Med-pay
Optional coverage on your own auto policy that pays medical bills regardless of fault.
It pays early, while everything else is still being argued about, which is exactly when people need it. This is general information, not legal advice.
What it means
Medical payments coverage is first-party: it is on your policy and it pays your treatment without waiting for anyone to admit fault. Limits are usually modest.
Because it pays without regard to fault, it is useful in the early weeks when a liability insurer is refusing to commit. It does not reduce what you can claim from the person responsible.
Your insurer will usually want repaying out of any recovery. Whether and how much is a lien question, and it is negotiable more often than people assume.
Where this is dealt with properly
This entry is the short answer. These pages own the subject.
Common questions
- Does using med-pay raise my premium or count against me?
- It is a coverage you paid for and it pays without regard to fault. What it does create is a repayment question at the end, which is worth planning for rather than being surprised by.
Start a case review call
On a case review call, I go through the facts with you: what happened, when, whether you were hurt, whether anyone represents you, and how to reach you. It is not legal advice, and I will not put a value on your claim.
Sources: none. Med-pay is practice vocabulary rather than a legal term of art — no California statute, rule or case defines it, so this page cites none. Attaching an authority that nearly fits would be worse than saying that plainly.