Updated July 2026
What Is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
Personal Injury Protection pays your medical expenses, lost income, and certain out-of-pocket costs after a car accident without requiring you to prove the other driver was at fault. PIP kicks in immediately after an accident, covering you and your passengers up to your policy limit. It functions as first-party coverage — you file the claim with your own insurer, not the at-fault driver's carrier, which eliminates the delay of waiting for liability investigations to conclude.
- You hit black ice on Route 7 and crash into a guardrail. You fracture your wrist and miss three weeks of work. Your health insurance has a $3,000 deductible and doesn't cover lost wages. PIP with a $10,000 limit pays your $4,200 in medical bills immediately and reimburses $2,800 in lost income, minus any deductible you selected when buying the policy.
- Another driver runs a stop sign and hits your car. You suffer whiplash and need physical therapy. The other driver's insurer is investigating and hasn't accepted liability yet. Your PIP coverage pays your medical bills starting the day after the accident — you don't wait weeks for the liability carrier to make a decision. If the other driver is later found at fault, your PIP insurer may subrogate to recover what it paid.
- Your friend is riding in your car when you're rear-ended at a stoplight. She suffers a concussion and racks up $6,500 in emergency room and follow-up care costs. Your PIP policy covers her medical expenses up to your per-person limit, even though she wasn't driving. She files the claim through your policy, not her own.
Who Needs Personal Injury Protection Insurance?
PIP makes sense if your health insurance has a high deductible or doesn't cover all accident-related costs like rehabilitation, childcare during recovery, or funeral expenses. It's valuable for self-employed drivers or gig workers who lose income immediately when injured, since PIP reimburses lost wages without the multi-month delay of a liability settlement. Drivers who frequently carry passengers — especially family members not covered by robust health plans — benefit from the per-person medical coverage PIP provides.
Compare your health insurance deductible to the cost of a year of PIP premiums. If your deductible is $5,000 and PIP costs $180 annually, you'd need to file a claim every 28 years just to break even on the deductible alone — and that assumes PIP pays faster than your health plan. Add PIP if you're self-employed, have high-deductible health coverage, or regularly transport passengers who lack strong medical coverage. Skip it if your health plan and disability benefits already cover accident scenarios comprehensively.
How Much Does Personal Injury Protection Insurance Cost?
Adding PIP to a Vermont auto policy typically costs $8–$25 per month, or roughly $95–$300 annually, depending on your coverage limit and deductible.
- Coverage limit you select — $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000 per person affects premium directly.
- Deductible choice — selecting a $500 or $1,000 deductible lowers your monthly cost but increases out-of-pocket expense per claim.
- Number of vehicles and drivers on your policy — more insured parties increase total PIP cost.
- Your claims history — prior PIP claims in the past three years raise rates with most carriers.
- Zip code — Burlington and Montpelier residents pay more due to higher accident frequency than rural Vermont counties.
- Whether you stack coverage across multiple vehicles — stacked PIP increases limits but also raises premium.