Medical Payments Coverage: Car Insurance Options

Medical payments coverage, also known as Medpay, is a type of car insurance that covers your medical bills or final expenses as well as your passengers’ after an accident, even if you are at fault for the crash. It’s usually optional but can make for a low-cost way to supplement your health insurance coverage in case you experience an auto-related injury.

For more information about medical payments car insurance such as where it is available and what it covers, continue reading.

On This Page

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  Who Needs Medical Payments Coverage?

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  What States Offer Medical Payments Coverage?

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  How Does Medical Payments Coverage Work?

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  What Does Medpay Cover?

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  How Much Does Medical Payments Coverage Cost?

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  What To Consider Before Adding Medical Payments Coverage to a Policy

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  How To Get Medical Payments Coverage

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  FAQs

Who Needs Medical Payments Coverage?

Maine and New Hampshire are the only states that require car insurance policies to include medical payments coverage. Drivers in Maine must carry at least $2,000 worth of medical payments auto insurance per person.^[1]

Meanwhile, car insurance is technically optional in New Hampshire if you can prove that you have enough money to cover another driver’s medical and property repair expenses in the event of an accident. Nevertheless, if you can’t meet the state’s financial responsibility requirements or otherwise decide to purchase auto insurance, then you must buy a policy with at least $1,000 in Medpay.^[2]

What States Offer Medical Payments Coverage?

Medical payments coverage is available to purchase as an optional car insurance add-on in every other state except for Minnesota, New York, North Dakota and Oregon.^[3] All four of these states instead require drivers to carry a similar coverage type called personal injury protection (PIP).^[4][5][6][7]

How Does Medical Payments Coverage Work?

Medpay covers medical expenses for you and your passengers if any of you are injured in a car accident where you are the at-fault driver. This same coverage applies to other drivers in your household who are covered by your car insurance policy in case they are responsible for an accident that injures them or their passengers. Coverage limits often range from as little as $500 per person to as much as $5,000 per person.^[8]

In addition, Medpay can take care of your medical expenses if you aren’t responsible for the accident including situations where you are struck by a driver as a pedestrian or injured while riding in someone else’s car.^[9] However, you often won’t have to file a claim on your Medpay coverage in these situations since you should also be covered by the at-fault driver’s bodily injury liability insurance.

Unlike personal injury protection, medical payments coverage doesn’t require you to pay a deductible before your coverage takes effect.^[10] That said, one trade-off is that PIP covers lost income, while Medpay doesn’t.

What Does Medpay Cover?

If your policy includes medical payments coverage, your car insurance company will generally cover the following as necessary after an accident:^[11]

• Ambulance fees
• Dental procedures
• Doctor’s visits
• Extended nursing services or hospitalization
• Funeral expenses
• Health insurance deductibles and copays
• Prosthetic limbs
• Surgeries, procedures and other medical treatments

What Isn’t Covered?

Conversely, your Medpay policy generally won’t cover any of the following after an accident:^[9][11]

• Property damage
• Hospital bills exceeding your coverage limit
• Medical expenses for other drivers and their passengers if you are responsible for an accident that injures them
• Wages you miss out on while you are in recovery and unable to work

How Much Does Medical Payments Coverage Cost?

Adding medical payments coverage to your auto insurance policy will generally raise your car insurance premium by $5 to $8 per month.^[9] Keep in mind that Medpay is typically cheaper than personal injury protection but may not cover as many medical services or have coverage limits as high as PIP.

What To Consider Before Adding Medical Payments Coverage to a Policy

As you evaluate your car insurance coverage needs, you should consider how satisfied you are with your health insurance coverage and whether Medpay is a necessary supplement. If your health plan comes with a low deductible and low copays or you have enough money in savings to cover your plan’s high deductible and copays, then you may not need Medpay as long as it isn’t required in your state.

You should also take into account how flexible your budget is. Medical payments coverage is fairly cheap, so if you can comfortably afford to spare around $100 per year, then it may be worth the extra protection and peace of mind that Medpay can provide.

How To Get Medical Payments Coverage

It’s a good idea to compare car insurance quotes from around three to five insurance companies before settling on a policy with medical payments coverage. Unfortunately, reaching out to insurers one by one to give them all of your information can become tedious.

The good news is that SmartFinancial makes car insurance shopping easier. Simply fill out a brief questionnaire and then let us do the legwork of collecting quotes for you. You can start comparing auto insurance rates for free by clicking here.