New York Automobile Insurance Scheme

New York is one of a number of states that have legislation mandating “No Fault” or “Personal Injury Protection” (PIP) for motorists and pedestrians.

The purpose of No Fault or PIP legislation is to ensure people injured in a car accident have some entitlement to basic medical expenses and lost earnings regardless of who is to blame for the car accident.

The New York State No Fault law provides coverage up to $50,000 per person. This no fault coverage pays for those reasonable and necessary accident related medical and rehabilitation expenses in accordance with certain established fee structures. The New YorkState no fault law provides for 80% of lost earnings from work up to a maximum of $2000.00 per month for up to three years from the date of the accident. In addition, the no fault law provides for payment of up to $25.00 per day (for up to a year from the accident) to reimburse other reasonable and necessary expenses such as household help, transportation expenses, etc. that also reasonably result from the accident.

There are circumstances under most insurance policies which cause ineligibility under a policy of insurance. These include driving while intoxicated if that intoxication contributes to the accident; accidents and injuries occurring while committing a felony; injuries in accidents while in a vehicle known to be stolen; intentionally causing your own injuries or being injured in your vehicle that is uninsured.

In addition to the no fault benefits you may also be entitled to sue another party for damages if you are injured in an accident that is someone else’s fault. You have the right to sue person responsible for the accident only if you suffer a “serious injury”. This is a defined term in the Insurance Law. If you do suffer a “serious injury” you can sue the other party for pain and suffering and economic loss not covered by the no fault law or if the loss exceeds the limits of the no fault coverage.

One exception to be aware of is the situation where you are a passenger in a car that is driven by your spouse. Ordinarily passengers can sue the driver of the car they were in when they suffered serious personal injuries assuming the driver was negligent. If your spouse was the negligent driver, however, you may not be allowed to sue unless Supplemental Spousal Liability Insurance was also purchased.

Another important part of the New YorkState car insurance legislation is the provision for coverage for you and family members residing in your household should any of you be injured by an uninsured driver. If you or a family member is injured by the driver of a hit and run car or the driver of an uninsured car, a claim should be filed with your own car insurance company. Similarly, if you or a family member are injured while a passenger in a car that is uninsured and you did not know that the car was uninsured, you should also file a claim with your own car insurance company.

If you do not have your own policy and are not covered by a family member’s policy it does not mean you have no coverage. You may still be eligible for uninsured motorist protection and No-Fault coverage. If this is your situation YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY REPORT THE ACCIDENT TO THE PROPER AUTHORITIES AND THEN PROMPTLY FILE A CLAIM WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT INDEMNIFICATION CORPORATION. THERE ARE STRINGENT TIME LINES FOR FILING THESE CLAIMS. If this is your situation call a lawyer immediately. You can find further information at www.mvaic.com.

This article has provide a very simple and very basic outline of the contents of the New York State car insurance legislation as it deals with people that have suffered personal injuries in car accidents. As can be seen, it is a complex scheme. If you have been injured in an accident we strongly recommend that you call a personal injury lawyer and get legal advice regarding your own situation.

This article is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive summary of the New York State automobile insurance scheme. It is also not intended to be legal advice. It is simply a short summary of some relevant points of the legislation that might be of interest to people that have been injured in car accidents in New York.