Getting Medical Treatment
As addressed in the section on Insurance Questions, motorists in Florida are required to carry Personal Injury Protection Coverage (PIP). Below is the excerpt addressing PIP.
If you are operating a motor vehicle in Florida , it is required to have insurance. One of the coverages you are required to carry is Personal Injury Protection (PIP). PIP coverage is there to pay for your medical treatment up to $10,000, at a rate of 80% as the bills come in. This is partly where the concept of "no-fault" comes in: Even if the wreck is not your fault, YOUR auto insurance company will pay your initial medical expenses, up to $10,000, minus the deductible. This bothers and confuses some people. They'll say, "Why should my company have to do anything; It was his fault!" Well, that is because under Florida 's No-fault Act, your company must pay at least the first $10,000.00. If you need treatment that exceeds $10,000.00, the at-fault party and/or his/her insurer is responsible for that. Even if your treatment costs are less than $10,000.00, there was still 20% not covered (remember, PIP pays out at only 80%), as well as deductibles, so the at-fault party should be responsible for this.
Personal Injury Protection coverage is mandatory. So, if you have auto insurance, you have PIP. You may also have Medical Payments coverage, which is not mandatory. Medical Payments Coverage is good because it helps to fill in the gaps of what is not covered by PIP.
Your doctor will likely bill your automobile insurer for payment from the PIP coverage. If he does not, that could make it tough on you because you might have to front the money and get reimbursement later. Many doctors will also wait for payment of the 20% not covered, which you pay when you settle your case.
One other point to make is that if you have lost wages following an accident, your Personal Injury Protection can also be used to cover 60% of your losses. Keep in mind that anything paid out for wage loss will also use up coverage that would go towards medical treatment. So, if you used $4,000 for wage loss, that would leave you only $6,000 in PIP for medical treatment (assuming no deductible).