Houston No Fault Insurance

No fault auto insurance has many advantages for the policyholder. A driver under a no-fault insurance policy is covered without regard to who is at fault. No-fault insurance is usually referred to as personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. Different states offer diverse PIP policies, but they all offer the same basic coverage for medical expenses, death benefits and/or funeral arrangements, reimbursement for loss of services and loss of wages.

A no-fault insurance policy has a few good points:

• There is less paperwork involved when filing a claim.
• It provides for a timely resolution because there is no dispute over who is at fault in an accident. Therefore, a person avoids going through a lengthy claims process.
• There is little chance of being sued if neither party has suffered any severe injuries.
• Monetary recovery is more certain, because compensation is immediately available through the injured party’s insurance policy.

A no-fault insurance policy may streamline the claims process and make it less nerve-wrecking, but it’s very nature may make it a less attractive option when you consider the downsides:

• Rates for auto insurance in no-fault states are 25 percent higher than in states that only offer traditional liability;
• No-fault insurance policies offer no damages for pain and suffering or other non-economic damages, and there are arbitrary limits on amount of damages you can collect;
• Irresponsible drivers cannot be sued for the damages they cause, unless in extenuating circumstances where the insured was seriously injured. Thus, there’s no incentive for bad drivers not to repeat their irresponsible behavior.
• There’s no reduction in litigation costs because instead of defending litigation claims, insurers spend time and effort defending lawsuits brought by their own policyholders for failure to pay no-fault benefits.
• No-fault states have caps on the amounts they will pay on liability claims, even for basic economic damages. This can result in a driver being forced to pay for medical bills without any means of recourse against the party (or parties) at fault.

States that offer no-fault insurance have laws that dictate when, how much and how long the injured party may collect on a claim. These states also combine no-fault insurance with conventional liability. States such as Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and Kentucky offer motorists the option of purchasing PIP and driving under the no-fault system or abiding by the conventional liability system.

For drivers residing in Houston, no-fault insurance may be available at an affordable cost. However, no-fault insurance options should first be discussed with an attorney who specializes in personal injury protection cases before you start shopping around for an insurance career. The attorney can explain how Texas state laws view fault in regards to auto accidents, and he can determine how state laws affect your ability to recover damages in the event you are in an accident. Knowing how readily you can recover what you are entitled to in the event of an accident can help you decide if a no-fault insurance policy is a good option for you.