What Does Personal Injury Protection Cover And Do I Need It?

If you are a driver or have been injured while using the roads, you may have heard of Personal Injury Protection. This guide will aim to answer the question, ‘What does Personal Injury Protection cover?’. We start by looking at what exactly this form of insurance is, how to access it if you have it and what it ultimately covers. Additionally, we also explain whether it applies to passengers and whether or not you actually need this add-on to your car insurance policy will also be discussed.

If you have been injured in a road traffic accident and are considering pursuing a personal claim, you can contact our advisors. They may connect you with one of the solicitors on our panel who could help you with claiming compensation for your injuries and their associated financial losses. Contact our team by:

A wooden gavel and paper file that reads 'personal injury'.

Browse Our Guide

  1. What Is Personal Injury Protection?
  2. How Do I Use Personal Injury Protection?
  3. What Does Personal Injury Protection Cover?
  4. Does Personal Injury Protection Cover Passengers?
  5. Do I Need To Have Personal Injury Protection Cover?
  6. Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims

What Is Personal Injury Protection?

Personal injury protection (sometimes known as PIP) is a form of personal accident insurance cover that can pay for your medical and rehabilitation costs if you are injured in a car accident. When it’s taken out, the policy sets out a specific amount of coverage, and this determines how much can be claimed for medical bills, rehabilitation costs and injuries suffered.

Personal injury protection means an injured person can instantly access any medical treatment and rehabilitation procedures needed to help with their injuries. It also ensures that the medical professionals treating them are paid promptly for the healthcare services they deliver.

It is common for car insurance policies to include a baseline amount of personal injury cover. There are other policies that could have an additional level of insurance with higher payouts. This is regardless of who was at fault for the accident. This type of insurance can also cover people who are injured by untraceable or uninsured drivers.

A man with a serious injury after a road traffic accident.

How Do I Use Personal Injury Protection?

The first step after a road traffic accident is to contact your insurer. At this point, it does not matter if you were fully or partly responsible for the accident, or if the accident was the fault of another road user. The personal injury protection policy would still be valid.

PIP policies don’t depend on others involved having similar coverage the way traditional car insurance does. They operate on a ‘no-fault’ basis and the money is paid out without the need for the policyholder to be shown free from blame for the accident. This can offer a quick way to meet any medical costs that you may have.

What Does Personal Injury Protection Cover?

‘What does personal injury protection cover?’ is a natural question you may have. PIP coverage will usually include medical expenses and rehabilitation costs potentially incurred after an accident on the roads. Whilst policies can differ, they usually cover issues such as:

  • Lost limbs and amputations.
  • Lost sight.
  • Fractured and broken bones.
  • Lost speech.
  • Dental surgery and reconstruction procedures.
  • Surgeries and rehabilitation expenses.
  • Long-term medical treatments.

This list is not exhaustive. So, it’s important to always confirm with the supplier of the policy as to what injuries and treatments it actually covers.

Does Personal Injury Protection Cover Passengers?

If you’re injured in a car accident whilst driving, PIP will only cover you. Any passengers in your car are not usually covered. However, in the majority of personal injury protection policies, the named policyholder is covered if they are injured as a passenger in someone else’s vehicle.

So, even if you are a passenger in someone else’s car, you could obtain personal accident compensation through your PIP coverage.

A man in a car holding his neck after an accident. There is also a female passenger.

Do I Need To Have Personal Injury Protection Cover?

It is not a legal requirement to have personal injury protection insurance coverage, so it is optional. However, there are potential benefits to having it. For example, PIP can deal with the costs of healthcare and rehabilitation for drivers who were to blame, either in part (split liability) or in full, for the accident.

People such as this often struggle to get compensation through a traditional personal injury claim. Even if they are successful, they might be offered only a reduced portion of their damages. With PIP, it does not matter whose fault the accident was; the policy should pay out as this is what it is designed to do.

Contact Us To See If You Can Make A Personal Injury Claim

We hope this guide has answered, ‘What does personal injury protection cover?’. If you have been injured in a road traffic accident and would like to see whether you may be eligible to claim compensation, you can contact our advisors.

If they deem you to have a strong case, they could connect you with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel. Our panel of solicitors could help with various aspects of your claim, such as organising an independent medical assessment, communicating with the defendant and negotiating your compensation.

To connect with our team, you can:

A client asks a solicitor 'What does personal injury protection cover?'

Learn More About Making Personal Injury Claims

These other resources from our website may be of use:

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Thank you for reading this guide about ‘What does Personal Injury Protection cover?’. You can contact our advisors if you would like to discuss anything about claiming compensation for your injuries.