You need to exhaust your PIP benefits before your health insurance kicks in

If you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident, it’s important to understand the relationship between your PIP (personal injury protection) and health insurance.


PIP is your primary coverage as it pays 100 cents on the dollar for your health care – health insurance does not. You need to exhaust your PIP benefits before your health insurance kicks in. Once your PIP runs out, provide your health insurance carrier with an “exhaustion letter.” This basically explains that there is no more PIP coverage left and your health insurance needs to start covering your medical bills.

The process of dealing with PIP vs. health insurance carriers is daunting – especially in the aftermath of an accident that caused you injury. But following these steps will save you a lot of headache down the road:

1. Immediately following the accident, provide your PIP information to your health care providers.

2. Every few weeks, request a copy of the PIP ledger from your auto carrier to see how much PIP coverage you have left.

3. Once you are approaching your PIP limits, provide your health care providers with your PIP ledgers so they can start billing your health insurance carrier.