If you are injured in an automobile collision, your own automobile insurance policy may have a provision for payment of your medical bills. The policy provision is commonly named “medpay”.
Medpay coverage is stated on the Declarations page of your automobile policy. The Declarations page lists all your coverages, the coverage limits and the fee for those coverages. This page is usually one of the first pages of your automobile policy documents. If you can’t locate the Declarations page, ask your lawyer or agent/broker for it.
You pay a separate premium for this coverage. Many times, people opt out of this coverage because they have independent medical insurance through their employer or others. If you do not have independent medical insurance or if you might not in the future, then medpay will help. You can set the amount of your medpay coverage. The more coverage you have, the greater the premium.
The way medpay works is that you first incur a medical expense from an automobile-related injury. Then, you send the medical bill to your automobile insurer with a request for reimbursement. Your insurer will either pay you for the expense or directly pay the medical provider. Be clear to your automobile insurer to not pay the medical provider if you have already paid the medical provider. In that circumstance, be sure to instruct your automobile insurer to pay you.
When your litigation against the negligent driver has resolved, your automobile insurer will reach out to you, or your attorney if you have one, for reimbursement of the medpay your automobile insurer has paid. Your insurer can seek reimbursement if your policy language has a provision stating so. Sometimes, your insurer may waive reimbursement at your request even if they are entitled to it. If you have retained a lawyer, the lawyer can seek a waiver or reduction of the reimbursement amount according to pertinent legal principles that your lawyer will assert.
