the roads.

Listen to experienced automobile accident attorney Daniel J. Siegel explain the reasons why you should evaluate your auto insurance policy today. Or visit our Auto Insurance Buying Guide at danieljsiegel.com.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Legal Tech Podcast, sponsored by the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC, and Integrated Technology Services LLC. I'm Attorney Daniel Siegel, and I am here today to discuss automobile insurance with you. This is an important topic because almost all of us drive cars and as a result we are all at risk for getting injured in automobile accidents.

00;00;32;22 - 00;01;08;20

But purchasing automobile insurance can be confusing. It can be downright unnerving because you don't know what to buy. You see lots of commercials with animals and everything else imaginable, but they're really not telling you what to buy. On our Web site, D-A-N-I-E-L-J-S-I-E-G-E-L dot com. We have a complete auto insurance buyer's guide to help you. But today, I'm going to talk about one aspect of automobile insurance that has really changed in the last few years.

00;01;08;26 - 00;01;40;24

And in fact, the recommendations we give to our clients have changed dramatically over the last few years. What we recommend is that when you purchase medical insurance coverage in your automobile insurance policy, that you purchase a $100,000 in coverage, or if you cannot afford that much coverage, purchase as much as you can. Do not buy the minimum $5,000 in coverage unless you have to.

00;01;41;09 - 00;02;10;06

We understand that sometimes finances make those decisions for you, but if you can buy more, you are looking at spending only maybe $100 more a year or $200 more a year. But the savings in the long run, if you are ever hurt, are dramatic. Let me explain. When Pennsylvania passed what is called the motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law.

00;02;11;01 - 00;02;38;27

It required that every vehicle insurance policy provide medical coverage for payment of medical bills. Those bills are paid without a deductible based on a fee schedule that is set up by the state. And it changes every year based on cost of living. It is essentially based on Medicare fees, but it's a complicated system. You and I don't need to know anything about that.

00;02;40;13 - 00;03;09;06

When the insurance first was made available, most of us had medical insurance policies with either no or very low co-pays or deductibles so that it made sense to buy the minimum $5,000 in automobile insurance coverage. Things have changed. I'm going to tell you what we have seen again and again with clients whom we represent in motor vehicle accident claims they get hurt.

00;03;09;24 - 00;03;38;00

Maybe they go to the emergency room, but they invariably will have tests such as MRI's, EMG, CAT scans and anything else you can think of. Those tests are not cheap. And if you get medications, we all know that the price of pharmaceuticals has gone up and up and up. In the old days, $5,000 paid for a lot of medical care under an auto insurance policy.

00;03;38;10 - 00;04;11;04

Nowadays, it doesn't. Instead, what it means is that if you only have a limited amount of medical insurance coverage once you use up, we call it exhaust. The coverage that you paid for typically $5,000 in coverage, then you are obligated to submit your bills to your private insurance company. And any co-pays or anything else that you might have are the responsibility of the other driver.

00;04;11;05 - 00;04;39;06

If in fact, that driver was at fault for the accident and if in fact that driver had enough insurance coverage. But the reality is that regardless of that, once you pass the 500 and use up your auto medical insurance coverage, it's on you and your private health insurance policy. Consider your health insurance policy. Most of us have reasonably high co-pays for visiting.

00;04;39;06 - 00;05;07;22

A doctor can be ten, 20, 30, 40, $50 just for a doctor visit. We always have co-pays for having physical therapy, or you may have a plan that's becoming more typical where you have to pay the first thousand or $2,000 in medical costs before the plan even kicks in. If any of those is the case, suddenly you are spending a lot of money out of your own pocket for medical care.

00;05;09;12 - 00;05;38;22

On the other hand, if you purchase auto insurance medical coverage that is larger than the minimum. We recommend a $100,000 because that's generally more than sufficient for most accidents. Then you don't have to worry about all those co-pays and everything else. And not every auto accident or auto accident related injury turns into a claim. There are lots of reasons why you might have been at fault.

00;05;39;03 - 00;06;08;01

You might have limited tort. And you can't overcome the limited tort threshold. You may not want to get involved in litigation or claims. We understand that. But what you want to be is prepared so that you are not suddenly forced to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket. One of our clients recently was involved in a fender bender at a Pennsylvania turnpike on ramp.

00;06;08;17 - 00;06;39;15

It turned out, of course, that the other car didn't even have insurance, and she did not have a lot of insurance coverage either. Well, her injuries were substantial and she had over $3,000 in medical bills that were not paid by her private insurance. After using up what she bought from her auto insurance and after the private insurance paid, those were the co-pays and deductibles.

00;06;39;25 - 00;07;10;07

So suddenly she had a limited claim. It was actually what we call an uninsured motorist claim against her own carrier. But she didn't have a lot of coverage. So there wasn't money there to really compensate her. And she lost over $3,000 from her recovery because she had to pay those bills. So when you are looking at buying automobile insurance, you can go to our auto insurance buyer's guide at D-A-N-I-E-L-J-S-I-E-G-E-L dot com

00;07;10;08 - 00;07;39;26

But let me just quickly summarize for you what we recommend you purchase in automobile insurance. We recommend full tort. That means that you are able to bring a claim against any responsible party for any injuries you suffer if the other party is negligent. Do not purchase ltd toward limited tort means. You have very limited rights in terms of pursuing claims against others.

00;07;40;06 - 00;08;15;11

ou save about 10%, but that 10% is meaningless if you are seriously hurt, but yet can't get past the limited toward threshold. You should also purchase medical insurance coverage. As I said, our recommendation is that you purchase at least 50, preferably at least $100,000 in medical insurance coverage because the cost of it is so relatively low. You need to purchase liability coverage which protects you in the event you are negligent or at fault for an accident.

00;08;16;02 - 00;08;42;00

Typically, there we will suggest at least 100 to $300000 in coverage. If you if you have a lot of assets, you own a fancy house and have other things, you may want to purchase more. We also recommend that you purchase uninsured motorist coverage, which protects you in case the driver of that caused your injuries did not have any auto insurance.

00;08;42;10 - 00;09;18;22

That happens. We also recommend that you purchase underinsured motorist coverage, which is coverage that protects you if the driver responsible for your injuries and does not have enough coverage. So suppose they only have a $15,000 policy and your injuries are worth 100,000. If you have underinsured motorist coverage, you can collect the difference up to that $85,000 difference or whatever it is on your policy, under your own policy, from your own company.

00;09;19;23 - 00;09;46;27

Those are the types of things we recommend. We also say that your coverages should be stacked, which simply means that if you have two cars and you have a 100,000 an uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you get coverage for two cars. We can help you with all of these questions. We regularly answer questions from clients about what insurance to buy, what coverages they need, what they should do in different situations.

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I, Dan Siegel, for example, have been handling Pennsylvania and New Jersey motor vehicle accident claims for almost 40 years. There's not much that I haven't seen in terms of injuries, in terms of who's at fault. And I've tried these cases, I've arbitrated them and I've settled them. We offer very client focused service for you and hope that you will consider giving us a call.

00;10;17;25 - 00;10;46;05

But first, remember to go look at your auto insurance policy. Make certain that you have sufficient coverage and if you have questions, give us a call. I'm Dan Siegel. This is the legal tech podcast. It is sponsored by the Law Offices of Daniel J. Siegel, LLC and D-A-N-I-E-L-J-S-I-E-G-E-L dot com. You can call us at 610-446-3457.

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The podcast is also sponsored by Integrated Technology Services LLC. We provide workflow solutions, software sales and training for law firms and small businesses. Again, thank you for listening to today's Legal Tech Podcast.