How to Wrangle Your Lost Wages Back from Your New York Auto Insurance

How to Wrangle Your Lost Wages Back from Your New York Auto Insurance

It was just another manic Monday…or Tuesday…or Thursday…or…well, it doesn't really matter what day of the week it was. When you're talking about the anatomy of a car accident, one day's as good as the next! The point is, you got out of bed that morning planning on going to work, coming home, cooking dinner and spending the evening curled up on your couch enjoying the fact that it's good to be you. You didn't think you were going to be rear ended and knocked off the road by a drunk driver that didn't have the common sense to stay home, and you really didn't think you were going to end up trying to get your lost wages out of your New York auto insurance provider.

Just because you can't plan for the unexpected doesn't mean you have to let it ruin your life.

Think about it. Aside from the obvious (that your car's going to be totaled) what's the worst part about being in a car accident? The injuries, the medical bills, the pain, they're bad enough, but what really gets your goat is the way you have to say goodbye to your "regular" life until your injuries heal. You can miss out on holidays with family, nights spent dancing or bowling with friends and hundreds of work hours, all because for a single fraction of a second somebody wasn't paying enough attention to the road.

Missing time with family and friends stings, but it usually doesn't come with the long term slap in the face that goes hand in hand with having to miss work for days, weeks or even months of work while you try and convince your body to work the way it did before it had a run-in with a few thousand pounds of twisted metal. It isn't just the damage that can do to your career (which is no small potatoes) but also the damage it does to your family's finances. The good news is, New York auto insurance companies are more than ready to help you pick up the slack.

Since New York auto insurance is exclusively no fault you're going to be dealing with your own insurance provider after you have an accident, and you're going to be working with your own Personal Injury Protection coverage (PIP). PIP was set up to keep all those drivers determined to drive the judge nuts hammering at the details of their settlement out of the courtroom by making it the personal responsibility of their own insurance company. The auto insurance rates you're paying right now for your New York coverage not only cover damages to your car, but also a certain amount of compensation for your lost wages.

What does that mean in good old fashioned English? It means that according to New York auto insurance law you're entitled to $50,000 of "basic economic loss" after an accident, including (but not limited to) lost wages. While you're out enjoying the pleasures of rehab and physical therapy with therapists that could give Hitler lessons in torture (hey, I've been there!) you're losing money by not being at work. Whether you caused the accident or not, you're paying your auto insurance company to make sure you get some of those lost wages back!

Keep in mind that most PIP coverage doesn't include complete compensation for your lost wages. It's usually limited to a specific percentage of your gross income. The good news is, if the accident wasn't your fault you're also entitled to hit up the other driver's New York auto insurance company for the remainder of your salary. So, for example, let's say your PIP is set up to cover 60% of lost wages after an accident. (It's just an example, you'll have to ask your agent where your coverage is at!) Your insurance company will pay 60%, but you're also entitled to the other 40% from the insurance of the guy who caused the other accident. It's one of those nice little loopholes in the no-fault system that keeps people from getting smacked in the face and being forced to turn the other cheek because they don't have anywhere else to go.

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• How to Wrangle Your Lost Wages Back from Your New York Auto Insurance - Nov 23, 2009 - 12:15:29 PM