Extraordinary Medical Coverage
The primary function of car insurance is to pay for bodily injury liability and property damage liability owed to others in event of an accident. Additionally, the policy may provide comprehensive benefits to pay for damage suffered by own vehicle as well. Additional protection options include Personal Injury Protection or First Party Benefits that provide for medical expenses arising out of the accident for self and other passengers in the car. The PIP coverage is normally restricted to $100,000. One can go in for extraordinary medical coverage providing coverage up to $1 million as additional medical car insurance protection.
Extraordinary medical coverage will provide monetary support for medical expenses only. It will not cover third party liability. The money should be needed for medical treatment of the policy holder or for other passengers who are covered under the policy.
The coverage remains dormant until the PIP coverage is active. PIP coverage for $100,000 will take care of medical treatment costing $99,999.99. It is not an option to seek compensation from the additional extraordinary coverage. The rider will get activated only when the cost of medical treatment exceeds the limit specified.
It is not normal for medical expenses related to auto accidents to exceed the basic medical coverage. Hence, this extra protection remains unused. However, automobile insurance offers no protection in event the medical bills exceed the coverage limit of the basic protection. Any dues beyond the limit will have to be borne personally by the policy holder.
Extraordinary medical coverage is needed in event of a major accident or collision leading to life threatening complications for the insured or other covered individuals. The protection operates as a sub unit of PIP or First Party Benefits of the policy. Hence, the coverage is expressed as an amount payable per person for any combination of the various expenses covered under the policy.
Any claims filed under this additional protective option will be adjusted for all future claims. Total claims running in excess of a million dollars will be the personal liability of the insured or the individual obtaining treatment.
Extraordinary coverage may not be utilized in event of a minor scrape leading to ordinary injuries. The extra premium paid may be considered underutilized under these circumstances. However, the extra payment will be highly useful in overcoming life threatening complications that no other aspect of auto or health insurance will cover. This renders extraordinary medical coverage an essential option for protection from worst case scenarios.
The coverage includes cost of medical treatment, surgery, rehabilitative services, medications and other related supplies and even the psychological treatment necessary to overcome the trauma of the accident.