The same accident can create both claims at once. They are not duplicate claims.
PIP is generally first-party coverage: your own policy may pay certain injury-related benefits to you and covered passengers, depending on state law and the policy. Bodily injury (BI) liability is generally third-party coverage: it addresses injuries someone is legally responsible for causing to another person.
PIP
Your own coverage. It may pay certain benefits, such as medical expenses and lost wages, to covered people depending on your state and policy. In some states it pays regardless of who caused the accident.
Bodily injury liability
The responsible driver’s liability coverage. It applies to injuries that person is legally responsible for causing to someone else, up to the policy limits.
Why both can be open at once
One accident can raise two different questions: what your own PIP coverage pays you, and whether someone else is legally responsible for your injuries. Each is handled under its own coverage, so the two claims may involve:
- Different adjusters, often at different insurance companies
- Different benefits
- Different limits
- Different legal and coverage questions
- Different documentation
Florida, as one example
Florida’s regulator says PIP pays 80% of necessary and reasonable medical expenses and 60% of work loss for a covered injury, regardless of liability. Bodily injury liability, by contrast, pays for death or serious and permanent injury to others when the insured is legally liable.
That is Florida’s rule, not a national one. Whether PIP is required, what it pays and how it interacts with a bodily injury claim depend on your state and your policy.
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