WHAT IS PIP STACKING IN A MN AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE POLICY?
Our attorneys recently worked on a case where a client in a car accident needed neck surgery. Unfortunately, she did not have health insurance to pay her medical bills. She came to us to get her medical bills paid, and was also wondering if she could get reimbursed for her lost wages. Fortunately, every automobile insurance policy in Minnesota is required to include PIP coverage for a car accident. “PIP” stands for Personal Injury Protection.
The minimum PIP coverage in every Minnesota automobile insurance policy is $20,000 for medical payments and $20,000 for lost wages. What’s nice about this insurance benefit is that it is No-Fault coverage. This means your medical bills and wage loss after an automobile accident are paid by your own auto insurance without having to prove who was at fault. In other words, you don’t have to prove the other driver was at fault. Your car accident medical bills and lost wages will be paid no matter what. The only requirement is that your injury must be related to your use of an automobile, and your treatment must be reasonable and necessary.
MORE BENEFITS FROM STACKING AUTO INSURANCE
What was really nice in this case is that our client had also purchased ‘stacking.’ When you own two or more vehicles in MN, your insurance company must offer you the option of stacking the PIP benefits. ‘Stacking’ means you can double your PIP coverage for a small additional charge. Our client did not understand what this meant, but it is something her insurance agent advised her to get. She and her husband each owned a car, so stacking was available.
Therefore, instead of $20,000 in medical coverage she had $40,000. That money nearly covered the entire cost of the surgery after the car crash. In addition, instead of getting $500 per week in wage loss (which is the maximum allowed by PIP), she got up to $1,000 per week. That was very helpful during the six weeks she was out of work.
Next time you review your automobile insurance, you should ask your agent about stacking. Look at the cost and think about whether it is something you need or would benefit you.
CAR ACCIDENT INJURY LAWYERS
If you are injured in a car accident or truck accident in Minnesota and have questions about your insurance coverage, you are welcome to call us and speak with a lawyer. We will give you a free, no obligation initial consultation to answer your questions. If one of our lawyers does take your case, we always charge a percentage of what we collect from you. Therefore, if you do not receive compensation, we do not charge anything.