First party benefits are easiest to understand in the context of what they are not. First party benefits are paid to you or your family by your insurance company—not by the other driver or other passengers. Benefits paid to other people outside of your family are second-party insurance benefits. Traditional liability coverage is a second-party insurance benefit.
What are some types of first-party insurance benefits available in Georgia?
Georgia insurance companies offer a wide variety of first-party insurance benefits. These optional coverages usually require an additional fee. They may include:
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This insurance option allows you to get money from your own insurance company if the other driver does not have insurance or does not have enough liability insurance to cover the full amount of your injuries and property damage. (Note: if you have been hit by an uninsured driver, it’s very important to speak to an uninsured motorist accident lawyer right away.)
- Medical payments coverage (Med Pay). This optional first-party coverage lets you look to your insurance company to cover medical payments first. You submit bills and receipts to your insurance company, and they reimburse you for these items up to the amount of your policy limits. This is one of the most common optional first-party coverages used in Georgia. It helps you avoid issues dealing with hospital liens and allows you to get medical care right away, even if you can’t afford to pay for it out of pocket.
- Rental car coverage. This insurance is just like it sounds—it will pay for a rental car for you while your vehicle is being repaired or while you search for a new car after an accident.
- Emergency roadside assistance. This insurance option will pay for emergency services such as towing, tire repair, and other assistance. It generally does not cover medical expenses associated with emergencies, however.
- Loss of earnings coverage. If you miss work because of a car accident, this type of insurance will pay for the wages that you lost while you were recovering from the crash.
- Death, disability, and dismemberment coverage. This insurance specifically deals with catastrophic accidents where you are killed or severely disabled. Some of these benefits may go to you directly, but in circumstances where you pass away because of a crash, those benefits will go to your loved ones instead.
- Collision coverage. This insurance coverage is focused on the property damage that your vehicle has endured because of a crash. Collision coverage pays for your car to be repaired right away so you can get on the road faster after an accident.
Even if you have these first-party coverage options, it can still be challenging to get the benefits that you paid for out of your own insurance company. It can also be tricky to determine which coverage options should apply in your situation.
John Foy & Associates can help you work through your policy to determine what types of coverage you should be getting—and how to involve the other driver in your case to reimburse you for your losses, even those that your insurance company may have already paid on your behalf. Fill out the form to your right or call us at 404-400-4000 to get your FREE consultation today.