Colorado Auto Insurance Consumers Given Med-Pay Option

Rancho Cucamonga, California (WiredPRNews.com) -- Colorado motorists are required to have bodily injury and property damage liability auto insurance before hitting the road. But what they might not know is that their policies also come with at least $5,000 in medical payment insurance.

Consumers in the market for Colorado car insurance may want to become familiar with what type of protection is afforded through the med-pay option before deciding on whether to keep it on their policy, or perhaps whether they’d like to purchase even more.

The financial protections provided through medical payments coverage are very similar to personal injury protection insurance, which is offered in no-fault states.

From the mid-1970s up through the early 2000s, Colorado had in place a no-fault auto insurance system, in which residents’ insurers paid out directly to the policyholder for bodily injury damages that he or she had incurred, regardless of fault.

This system is the counterpart to the more popular tort system, in which the policyholder is protected from having to pay for other parties’ damages that are caused by the policyholder. In 2003, Colorado switched from a no-fault to a tort system, reportedly resulting in a significant decline in coverage expenditures for residents. Five years after the switch, the state legislature instituted the med-pay option, wanting to retain some kind of first-party injury coverage that was characteristic of the previous no-fault system.

So, as of 2009, when consumers go to purchase a policy, the law requires prospective insurers to include at least $5,000 in medical payment coverage. By having this type of coverage, the insured will be covered “for the first $5,000 of medical expenses following an automobile accident, including significant costs associated with emergency services, including ambulances, doctors and emergency medical procedures.”

Source: http://www.dora.state.co.us/Insurance/consumer/Med-Pay%202009.html

This extra protection, though, is likely to bring with it extra premiums. And since med-pay is not mandatory, consumers wishing to shed the added costs and coverage can opt-out from the med-pay provision in writing.

To learn more about Colo. policies and to compare rates, consumers can visit http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/colorado/ for access to articles and the free online quote-comparison generator.