Had a minor fender bender last month, nothing serious thankfully but ended up with a sore neck and a quick ER visit just to be safe. Now I'm stuck in this weird limbo where my health insurance says the car insurance should cover it first, and the car insurance is dragging their feet saying health insurance should pay initially. Honestly, didn't even know this was a thing until now. Has anyone else been caught between these two like this? How'd it turn out?
Been there, done that... and yeah, it's a headache. Here's what usually happens:
First, your car insurance typically has something called Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or Medical Payments coverage (MedPay), depending on your state. They're supposed to step in first for accident-related medical bills. Health insurance usually kicks in after your auto coverage hits its limit.
But here's the catch—both sides love playing hot potato with the bills. What you can do is:
1. Call your car insurance and specifically ask about your PIP or MedPay coverage limits.
2. Get documentation from them clearly stating if they're denying or delaying payment.
3. Forward that info to your health insurer; sometimes they just need proof the auto side isn't paying yet.
4. Keep detailed notes of every call—names, dates, times—trust me, you'll thank yourself later.
Eventually, one side caves in and pays up (usually auto first). It took me about two months of back-and-forth before mine got sorted out. Hang in there, it's annoying but pretty common unfortunately.
