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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » car vs. health insurance overlap

April 9, 2010 6:48 a.m. problemaddict Reader

Are there parts of your typical car insurance policy that can be dropped if you have a good health insurance plan (blue cross blue shield, in my case)?

I was going through the online quote calculators for adding a vehicle to my insurance. I clicked on a couple "Further Explanation" links and thought that some of these things shoulda/coulda be covered by my health plan...

For example, if I get nailed by an uninsured motorist, wouldn't my healthcare policy cover my hospital bills? Should I then drop or reduce to the legal minimum my uninsured motorist limits?

And I live in PA if that matters any...

Thanks!
April 9, 2010 8:22 a.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

My Personal Opinion:

I have always considered the medical coverage of an automobile policy to be a rip off, assuming one has medical insurance. However, given the standard of medical insurance today, there is a significant chance that even with coverage, you are still on the hook for a substantial sum. Basically about the same as it would have cost you without any medical insurance 30 years ago. The difference being that today the insurance companies take your money for nothing, and now have the loving IRS and their armed agents to inforce it.

So, let's just say that if you feel you have "good" medical insurance, you could drop the medical coverage on your car policy. If you have crappy medical insurance (which is where we're all headed), then you have entered the realm of "crap shoot."

Far as I know, the legal minimum for uninsured motorist coverage is "Zero." They're supposed to have insurance, so why are you buying it for them?
April 9, 2010 8:38 a.m. Duke SuperDork

Dr. Hess wrote:

Far as I know, the legal minimum for uninsured motorist coverage is "Zero." They're supposed to have insurance, so why are you buying it for them?

Because suing the uninsured illegal that runs a red light and nails you is going to be an expensive exercise in complete futility.
April 9, 2010 8:38 a.m. P71 SuperDork

I have full VA benefits (medically retired from the military) and I have $0 of uninsured/underinsured/medical on my policy. I do have coverage for the car if an uninsured/underinsured smacks it.
April 9, 2010 8:58 a.m. oldtin Reader

It's a requirement to have underinsured/uninsured coverage in illinois - also illegal to not have insurance - health part is also required. Then again, Wisconsin drivers don't have a legal requirement for insurance. Check what the specifics are for your state.
April 9, 2010 9:29 a.m. pigeon HalfDork

It varies state-to-state what the minimum requirements for car insurance are. Uninsured/underinsured insurance is not usually for your medical though, it's to compensate you when you're hit in your car and maimed by someone who doesn't live by the law and social conventions and doesn't have insurance, or by someone who doesn't have enough insurance to fully compensate you. Ask Slefian about the first circumstance... I carry $500,000 in underinsured insurance, and am looking to bump that up to $1 million. I'm the sole breadwinner in my house, and if I can't work anymore or am limited because of some shiny happy person I need to make sure that there's enough money there to make it right. I also want there to be enough money to compensate me for my pain and suffering if I'm ever injured in a car accident due to someone else's negligence. I see this first hand every day in my office - yes, you've got a million dollar case, but sorry, the person that hit you only has the state minimum $25k in coverage and no assets to go after, and you have no supplementary underinsured coverage, so you're screwed.
April 9, 2010 9:58 a.m. Wally SuperDork

I have $500k also. When I crashed my car it was a single car accident. I would have gone through the $25k minimum in about three weeks and from what I understand my health insurance would not have covered much more. instead I never had to reach into my pocket for anything, it even covered 80% of my lost wages from being out of work for three months. It costs me maybe $150 a year extra but I feel it was certainly worth it.
April 9, 2010 3:24 p.m. pigeon HalfDork

Wally,

The health coverage and the UM/SUM coverage is different. Your medical and 80% of your wages were paid by the "personal injury protection" or "no fault" portion of your policy. 50k coverage for those benefits in NY, and you can buy add-ons (APIP and OBEL) that extend the coverage amounts.
April 9, 2010 3:49 p.m. slefain Dork

This is something I can speak of from experience. (check the avatar)

After I got creamed by Don Juan De Cerveza I racked up over $35k in hospital bills. Don Juan had no insurance, so my uninsured motorist coverage kicked in. Here is where it gets fun. I do not, nor have I ever carried health coverage on an auto policy. My health insurance company ended up paying for all of my medical bills, while my auto insurance paid for my car damage.

My health insurance company went nuts trying to find SOMEONE to pay the medical bills, including me. I got tons of threatening letters from my health insurer telling me how much my bills added up to, but never saying explicitly that I owe them the money, or when it is due. It was always worded very wisely. I informed them that I had forwarded all of their threatening letters to the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's office. Guess what? Threatening letters stopped.

That being said, I have had continuous health care coverage for many years. If I didn't have health insurance then the extra coverage on the car insurance might be worth it. But if you have any sort of health insurance (even catastrophic) then I wouldn't bother with medical on your auto plan.
April 9, 2010 4:12 p.m. John Brown SuperDork

Does the duck help with car accident injuries?
April 9, 2010 4:27 p.m. Strizzo SuperDork

in speaking with my g/f, who has been a worker's comp insurance adjuster, and is now an agent, if you didn't have health coverage, but had the personal injury coverage on your auto policy, then you should be covered under the auto policy.

if you have both, the auto and health ins companies will go back and forth trying to get the other to pay, but your stuff will get taken care of one way or another.
April 9, 2010 4:30 p.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork

It's called subrogation. If you get in a car accident and your auto insurance covers the health treatments, or the other person's policy covers it, then your health insurance considers those policies your payors.

It's a huge pain in the ass.
April 9, 2010 5:31 p.m. wbjones HalfDork

ya, when I had my wreck, the other party (they were at fault) had ins (enough to cover me , my car, and my "pain and suffering"... but they wouldn't pay a penny 'til all claims were settled ... and of course the Dr.'s and the hospital wanted their money NOW , so my ins co picked up the slack , but they were very insistent about wanting their money back after the settlement.... the nerve of them...
April 10, 2010 2:19 a.m. Wally SuperDork

Pigeon said:
Wally,

The health coverage and the UM/SUM coverage is different. Your medical and 80% of your wages were paid by the "personal injury protection" or "no fault" portion of your policy. 50k coverage for those benefits in NY, and you can buy add-ons (APIP and OBEL) that extend the coverage amounts.

I would have run through the $50 k pretty fast as well. I took two ambulance rides worth $4000, and the first hospital charged $350 to weigh me. It usually only costs 9 bucks at the truck stop.

John Brown wrote:

Does the duck help with car accident injuries?

Yes, the duck sent me a check every two weeks. I believe my Aflac policy pays me for any type of injury of illness as long as I'm out of work for more than two weeks. Between it, my auto insurance and saving up 7 years worth of sick days I made more at home than I did working.
April 10, 2010 11:30 a.m. pigeon HalfDork

Not trying to be argumentative, but NY no fault pays the worker's comp rate schedule for medical treatment, which means the actual payments are typically 10-50% of the billed amount. You wouldn't believe how far $50k goes.
April 10, 2010 12:05 p.m. Streetwiseguy Reader

93celicaGT2 wrote:

It's called subrogation. If you get in a car accident and your auto insurance covers the health treatments, or the other person's policy covers it, then your health insurance considers those policies your payors.

It's a huge pain in the ass.

Like he said. You will only have one insurance company pay, and if you have more than one company covering you for the same thing, they will fight to the death to make the other company pay. You, in the meantime, get doodly squat from either one, unless you have the connections, the persistence or a big enough lawyer.

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