Car Accident Injury: Which Insurance Pays the Bill?

The answer is: The car insurance pays first. Most states require motorists to have personal injury protection. The amount of coverage can vary depending on the premium you decided to pay. So, the medical bills will be charged up to the limits of your auto policy, and your responsibility will be to pay up to the deductible. Once that limit is crossed, your health insurance policy steps in to cover the rest of the cost for the car accident injury.

However, note that -- depending on what kind of health coverage you have -- your insurance company will determine what is covered and what is not. So, be prepared to pay, for example, the deductible amount under the health insurance policy, any co-payments that are required, any charges from hospital/clinic that are not typically covered by the policy.

If you are the at-fault driver, be prepared for increases in your future policy premium. If, on the other hand, you are not the at-fault driver, the insurance companies involved may work behind the scenes to get the at-fault party’s policies to bear some of the costs. Victims of car crashes can also sometimes recover some of their out-of-pocket expenses by making that part of any car accident settlement agreement with the at-fault driver and/or their insurance carrier.