Insurance attorney advice on what insurance covers your family members, and saves you extra deductible costs in case of a car accident
This blog is written by Jeffrey Bussell. Jeff is an excellent No-Fault insurance attorney who helps clients in the early stages of a car accident lawsuit. He also helps people get their mini-tort, No-Fault wage loss and guides them through ever-increasingly complex medical plans and policies.
Jeff frequently gets asked, “how can I protect my family when not everyone in the household has health insurance?”
We hope the information below helps.
There are many situations where employed individuals cannot provide health insurance for the other members of their family. This is especially common where employees have to pay a portion of their own coverage and adding other family members is too expensive. If this is the case in your household, your Michigan No-Fault (PIP) coverage should be primary to other coverages to avoid penalty deductibles from your auto insurance company.
Having your No-Fault PIP coverage as primary is a matter of saving you money in the case of an accident. Most insurers have anywhere from zero to $300 as a deductible for accident-related medical expenses. This is a lifetime deductible for that accident only, not an annual deductible.
If the insurance policy has coordinated medical coverage and a particular family member who uses that policy for their PIP benefits has no other health insurance, they are still bound by the terms of the policy. Accordingly, the auto insurer will charge a penalty deductible to the claimant, over and above $300 (i.e. $500, $600, $2,500, etc.) because the higher premium for primary coverage was not paid.
Additionally, if your health policy has an auto accident exclusion, coordination clause (clause that states that your health insurance is secondary to auto insurance), or is a self-funded ERISA plan (which is very common for large employers), having primary medical PIP helps avoid many problems these plans can create toward your case.
To make sure your Michigan No-Fault PIP coverage is your primary insurance, call your auto insurance agent and tell him or her that you want your Michigan No-Fault PIP coverage to be your primary insurance coverage.
As always, if you have insurance questions, feel free to call Jeff or one of our other insurance attorneys at (248) 353-7575. We are here to help, and there’s no cost for the advice we give you.
Related information:
Your Michigan No-Fault insurance benefits
3 potential cases after an auto accident
7 things to know about Michigan No-Fault reform
Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights. Call (248) 353-7575 to speak with one of our Michigan insurance attorneys.
