What is PIP and how can I save.......?

I asked the same thing when I moved to Florida as I came from a state that did not have PIP coverage, so even though I was in the industry, I didn't know how this coverage applied.  

PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection and is offered in states that are "no fault" states.  The saying "no Fault" means no one is at fault for the first $10k in medical bills.  Lets say we are both driving and you hit me and I'm injured - I would submit a claim to my policy to cover the first $10k in my medical bills - any overage I would then claim to your policy under your bodily injury coverage.  We all carry it and it is a mandatory coverage on your auto policy.   

PIP has different levels of protection from basic which covers 80% of medically necessary expenses, 60% of lost wages, 100% of replacement services & $5,000 for death benefits, to an increased limit of 100% of medically necessary expenses and 80% of lost wages. 

You can also reduce or remove coverage to reduce the cost. 

The ways to reduce your costs are to add a deductible, have the coverage apply to not only you but any resident relatives in the household, or you can have the work loss coverage excluded. 

The one thing I see most often is a student, or stay at home mom/dad, or someone that's retired yet they are paying for PIP coverage to cover their lost wages - what lost wages they don't work???  Did this agent even ask?  Yes, they had to ask their occupation as that is asked on all auto policies ( another rating variable) so how did this agent miss that they are retired yet chose the PIP benefit that covers them for lost wages ?  This is a discount...yes you get a discount for choosing PIP with loss wages excluded! 

Now I clearly don't recommend this if you are working as this is a needed benefit if you are injured from an auto accident and can't work but..... if you don't work then its a pointless coverage that you are paying extra for. 

Don't get me wrong you won't be able to take a vacation on this savings or pay off your car but it may get you a Starbucks and who doesn't love a free Starbucks...

The bottom line is there's a lot of ways to tailor your policy, all policies, to cover you and your needs yet many of these coverage's are either not understood by the general public or not in the bold print.  This is why a good agent that isn't concerned with their overall commission but rather your overall cost is an absolute must!! My motto is why pay for coverage you'll never use no matter how small (or some times  large) that savings may be.