“Personal Injury Protection” and “Medical Payments Coverage”
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The general concept
PIP and MedPay are first-party auto coverages: they can pay specified costs for covered people without first proving another driver was at fault. They are different from a bodily-injury liability claim against the driver who caused the crash.
How Maryland applies it
Maryland requires insurers generally to offer at least $2,500 of PIP unless properly waived or rejected under statute. PIP can pay covered medical expenses and some lost income or disability benefits, subject to policy limits, eligible-person rules, and any permitted coordination with other benefits. MedPay is optional and, under the Maryland Insurance Administration’s consumer guide, pays medical expenses only; it does not provide PIP’s wage-loss benefits. Policies commonly make MedPay available after PIP is exhausted, but the actual contract controls. Check whether the policy is full or limited PIP, who qualifies, coordination provisions, deadlines, and whether a payment may be offset against another recovery. Do not assume MedPay is a substitute for PIP or that both coverages will stack.
What PIP can pay and who may qualify
Maryland PIP is no-fault coverage under the auto policy. The statutory minimum package includes up to $2,500 for reasonable, necessary accident-related medical expenses, 85% of qualifying lost income for an injured person who was earning income, or certain essential household services for a person who was not earning income. The policy may provide a higher limit. The statute identifies covered groups that can include the named insured and resident family members, permissive users, occupants of the insured vehicle, and certain pedestrians. Policy exclusions and the facts of the accident still matter.
Coordination, subrogation, and practical differences
PIP benefits are payable without regard to fault and, by statute, without regard to other medical or wage-continuation benefits. A policy may coordinate PIP with another benefit source to avoid duplicate payments if the insured made the required election; the insured may also reject coordination. A PIP insurer has no statutory right of subrogation to recover its PIP payments from the at-fault person or that person’s insurer. MedPay is optional contractual coverage and usually pays medical expenses only. Its limit, eligible people, exclusions, coordination rules, and relationship to PIP or health insurance depend on the policy. A MedPay provision may make payment excess to other coverage, but the label alone does not establish priority. Keep the declarations page and full policy, submit bills and wage or household-service proof promptly, and check claim-notice and proof-of-loss deadlines.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, Ins. §§ 19-505 through 19-507; Maryland Insurance Administration, A Consumer Guide to Auto Insurance, sections on PIP and Medical Payments Coverage.