How Does Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Work in Delaware?
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Delaware requires all vehicle owners to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance, which provides coverage for injuries sustained in a car accident. PIP insurance is first-party coverage, meaning it pays for your own injuries and lost income if you're injured. Also called no-fault coverage, PIP pays benefits no matter which party is at fault for an accident.
How does PIP insurance work in Delaware?
Personal injury protection is required auto insurance in Delaware. PIP insurance covers all parties in any accident involving a car, including the driver, passengers and anyone else injured in the collision. So, a pedestrian or bicyclist who is hurt in a collision with your vehicle would also be covered by your PIP insurance. The only exception is that anyone in another vehicle at the time of an accident would be covered under the PIP of the car they were riding in.
PIP insurance in Delaware covers all medical expenses, lost wages and other costs related to an injury sustained in a collision for two years following an accident, as long as these expenses don't exceed your coverage limits. The minimum PIP coverage required in Delaware is:
- $15,000 per person involved in an accident
- $30,000 for all parties involved in an accident
- $5,000 of funeral expenses
These are the minimum requirements, but you can purchase higher levels of coverage if your insurer offers them. Progressive, for example, offers PIP limits of up to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.
Any medical costs or lost wages that exceed your limits will not be covered by PIP, so you may have to use your health insurance or make a claim against the other driver in an accident, if they are at fault. To increase the likelihood that all of your costs related to an injury are covered, we recommend purchasing higher PIP coverage limits, if possible, as PIP benefits provide coverage no matter how a car accident occurs.
What is covered by PIP insurance in Delaware?
PIP insurance covers the following:
- Medical expenses: All necessary or reasonable medical expenses associated with your injury due to a car accident are covered by PIP, including hospitalization, dental treatment, surgery, X-rays, ambulance transportation, prosthetics and rehabilitation.
- Funeral expenses: Up to $5,000 of expenses related to a funeral, such as the cost of services and a burial plot, are covered by PIP.
- Lost income: You can receive PIP benefits for the full amount of lost earnings, as long as you can demonstrate that the loss is due to injuries from a car accident. This coverage extends to lost earnings if you're self-employed.
- Other related expenses: If you're unable to perform necessary tasks due to your injury, such as home and child care, PIP will provide coverage to hire someone to perform these services.
Delaware tort threshold
Unlike some states that require PIP insurance, Delaware is not a no-fault state. There's no limitation on your ability to sue the at-fault party in an accident for expenses or pain and suffering. The only restriction is that you can't sue the other party for reimbursement of expenses, such as medical bills or lost income, that are eligible to be paid by your own PIP insurance.
How and when to file a PIP claim in Delaware
If you've been in an accident and want to file a PIP claim, notify the insurance company as soon as possible. In Delaware, PIP extends to sustained injuries and lost income for two years after an accident. You would file a claim with the insurer of the vehicle you were in at the time of the accident, unless you were a pedestrian or bicyclist, in which case you'd notify the insurer of the vehicle that was involved.
The insurer will issue a claim number and send you a PIP application. The application acts as the record of all the procedures and costs for which you intend to request payment, so be as thorough as possible in listing all relevant information. A claim may be rejected or contested if it's for an injury not listed on the initial PIP application. Once you've completed and returned the PIP application, the insurer should begin to cover payments related to the accident.
PIP coverage over 2 years after an accident
Medical expenses may be covered by PIP insurance in Delaware beyond the two years after an accident if one of the following situations applies:
- The expenses were incurred within the two-year period, but you were unable to notify the insurer of them at the time. In order to have your claim processed, you must present them to the insurer within 90 days of the two-year period ending.
- A necessary medical procedure was identified within the two-year period, but for some reason, it couldn't be performed during that time. In this case, a medical professional must identify the procedure and the need for delay in writing during the two-year period, along with costs and any projected loss of income. The maximum amount of lost income covered is your net loss over a period of 90 days.
How much does PIP insurance cost in Delaware?
The cost of personal injury protection insurance in Delaware varies, depending on how much coverage you purchase, the deductible and your driving history. As you can see from the sample quotes below, the monthly cost of PIP insurance differs by up to $57 per month, simply by changing the deductible, which is the amount of money you'd need to cover before receiving benefits.
The monthly cost of PIP insurance premiums
$0 Deductible | $250 Deductible | $500 Deductible | $1,000 Deductible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000/$30,000 PIP limits | $69 | $64 | $60 | $43 |
| $25,000/$50,000 PIP limits | $92 | $84 | $79 | $57 |
| $50,000/$100,000 PIP limits | $118 | $108 | $101 | $73 |
| $100,000/$300,000 PIP limits | $149 | $137 | $128 | $92 |
Some insurance companies in Delaware offer high PIP deductibles, up to $15,000, which would essentially nullify your PIP benefits. While these policies are significantly less expensive, you should only consider them if you're confident in your ability to pay the full amount of the deductible in an emergency situation. Otherwise, you'll be left with significant medical costs and may not have coverage to pay for them, meaning you're likely to incur debt.
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