Massachusetts Laws

• Car insurance in the state of Massachusetts is mandatory in all states and is required at the time of registering your vehicle at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The minimum liability coverage in Massachusetts is $20,000 for injury or death of one person and $40,000 for injury or death of more than one person. The minimum property damage coverage is $5,000.

• Every person who registers a car in Massachusetts must have four kinds of insurance:

1. Bodily Injury (BI): You may pursue a bodily injury claim against the insurance company of the car that caused your injury.

2. Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage (UM): Uninsured coverage is available for people who are injured in a car accident caused by the driver of an uninsured car. An uninsured claim may arise when the car causing the accident is either a stolen car, a hit and run driver, or does not have any insurance. You may pursue an uninsured claim against the insurance policy of the car you were riding in, or your own car insurance if you were a pedestrian.

3. Personal Injury Protection (PIP or No Fault): This is known as no fault insurance and covers medical bills, lost wages and replacement services regardless of who was at fault. PIP is NOT available for people injured in motorcycle accidents. PIP is available through your own car insurance or, in the case of a pedestrian, the insurance of the car that caused your injury.

4. Property Damage (PD)

• There are also seven kinds of optional insurance available such as:

1. Optional Bodily Injury (OBI)

2. Med Pay, Collision

3. Limited Collision

4. Theft and Fire

5. Rental coverage

6. Towing

7. Underinsurance (UIM): Sometimes the car causing the accident does not have sufficient bodily injury coverage to cover your damages. If the car in which you were traveling and/or your own car has Underinsurance coverage in excess of the available bodily injury coverage, you may pursue an Underinsurance claim.

• The statute of limitations is the period for which you are eligible to file the insurance claim and lawsuit. If it expires, you lose the benefits that you deserve to obtain from the party responsible for causing the car accident. You can file a bodily injury claim within 3 years of the car accident, and in uninsured and underinsurance claims, you have 6 years within which to file a claim.

• Massachusetts is a no fault state, meaning your insurance will cover damages you sustain in an accident (for medical bills and lost wages, up to your policy limits), but you may not recover from another party, unless your medical bills exceed your Personal Injury Protection (PIP).

Related Topics:

• Massachusetts Laws

• Process of Filing an Massachusetts Car Accident Claim

• Damages you can Recover

• Disputing a Claim

• Massachusetts Car Accident Facts